337 players were invited to the 2019 NFL Combine. Some that already have 1st round grades written all over them. Others have something to prove and raising their draft stock. And there are players that are being slept on and the NFL Combine could open people’s eyes and grab these player’s attention.
Today, we look at 6 players who are projected to get drafted, but have a chance to climb those boards with a really good combine showing.
Sutton Smith DE, Northern Illinois
If you took away his position and looked at just his height and weight, Sutton Smith would look like a really big RB or a good sized linebacker. Instead, the 6-1 237 LBS Defensive End has been wrecking havoc in the MAC and is the most slept on prospect in maybe the entire draft. According to my recent Mock Draft, I have him ranked as a late first round selection, but most websites have him somewhere in the 3rd or 4th round.
Smith is a 2 Time MAC Defensive Player Of The Year and has collected 56.5 TFL’s and 29 Sacks in the past 2 seasons. Smith is also a big time player in special teams as he blocked 2 kicks a year ago and returned one for a touchdown. It will be interesting to see how Smith runs and his athleticism compared to other prospects.
The knack against Smith was the lack of competition he was facing, but due to being undersized, Smith relies on his relentless effort and high motor he has. His speed is what overwhelms offensive lineman and is able to get him into the backfield. Sutton Smith’s Combine could be the difference in whether a team takes a chance on him in the first round or if some teams hesitate and wait to select him somewhere in the 2nd, 3rd, or possibly 4th round.
Jalen Hurd WR, Baylor
A lot of people judged the decision when Jalen Hurd decided to transfer from Tennessee to go play at Baylor. Hurd by many, was considered to be a first or second round pick as a Running Back, but instead transferred to play Wide Receiver.
Hurd was an All-SEC running back as he notably rushed for 1,285 Yards and 12 Touchdowns his Sophomore year. His production went down his Junior Year as he shared the load with Alvin Kamara. Hurd was very productive as the touchdowns aren’t glaring, his yards and first down conversions were crucial.
Jalen had 946 receiving Yards and 4 touchdowns, while also rushing for 203 more yards and adding 3 touchdowns on the ground. Hurd does have 4.4 speed, but doesn’t show a ton of explosiveness at wideout. The one thing he does present is strength as in almost every catch or run he has, he breaks one tackle and gets extra yardage.
He was a first down machine as he ranked in the Top 10 in First Downs according to PFF. Hurd’s intangibles at 6-4, 217 LBS. make him very interesting to scouts and watching him at the NFL combine will be a treat and should be interesting to see if he tears it up.
Rodney Anderson HB Oklahoma
Out of the 6 guys on this list, Anderson just might be the most well-known player as he dominated 2017, but 2018 didn’t go quite as planned. After very limited playing time in 2015 and a redshirt in 2016, Anderson exploded onto the scene rushing for 1,161 yards and 17 touchdowns. Anderson also caught for for 281 yards and caught 5 touchdowns.
Then disaster struck for the redshirt Junior in just his second game of 2018. In the 2nd game of the season on his 6th carry in that contest, it would also be his last of the season and tore his ACL, requiring him to hang it up for the year. Anderson would then decide to forego his senior season and enter the 2019 NFL Draft.
Anderson shows in his film the blend of explosiveness, versatility as a receiving back and speed that could keep around the league for a while. His ceiling is relatively high, but if he can’t recover from the ACL, then it could be all for not.
Amani Hooker CB, Iowa
There might be some hype around Hooker based off of the school he went to (not all), but Iowa products have been pretty successful over the past couple of seasons with postseason awards and putting Defensive Back’s in the NFL with guys like Josh Jackson and Kevin King. While guys like Jackson or King may have made strides in the special team games, Hooker is exclusively a DB.
After waiting his time his freshman year, Hooker had a solid Sophomore campaign where he posted 56 tackles, 2 interceptions, and a touchdown. His interception total doubled as he had 4 the next season and recorded 65 tackles.
Hooker in college was your typical nickel corner that doesn’t have amazing height and isn’t a true ballhawk. But he relies on open field tackles and being a really good run stopper to keep him making plays and racking up the highlights. If Nickel doesn’t work out, don’t be surprised if Hooker makes the switch to Safety at the next level. The Combine should get a good look on his athletic ability and where he is at from a speed perspective as he isn’t challenged much on deep passes.
Keenen Brown TE, Texas State
The story of Keenan Brown is an interesting one that not a lot of people knew about prior to the beginning of this article. Brown has a rare blend of size and speed that could make him very attractive to some NFL Scouts and a really good combine should help that.
Keenen Brown was playing for Oklahoma State, but recorded zero stats for the Cowboys. So for his Senior year, he decided to transfer to Texas State, where he recorded 577 yards and 5 touchdowns receiving wise. The tight end even had 75 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on the ground. He was named to the PFF First Team All-American and ranked 5th in the Sun Belt in receptions and in the Top 10 in Receiving Touchdowns and Receiving Yards.
Brown stands in at 6-3, 250 LBS. Brown has a chance to shoot himself up some draft boards with other established names in the draft at his position like the Iowa duo (Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson), Drew Sample, among others. He may end up being the fastest out of all of them, and speed seems to be the name of the game nowadays in the NFL. Brown’s got a chance to showcase that.
Joe Giles-Harris LB, Duke
JGH picked up a ton of speed and hype his freshman year when he broke through with a 100 tackle season and adding 2 pass deflections, an interception, and a fumble recovery. His Junior year showed a bit of a decline, but still a very impressive career for the Junior, who ended up being one of the best to play for Duke.
He finished with 107 tackles his freshman year and 125 his sophomore. He had 81 tackles and only 7 TFL’s, but still finished his career with big productive numbers (313 tackles, 32.5 TFL’s, and 8.5 sacks).
Similar to Hooker, I could see Giles-Harris playing some RUSH if he finds the team with the right scheme for him. He’s not a cover linebacker by any means and has really good size for a linebacker in the NFL. A bit undersized as a full time Defensive End, but could mold into a really solid NFL player. The NFL Combine will showcase his vertical and jumping ability to see how athletic he could be and whether moving to the outside of the Line is a possibility.
Image Credit: https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/oklahomas-rodney-anderson-out-for-the-season-with-knee-injury-declares-for-2019-nfl-draft/
