2026 NFL Combine Thread: 2.26.26 - 3.1.26

[45catfan]

23 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

He's not generational.  He's just athletic. He was good in college but so we're others.

Scuttlebutt form the Combine around the Web suggests Styles just overtook Reese and may go #2 to the Jets.  Pure off-ball LB going #2 overall?  Seems kinda generational to me. Some see Reese as an Edge, so he kinda made sense being so high.  If Styles goes #2, the only other LBs drafted that high since 2000 are Von Miller and Lavar Arrington and both of those guys were generational talents.

[Jon Snow]

20 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

Scuttlebutt form the Combine around the Web suggests Styles just overtook Reese and may go #2 to the Jets.  Pure off-ball LB going #2 overall?  Seems kinda generational to me. Some see Reese as an Edge, so he kinda made sense being so high.  If Styles goes #2, the only other LBs drafted that high since 2000 are Von Miller and Lavar Arrington and both of those guys were generational talents.

Draft position does not make one generational. If that were the case then every player taken first or second overall would be generational. That makes absolutely no sense.

[MHS831]

9 hours ago, chbright said:

Not in same league. Caldwell just hit a 10.00 on the RAS. 2nd out of 3830 from 1987 onward. 

https://x.com/MathBomb/status/2027885023387349047

Yeah I mean Louis had a sub 9.00 RAS. Still very very good, no doubt. Louis is small, no 2 ways about it. He is likely a sub package lb in nickel packages or specialized WLB. Be fine ST gunner to start for sure. 6 foot flat and 220lb is pushing it for a starting LB. At 10 to 20lbs less than the other LBs he'd better be closer to the top in most timed drills. He's gonna be challenged when some of the wrs in the class can matchup bigger stronger faster, much less TE in the run game.  Yeah instinct matter and he has them, but that size is a massive red flag compared to many of the other LBS in this class. 

 

Rodriguez is the LB that really climbed this week from a pure grit guy to great flash with athleticism people wrote off cause he was a QB at first at UVA. 18.4mph in the backpedal. Production the last 2 years were great. I'd be thrilled with him as the future mike.

 

Hill likely moved out of 51 and into the top 45 picks ( Ravens at 45 I can't imagine don't bite if he makes it there). Honestly Hill imo is a 1st rounder and I'd be ok with him as he fits the MLB we have missed the last few years. People would crow it's a reach but he's top 30 all-time I'm RAS for a LB at 9.9+ . Plus he was big time in big games when he was healthy. And that br a big check: meds. 

I just thought he was under the radar--but thanks for opening our eyes to him.  I think we should have better measures for intelligence--such as reaction time, angles, etc. Legette is raw as heck, for example, and his RAS was very high.  We used to do the Wonderlic (which was not great) but to know how effectively a player makes on field decisions would be great.  

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, MHS831 said:

I just thought he was under the radar--but thanks for opening our eyes to him.  I think we should have better measures for intelligence--such as reaction time, angles, etc. Legette is raw as heck, for example, and his RAS was very high.  We used to do the Wonderlic (which was not great) but to know how effectively a player makes on field decisions would be great.  

Pretty sure they still do the Wonderlic they just don't publicly release the scores.

[MHS831]

15 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Pretty sure they still do the Wonderlic they just don't publicly release the scores.

Ok--I have seen some sample items, and I would like to see something (if possible) measures on field intelligence--maybe how quickly you can grasp a playbook or absorb film session adjustments...Back when we had Morrison as team president and Hurney as GM, I offered to assess (as part of my research in education requirement at a University) emotional intelligence and learning styles of players to help coaches teach more effectively.  Morrison loved it and contacted me about it.  Hurney was not interested, and it fell through the cracks.  My pitch?  If only 50% of first-rounders become successful NFL players and that number drops significantly, can you tell me that you are effectively measuring talent?  Morrison thought it was a good point and wanted to do something that might improve long-term success rates--that would impact the cap management, etc.  Marty, according to Morrison, said he was not interested at this time and if so, he would want a football guy to do it.  (I told Morrison that I played in college and Hurney, a sports reporter at one time, did not. He told me that Hurney played as a Guard in college--who knew?) Any way, about that time, Morrison left (2017) and the idea was dropped.  I reached back out a year later or so to Marty was still not interested.  A few days later, his wife accused him of assault or something, so I dropped it.

Edited 52 minutes ago by MHS831

[MHS831]

18 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Pretty sure they still do the Wonderlic they just don't publicly release the scores.

AI says teams can use it privately if they want, but the combine dropped it in 2022.  I did not know that--just figured, as you say, they quit publicizing it.  It seems it was always in the form of a leak or rumor--

Edited 48 minutes ago by MHS831

[MHS831]

To illustrate my point, I watched (and commented on the Huddle) that Rozeboom would often wait a full second (or close to it) before taking his first step.  I assume that he probably had issues with false steps, a faulty practice that can take an ILB out of the gap completely.  Watch Luke and you see a step with the snap, and rarely was it a false step.  Rozeboom may have had 100 tackles (speculating) but initial contact was 2-3 yards on the defensive side of the ball.  Luke's 100 tackles were made 1-2 yards from the LOS.  Over the course of a year, Luke was much more productive (more fumbles, fewer long gainers, more OL penalties, fewer first downs, etc) that Rozeboom, but on the stat sheet, they both had 100 tackles.  In fact, Rozeboom's inefficiency kept him on the field more (more first downs, fewer OL penalties, turnovers, and punts) so he should have MORE tackles.   I would like to see stats that break down those things.  

For example again, Josh Norman was slow--4.68 or so at CB.  However, his anticipation speed was incredible.  He made as many plays as a 4.4 CB.  I had one coach (college--later became the head coach at WCU) tell me that slower players have to use their brains more to still be around.  Elite athletes can just get by on their physical superiority.  He added, "Rarely does a football player run full speed.  Most of the time, they are not, so the 40 time is misleading stat.  Smart players overcome shortcomings--when the elite athlete becomes average (slows with age, advances in level of competition) they struggle against smarter (football IQ) competition.  

[45catfan]

22 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

Draft position does not make one generational. If that were the case then every player taken first or second overall would be generational. That makes absolutely no sense.

Sure it does, maybe not every position and not every draft.  You have to admit the hit rate goes down the further in the draft you get.  Would you more readily find a generational talent at the #2 pick or #19 pick?  High picks are considered "busts" if they doesn't pan out, whereas guys drafted later don't have that level of scrutiny upon them.  Different expectation levels.  If Styles does indeed go #2, I already listed the rarefied air that he would be in.  Maybe he doesn't set the League on fire, but my gut feeling is he does.  Again, you don't take an off-ball LB #2 if he is just a 'really good' player.

[Swaggasaurus]

My Monroe Freeling pipedream is going to be over after today. You don’t get the best LT in the draft at pick 19. Fano’s measurements aren’t there and I don’t think the power is either. Maui and Freeling are the first two tackles off the board and it will be before 19.

[Jon Snow]

27 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

Sure it does, maybe not every position and not every draft.  You have to admit the hit rate goes down the further in the draft you get.  Would you more readily find a generational talent at the #2 pick or #19 pick?  High picks are considered "busts" if they doesn't pan out, whereas guys drafted later don't have that level of scrutiny upon them.  Different expectation levels.  If Styles does indeed go #2, I already listed the rarefied air that he would be in.  Maybe he doesn't set the League on fire, but my gut feeling is he does.  Again, you don't take an off-ball LB #2 if he is just a 'really good' player.

I would be willing to go so far as saying he will not be the best LB in this draft. We shall see in a couple of years.

[Swaggasaurus]

2 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I would be willing to go so far as saying he will not be the best LB in this draft. We shall see in a couple of years.

He doesn’t have elite linebacker instincts or production. Former safety. Super athletic. This is Thomas Davis/Navarro Bowman not Willis/Kuechly. They ain’t tricking me out my spot with this hype.