TIGHT ENDS
Fastest: 4.50 Noah Fant, Iowa
Furthest: 10'7" Noah Fant, Iowa
Highest: 39.5 Noah Fant, Iowa
Most Reps: 24 Trevon Wesco, West Virginia
-All it takes is one look at those short stats above and you know who stood out most in the tight end group. It wasn't unexpected, even with his college teammate T.J. Hockenson looming. Noah Fant out of Iowa drew comparisons from some of the analysts to the Bucs' O.J. Howard and for reference Howard ran a 4.51 40-yard dash, repped 22 on the bench, had a 30-inch vertical and ran the three-cone drill in 6.85. Fant ran a 4.50, had a 39.5-inch vertical and had the best time of all tight ends in the three-cone drill as well with a 6.81. I'm not saying he's O.J. Howard but, I'm not not saying it.
-The second-best performance by a tight end belongs to T.J. Hockenson, making the combine a commercial for the Iowa Hawkeye offense. Hockenson was touted as a great blocker but also great route runner and earned a comparison from Daniel Jeremiah to former Pittsburgh tight end Heath Miller.
QUARTERBACKS
Fastest: 4.58 Trace McSorley, Penn State
Furthest: 10'0" Tyree Jackson, Buffalo
Highest: 34.5 Tyree Jackson, Buffalo
-Unlike Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins participated in most drills for quarterbacks at the combine, including throwing and he lived up to the expectations placed on him. His throws were easy and his deep ball looked effortless. He proved his accuracy but whether or not he's done enough to solidify himself as the first quarterback taken will hang on how well Kyler Murray does during his pro day.
-Buffalo's Tyree Jackson is one that could have significantly upped his stock in Indy and it's exactly what he did. Athletically, he tested well, owning multiple major categories. In what was probably the most entertaining moment of the combine so far, NFL Network commentator and NFL veteran receiver Steve Smith went over and talked to him during the wideout gauntlet because he was throwing the ball too hard at receivers, which is 100% the content I'm here for.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Fastest: 4.31 Parris Campbell, Ohio State & Andy Isabella, Massachusetts
Furthest:
Highest:
Most Reps: 27, D.K Metcalf, Ole Miss & N'Keal Harry, Arizona State
-I was all ready to get on my high horse and welcome everyone else aboard the N'Keal Harry bandwagon after his incredibly solid combine performance. At his size (6'2-228) he was largely expected to run a high 4.6 or low 4.7 40-yard dash. The former Sun Devil got himself a 4.53 time on top of benching the most reps with 27 alongside Ole Miss's D.K. Metcalf. I thought he solidified himself as a first-rounder and could still contend for first receiver off the board until…
-A 6'3, 228-pound D.K. Metcalf messed around and ran a 4.33 40-yard dash. He was the number one trending topic on Twitter after that – and for good reason. He added a 40.5-inch vertical, because why not? He was garnering a lot of Julio Jones comparisons, but his workout outperformed Jones'. Instead, his numbers may be more comparable to Megatron a.k.a. Calvin Johnson. The former Lions legend/receiver only ran the 40-yard dash at the 2007 combine, clocking a 4.35 but had a 42.5-inch vertical at his Pro Day. What was even more impressive about Metcalf was the clear passion and love for the game. He was caught by cameras crying on FaceTime with his parents after posting one of the best combine workouts ever. Talk about a good all-around kid.
-Andy Isabella is only 5'9 but is thought to be a viable slot receiver at the next level given his track background and speed. Then he initially recorded a 4.51 and a 4.46 40-yard dash time. Everyone was left scratching their heads a bit. He certainly looked like he ran faster than that. Turns out, there was a laser issue and Isabella ran an official 4.31 – tying for the fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine so far. That's more like it. He also proved he had reliable hands in the gauntlet and could track the ball in deep-pass drills. Isabella may have done enough after Saturday to move himself into the first-round conversation.
