NFL Combine: 3 winners and 3 losers on offense

With the first two days of the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine in the books, the prospective offensive draftees have completed their weigh-ins, interviews, testing and drills. NFL scouts and coaches have gotten their eyes on the draft class, and while most teams had their minds made up about the individual players, we do know that a good — or bad — combine can make teams go back and take a closer look at the film.

While testing isn’t the end-all, be-all means to judge a player, it can help get a new perspective on a player’s tape and usage in college.

With that said, here are three players who potentially raised their stock in Indianapolis this week, and three who may have seen their stock fall:

The winners

WR Chase Claypool, Notre Dame

Claypool came into this week with more questions than answers about his role in the NFL. A massive wide receiver in college, several NFL teams had asked Claypool to work out as a tight end. When in Mobile, Claypool told the Arrowhead Pride draft team that he’d “do whatever the team that drafted him needed him to do” when asked about making that transition.

This week, he showed not only is he a wide receiver, but he’s also a historically elite athlete at the position by posting a perfect 10 Relative Athletic Score, albeit without agility drills. Claypool’s size and speed could be an absolute matchup nightmare if he continues to develop his route tree but could make an immediate impact as a big slot receiver that can stretch the middle of the field.

With all due respect to an elite performance by Denzel Mims, Claypool had the best week of any wide receiver. Claypool not only proved his athleticism was top-notch but also proved that he deserves a fair shake at his natural position.

IOL Danny Pinter, Ball State

Coming into this week, Pinter was a likely Day 3 hopeful at offensive guard. Coming out of this week, he’s moving up draft boards quicker than his 4.91-second 40 time.

A former tight end prospect that struggled to keep weight off, the Ball State coaching staff moved Pinter to offensive tackle. Pinter retained his tight end movement skills — as evidenced by his elite 40-yard dash, short shuttle and three-cone times. This shows up in spades in his tape, effortlessly pulling into space and quickly climbing to the second level.

Pinter’s not the strongest lineman but has fantastic movement ability and explosion — key hallmarks of an Andy Reid offensive lineman. With Pinter showcasing his athleticism on the big stage, more than just the Chiefs may be lining up to take the Ball State product a lot earlier than they would’ve entering the week.

RB AJ Dillon, Boston College

Dillon was not a popular name amongst the draft community before his performance Friday night. Now he’s gaining strong comparisons to Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry.

Running a 4.53 40-yard dash at a dense 6 feet, 247 pounds is impressive enough, but a 41-inch vertical jump and 23 repetitions on the bench press back up his truly elite athletic profile. Dillon has fantastic vision as a running and was highly productive in college. Even though he has a lot of mileage on his legs, Dillon’s elite performance will surely make a team — maybe even the Titans — spend an earlier pick to attempt to replicate what Henry has done in his time in the league.

The losers

WR Jalen Reagor, Texas Christian

It’s hard to call Reagor a real “loser” in this process — he had elite explosiveness and an elite 40-yard dash time. However, the expectations for Reagor were so high that just having a “good” athletic profile could make his stock fall.

Reagor is a true deep threat that needs some seasoning to his route tree, but a player that would translate early with his deep speed. This week, he added some extra weight, which translated well to his bench press numbers and could help him to undertake the physical nature at the next level. Unfortunately, this meant he couldn’t achieve his expected 4.2-second 40-yard dash and drastically altered his short shuttle and three-cone times.

For a player that was going to need his athleticism to translate early, these numbers might make teams have second thoughts about spending a round one pick on Reagor — a la D.K. Metcalf last year. Reagor’s path to success in the NFL is still strong, and he’s got the support of our own Tyreek Hill in his transition to the league.

QB Jake Fromm, Georgia

While the majority of the athletic testing done by the quarterbacks at the combine is largely irrelevant, Fromm performed poorly. He measured under the dreaded 9-inch hand size as well, posing ball security questions at the next level.

Finally, Fromm struggled in the on-field drills. He missed multiple receivers — particularly in the fade drill — and looked labored when trying add velocity that other quarterbacks were hitting with ease. Fromm reportedly interviewed well and performed well on the whiteboard, proving he has a high football IQ. However, some early-round rumors about him may have been put to rest when comparing his arm talent to others in the class.

RB Zack Moss, Utah

Moss is a hot name connected to the Chiefs in the mid-rounds due to his good vision, exceptional contact balance and ability to catch passes out of the backfield. Unfortunately, he had a poor combine that begs questions about his ability at the next level.

His testing was largely poor. His 40-yard dash time was slow — even slower than Steve Spagnuolo’s average linebacker. His vertical jump was poor, raising questions about his explosiveness. Even his bench press was just average on the week.

Furthermore, Moss came up with yet another injury while testing — a major reason why he was falling to the mid-rounds to begin with. His inability to stay on the field has cost him dearly, as Dane Brugler once had him as the second-best running back in the 2019 draft behind Josh Jacobs. Unfortunately, Moss’ injury history and poor athleticism — likely due to the multitude of injuries sustained in his career — may just push him well into the later rounds of the 2020 draft.

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