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Day 1 of the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine is officially in the books, and there are a lot of players that helped themselves. Let’s take a look to see which players helped or hurt themselves the most on the opening day.
Olave originally had everyone’s jaw drop when he put up an unofficial 4.26s 40-yard dash. That ended up becoming an official 4.39s time, but still impressive. He looked incredibly fluid in all the field drills to pair with his excellent time, pretty much cementing himself as a first round pick.
If there was ever a height/weight/speed guy to be anointed in this draft, it would be Watson. Watson stands in at 6’4″ tall, weighing 208lbs. With that size, he ran a 4.36s 40-yard dash, had a 38.5 inch vertical, and had an 11 foot 4 inch broad jump. Those numbers are insane. Watson was already getting some buzz to potentially sneak into the first round, but this performance may make it happen.
Pierce is another WR who impressed with his size and testing numbers. Checking in at 6’3″ tall and 211lbs, running a 4.41s 40-yard dash put him up there with Watson for the size and speed combo winner. He also dialed up a 40.5 inch vertical and a 10 foot 9 inch broad jump. Pierce is slated to be a mid round pick that might have just slid his name up a couple draft boards.
Everyone expected Melton to put up solid numbers in the 40-yard dash and cone drills, but he also put up solid numbers in both the jumps as well. He ran a 4.34s 40-yard dash, 6.98s 3-cone drill, 38 inch vertical, and a 10 foot 1 inch broad jump. Being on the smaller side, confirming his speed and athleticism was a must.
Most of the talk throughout the day revolved around Kenny Pickett’s hand size or Malik Willis‘ arm strength, but Ridder quietly impressed throughout his workout. Running a 4.52s 40-yard dash and having massive 10 inch hands is going to please the scouting departments that focus on the numbers, but his on the field work impressed as well as he routinely had on time passes that were within the WRs frame. Ridder is a fringe 1st round pick in most people’s eyes, so continuing to impress throughout the process is key.
Woods needed to do well at the combine as much as anybody, as he is still pretty new to the tight end position being a former QB. He measured in well and ran very well in the 40. He ended up running a 4.61s 40-yard dash, and at 6’7″ tall and weighing 249lbs, that’s damn impressive. He also looked at home on the field work and drills, showing good body control running the gauntlet and doing well on the blocking sled.
Howell did all of his impressive work on the field actually throwing the football. He had one of the strongest arms on display and it was evident from start to finish as he consistently put the ball on a rope to his receivers. He was the only QB to consistently hit his down field passes accurately as well as have enough juice behind it on the out routes they were throwing. Both his arm strength and accuracy were on full display.
No one expected Bell to be an elite athlete in terms of testing, but even he would probably tell you he was a bit disappointed in his testing numbers. Running a 4.65s 40-yard dash when most of the other WRs were putting up very impressive numbers was disappointing to see, and he did average at best with both his vertical and broad jump as well.
Being only 177lbs, people expected Rambo to come in and put up solid testing numbers. So running a 4.57s 40-yard dash didn’t do much to help his case as a late round draft pick. Rambo appeared faster on film, but on a day where so many wide receivers impressed, this was a poor result that he will look to improve upon at his pro day.
Coming in as one of the bigger quarterbacks in the group with good arm strength, it was disappointing to see Strong leave balls consistently low and inaccurate throughout the day. He impressed with his deep ball at times, but there was more bad than good with his on field performance on Day 1.
Thornton is only on this list because it appeared as though he broke the NFL Scouting Combine record when he recorded an unofficial 4.21s 40-yard dash. Unfortunately it was corrected to a 4.28s official time, which is still spectacular. But overall, had to be a buzzkill to see he didn’t actually break the record when everyone thought he did initially.
Let us know who you think impresses throughout the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, and be sure to check back in for more updates as the rest of the prospects perform!
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Winners
Chris Olave, WR, The Ohio State University
Olave originally had everyone’s jaw drop when he put up an unofficial 4.26s 40-yard dash. That ended up becoming an official 4.39s time, but still impressive. He looked incredibly fluid in all the field drills to pair with his excellent time, pretty much cementing himself as a first round pick.
Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State
If there was ever a height/weight/speed guy to be anointed in this draft, it would be Watson. Watson stands in at 6’4″ tall, weighing 208lbs. With that size, he ran a 4.36s 40-yard dash, had a 38.5 inch vertical, and had an 11 foot 4 inch broad jump. Those numbers are insane. Watson was already getting some buzz to potentially sneak into the first round, but this performance may make it happen.
Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati
Pierce is another WR who impressed with his size and testing numbers. Checking in at 6’3″ tall and 211lbs, running a 4.41s 40-yard dash put him up there with Watson for the size and speed combo winner. He also dialed up a 40.5 inch vertical and a 10 foot 9 inch broad jump. Pierce is slated to be a mid round pick that might have just slid his name up a couple draft boards.
Bo Melton, WR, Rutgers
Everyone expected Melton to put up solid numbers in the 40-yard dash and cone drills, but he also put up solid numbers in both the jumps as well. He ran a 4.34s 40-yard dash, 6.98s 3-cone drill, 38 inch vertical, and a 10 foot 1 inch broad jump. Being on the smaller side, confirming his speed and athleticism was a must.
Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
Most of the talk throughout the day revolved around Kenny Pickett’s hand size or Malik Willis‘ arm strength, but Ridder quietly impressed throughout his workout. Running a 4.52s 40-yard dash and having massive 10 inch hands is going to please the scouting departments that focus on the numbers, but his on the field work impressed as well as he routinely had on time passes that were within the WRs frame. Ridder is a fringe 1st round pick in most people’s eyes, so continuing to impress throughout the process is key.
Jelani Woods, TE, Virginia
Woods needed to do well at the combine as much as anybody, as he is still pretty new to the tight end position being a former QB. He measured in well and ran very well in the 40. He ended up running a 4.61s 40-yard dash, and at 6’7″ tall and weighing 249lbs, that’s damn impressive. He also looked at home on the field work and drills, showing good body control running the gauntlet and doing well on the blocking sled.
Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina
Howell did all of his impressive work on the field actually throwing the football. He had one of the strongest arms on display and it was evident from start to finish as he consistently put the ball on a rope to his receivers. He was the only QB to consistently hit his down field passes accurately as well as have enough juice behind it on the out routes they were throwing. Both his arm strength and accuracy were on full display.
Losers
David Bell, WR, Purdue
No one expected Bell to be an elite athlete in terms of testing, but even he would probably tell you he was a bit disappointed in his testing numbers. Running a 4.65s 40-yard dash when most of the other WRs were putting up very impressive numbers was disappointing to see, and he did average at best with both his vertical and broad jump as well.
Charleston Rambo, WR, Miami
Being only 177lbs, people expected Rambo to come in and put up solid testing numbers. So running a 4.57s 40-yard dash didn’t do much to help his case as a late round draft pick. Rambo appeared faster on film, but on a day where so many wide receivers impressed, this was a poor result that he will look to improve upon at his pro day.
Carson Strong, QB, Nevada
Coming in as one of the bigger quarterbacks in the group with good arm strength, it was disappointing to see Strong leave balls consistently low and inaccurate throughout the day. He impressed with his deep ball at times, but there was more bad than good with his on field performance on Day 1.
Tyquan Thornton, WR, Baylor
Thornton is only on this list because it appeared as though he broke the NFL Scouting Combine record when he recorded an unofficial 4.21s 40-yard dash. Unfortunately it was corrected to a 4.28s official time, which is still spectacular. But overall, had to be a buzzkill to see he didn’t actually break the record when everyone thought he did initially.
Let us know who you think impresses throughout the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, and be sure to check back in for more updates as the rest of the prospects perform!
#SteelerNation
Support SteelerNation by clicking here to read the story..
