Some players’ combine numbers will have you looking harder at their games.
From Jalen Hurts to Denzel Mims to Mekhi Becton and about 100 other guys, combine testing on the plus side will have you going back to look and see if those athletic attributes transfer to the game tape. Sometimes they do; often they don’t. But this is when you cross-check and see if, for example, Utah receiver Javelin Guidry can be more than the speed guy he showed with a 4.29 40-yard dash. Or, whether Florida defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga’s 4.64 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3 and 264 pounds has you looking differently at the flashes he showed at times.
The message, as always? No matter who it is, and no matter what the numbers say, trust the tape. Athletic outliers are always interesting, but at a certain point, you’ve got to see a football player in there somewhere.