The Lead
With the 2022 NFL Combine in the books, it's time to take a look back at who the top performers were. Lucky for us, NFL.com’s Nick Shook already has a position-by-position list, and he identified six of the 25 players as top fits for the Broncos.
The player who may be of the most interest to fans, especially given the current conversation going around these days, is Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, who edged out Liberty's Malik Willis and Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder.
"Pickett displayed the same composure that powered him to become a Heisman finalist in 2021, hitting receivers in stride and delivering the ball with confidence throughout his on-field workout," Shook wrote. "He also ran a 4.73-second 40-yard dash, which is pretty darn good, even in this new era of mobile quarterbacks. There's a high floor/ceiling difference between the Pitt product and Liberty's Malik Willis: Pickett seems to be the most pro-ready passer in this class with the capability to play early, while Willis' cannon for an arm and incredible athleticism have many dreaming of a dazzling future. This was certainly on display Thursday night in a class that didn't offer too many special glimpses otherwise."
The other players Shook chose as potential fits for the Broncos all came on defense, at edge rusher (Georgia's Travon Walker and Florida State's Jermaine Johnson II) and linebacker (Utah's Devin Lloyd, Georgia's Channing Tindall and Alabama's Christian Harris).
"Lloyd was solid throughout Saturday evening, completing an excellent, efficient four-bag rep, exhibiting strong change-of-direction ability and fluidly dropping in coverage in backpedal and react drills," Shook wrote. "He made a great adjustment to complete a difficult catch in a drill designed to force linebackers to defend a running back on a wheel route and finished with the third-best Next Gen Stats overall draft score among linebackers. The Darius Leonard comparison is accurate, at least Saturday on the same field Leonard calls home."
Below the Fold
And if you want to know which prospects may have improved their stock at the Combine, look no further than Todd McShay and Steve Muench’s ESPN analysis. Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis, McShay writes, may have had one of the all-time best Combine workouts.
"ESPN Stats & Information has tracked combine results since 2006, and in that time, only two players weighing in at 330 pounds or more have run the 40-yard dash in under 5 seconds: Greg Robinson (4.92 at 332 pounds) and Dontari Poe (4.98 at 346 pounds)," McShay wrote. "Davis blew them both away with a 4.78-second run. In fact, that is actually the fastest time for any player 310 pounds or heavier since at least 2006. Consider that 4.78 is faster than Patrick Mahomes -- who has some scrambling ability -- ran it in 2017 (4.80)."
