Winners and losers
INDIANAPOLIS – You've never heard of him, but Jerome Mathis is about as close as this NFL draft is going to get to a Deion Sanders.
Not that Mathis is as talented or hyped as Sanders, mind you. But the Hampton University wide receiver might be just as fast – and with a talent pool as threadbare on megastars, well, you take whatever comparisons you can get to Pro Bowl talent.
If that doesn't sum up this year's NFL scouting combine, nothing does.
The NFL saw a decent overall collection of players, but one that packs little zing. Not that there aren't future stars in this draft. They just aren't coming in with a throne waiting. Indeed, this is a group that will have to earn its place.
Amazingly, this combine will have come and gone with very few earthquakes. In previous years, players like Edgerrin James and Robert Gallery came in with heat and left like a glowing fire poker. Not that there weren't a few lukewarm performances. Just not enough to keep this combine from always being known as The Maurice Clarett Disaster.
This year's winners and losers:
THE WINNERS
Depth
A lot of the groups this year have relatively close talent levels from top to bottom, and some feel that is going to translate into a lot of solid but not spectacular players going in the later rounds. In other words, teams are going to be able to flesh out a lot of their thin roster spots in later rounds, with players who aren't leaps and bounds behind first- and second-round picks.
Team evaluations
While there were interview gripes, there was overwhelming participation in the 40-yard dash and drills. That has to be good for franchises that have their work cut out for them separating players at each position.
Running backs
Teams that need someone to carry the ball walked away pleased with the performance at the position. While highly regarded Texas product Cedric Benson didn't run, the rest of the group glittered, especially the Auburn pair of Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown. Williams added some needed bulk and then ran superbly in both the 40-yard dash and the cone drills, while Brown dazzled scouts by blazing through his sprint. California's J.J. Arrington helped himself with a good 40 time, while players like Kansas State's Darren Sproles and Michigan State's DeAndra Cobb figure to add some depth in the later rounds.
Troy Williamson
Before the combine, the South Carolina wide receiver had been overshadowed a bit by Michigan's Braylon Edwards and USC's Mike Williams. Then Williamson came in and posted a 40-yard dash times in the mid-4.3s. Despite not being surrounded by the talent of either Edwards or Williams, Williamson had good production for the Gamecocks and could be the steal of the first round if he lasts into the teens.
Matt Jones and Jerome Mathis
There's always a couple of guys who rise up and shock people, but nobody expected what they saw from Mathis, a wide receiver from Hampton, and Jones, a quarterback from Arkansas. Mathis posted an official 40-yard dash time of 4.32, but some insisted he was in the 4.2s – territory typically reserved for Deion Sanders. Meanwhile, Jones shocked people by running a 4.38.
Alex Barron
You can't say he was a big winner because he didn't run or go through workouts. But strictly from an eyeball standpoint, the 6-foot-7, 320-pound Barron was exquisite. He had the longest arms of anyone at the combine.
The NFL Network
It wasn't sexy television, but the fledgling network did a good job showcasing some of the drills and giving fans an idea of exactly what goes on inside the RCA Dome every year. In media circles, Maurice Clarett's 40-yard dash had reporters clinging to TVs in the media room. They even earned kudos for getting Clarett in a (forced?) interview afterward, although analyst Terrell Davis did a terrible job as he seemed more concerned with consoling Clarett than asking him what had gone wrong.
THE LOSERS
Superstars
An interesting thought from one personnel man: "Any one of the top seven picks from last season would have been the No. 1 choice this year." In other words, there might not be even one player considered a can't-miss superstar in this draft. That should make it interesting as the draft gets closer and open up plenty of debates for teams trying to make a pick in the top 10 this year. The hype wizards are going to have a hard time finding the "face" of this draft as D-Day approaches.
San Francisco 49ers
The combine ended pretty much the way it started, with no real consensus among the so-called elite players. That's bad news for the 49ers, simply because they weren't able to build some kind of additional equity with the No. 1 overall pick and at least have the option to trade down. Right now, there are no real trade avenues available, so the 49ers may have to settle on their man right where they're at. From early indications, that man is Cal's Aaron Rodgers.
Maurice Clarett
It's been beaten into the ground, but the fact remains that Clarett could have jumped as high as the third round with a spectacular workout. Instead, the week was a stunning failure. Though he did have some decent interview experiences, his mid-4.7s in the 40, and subsequent ditching of the remaining workouts, have doomed him to the sixth or seventh round of the draft.
Cedric Benson and Braylon Edwards
It's not going to matter in the long run because both players are going to stay in the top 10, but Benson and Edwards let other players close the gap by not working out. Benson actually lost ground, most likely falling behind Brown. Meanwhile, not only did Edwards sit idle as Williamson and Mike Williams solidified their positions, the Chicago Bears signed Muhsin Muhammad and likely eliminated Edwards as their top pick.
Jason Campbell
Nobody can figure out why the Auburn quarterback decided not to work out, especially since he's not even close to being in the same class as Rodgers and Utah's Alex Smith.
