Riffing on the DB Prospects

It's become fashionable to make fun of the monstrosity that is the NFL Scouting Combine. In many instances some of this is justified. But in my opinion, the position that has the most riding on combine performance is cornerback. The position requires rare athleticism, so the combine can go a long ways in how they're evaluated, particularly in a year such as this one where it's a deep, competitive class.

Almost every Viking fan agrees they need some youth and upside in the secondary. Some think they need to find at least one new, immediate starter; some think they need depth only. Some are more concerned with corner than safety, and vice versa. But nearly everyone thinks they'll walk away from the draft doing something in this area.

The DBs combine day was today. Here are some 40 times

Javier Arenas: 4.52 (tweaked his hammy at the end of his run, so just did it once)
Larry Asante: 4.69 & 4.63
Eric Berry: 4.46 & 4.40
Kam Chancellor: 4.63 & 4.62
Perrish Cox: 4.53 & 4.57
Dominique Franks: 4.52 & 4.57
Brandon Ghee: 4.37 & 4.39
Joe Haden: 4.57 & 4.60
Kareem Jackson: 4.41 & 4.46
Chad Jones: 4.57 & 4.57
Reshad Jones: 4.54 & 4.59
Trevard Lindley: 4.53 & 4.57
Devin McCourty: 4.34 & 4.35
Jerome Murphy: 4.52 & 4.54
Patrick Robinson: 4.42 & 4.49
Myron Rolle: 4.69 & 4.68
Earl Thomas: 4.53 & 4.44
Donovan Warren: 4.59
Major Wright: 4.49

Some thoughts: Taylor Mays was beyond absurd, but I still think he's a poor fit for Minnesota, as he'd be playing in space in the Tampa-2, which isn't his strong suit (and besides, maybe they should just start printing out his Raiders jerseys with that 40 time).

Brandon Ghee had the best workout of all the pure CBs, not just in the 40 but in the other drills as well. I don't think you make a guy a first rounder because of a good combine day, though. And there are concerns to his game.

The guy considered best cover corner in the draft--Joe Haden--ran a scary bad 40. This will be interesting. Scouts love his tape, but that's shocking for a guy who was supposed to be a pure man-cover type. (Scouts have a saying that while you can have slower recievers; there's no slow corners in the league). Last year the top rated DB--Ohio State's Malcolm Jenkins--had a similar 40 and went in the mid first. But had the size to translate to safety, as well as some zone experience.

There were several CBs considered borderline round 1/2 type prospects. Guys like McCourty, Cox, Warren, Robinson, Franks, Jackson. Depending on how much weight a team puts into this, Franks, Cox, and Warren maybe lost some money today.

As a Vikings fan I'm keeping an eye on Devin McCourty out of Rutgers. Physically he's 5'11" with pretty good length in the arms, so he's big enough for what they traditionally do. Athletically he checks out, testing out amongst the leaders in many of the drills and, more importantly, scouts love his agility and balance on tape. And stylistically, he seems like a great fit as he's a fiesty/physical type that loves to press and support the run. NFL Draft Scout comps him to Ronde Barber (fwiw).

But who knows?

Thoughts on some of these defensive backs?