2020 NFL Combine measurements: QB Jordan Love has some big hands, Tua just cracks 6’0

The first group of players to arrive at the 2020 scouting combine are taking their measurements today. We start with the quarterbacks and their measurements. Here are the top prospects and their weigh-in results:

LSU QB Joe Burrow

Height: 6-3 4/8
Weight: 221
Hand: 9
Arm: 30 7/8
Wingspan: 74

Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa

Height: 6-0
Weight: 217
Hand: 10 (left), 9 7/8 (right)
Arm: 30 4/8
Wingspan: 75 2/8

Oregon QB Justin Herbert

Height: 6-6 2/8
Weight: 236
Hand: 10
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 78 7/8

Utah State QB Jordan Love

Height: 6-3 6/8
Weight: 224
Hand: 10 4/8
Arm: 32 5/8
Wingspan: 80

Washington QB Jacob Eason

Height: 6-5 7/8
Weight: 231
Hand: 9 4/8
Arm: 32 7/8
Wingspan: 79

Georgia QB Jake Fromm

Height: 6-1 7/8
Weight: 219
Hand: 8 7/8
Arm: 31 1/8
Wingspan: 75

Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts

Height: 6-1
Weight: 222
Hand: 9 6/8
Arm: 31 6/8
Wingspan: 77 5/8

The tallest QB in the group is Justin Herbert at 6-6 1/4″. The shortest is Tua Tagovailoa at just 6-0″.

The biggest hands belong to Jordan Love at 10 1/2″. The smallest hands are those of Jake Fromm at 8 7/8″.

These measurements used to matter a lot more than they do now as more and more quarterbacks in the league defy the conventional wisdom about how tall they are supposed to be or how big their hands need to be.

Last year Kyler Murray was selected number one overall despite measuring at 5-10, a full two inches shorter than Tua. Then, Murray went on to undeservingly be given the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Murray was thought to have small hands, and then he measured at 9 1/2″ which is bigger than Fromm (8 7/8″) and projected No.1 overall pick Joe Burrow (9″).

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Raiders select WR Jerry Jeudy at pick No. 12 in latest Draft Network mock

With the wide receivers reporting to the NFL Combine on Monday, there is starting to become a consensus at pick No. 12 for the Raiders. Not surprisingly, most mock drafts have the Raiders selecting wide receiver Jerry Jeudy with their first pick.

In the latest mock draft at The Draft Network, Joe Marino gave the Raiders the star Alabama receiver at pick No. 12. Take a look at why Marino believes Jeudy would be a perfect fit in the Raiders’ offense:

Jerry Jeudy is the type of receiving talent that is missing from the Raiders’ receiver corps’ to fully deploy Jon Gruden’s passing offense. An elite route-runner, Jeudy is dynamic in his ability to create separation and he is lethal after the catch. Gruden can restore the visions he had of Antonio Brown in his offense with the addition of Jeudy.

Jeudy measured in at the NFL Combine at 6’1, 193 pounds. He is expected to run in the low 4.4s in the 40-yard dash and has proven to be one of the best route runners in the entire class.

If the Raiders are searching for a proven, NFL-ready receiver with speed, Jeudy makes the most sense at pick No. 12. And given how he would fit with Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow, Jeudy has to be considered the favorite to be the team’s top pick in late April.

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Is LSU LB Patrick Queen a perfect fit for the Raiders at pick No. 19?

Entering the offseason, you can make a case that linebacker is the biggest position of need for the Raiders. The unit has lacked speed and athleticism for years and has cycled through several aging veterans to find quality play.

However, the team very well may get the chance to upgrade that position this year in the draft as there are a few first-round caliber linebackers that could be available at pick No. 19.

The player that is gaining the most steam in the first round is LSU’s Patrick Queen. After starting just 15 games in his college career, Queen was a full-time starter in 2019, tallying 85 tackles for the Tigers.

Queen had a huge playoff run for LSU, totaling 16 tackles and four tackles for a loss against Oklahoma and Clemson. Take a look at a few of Queen’s best plays against the Sooners from the semifinal round:

Here are some of LSU LB Patrick Queen's best plays vs. Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/qJZ2qP1z4R

— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) February 23, 2020

In a recent article by Dane Brugler of The Athletic, he ranked Queen as the No. 2 linebacker in the class, only behind potential top-five pick Isaiah Simmons. Take a look at Brugler’s thoughts on Queen and his fit in the NFL.

Overall, Queen doesn’t have an extensive resume, but he is an explosive run-and-hit linebacker with excellent mirror skills and the fluidity to turn and run in coverage, projecting as a high-upside NFL starter with every-down ability.

Queen is the perfect fit for the Raiders defense has he thrives running from sideline to sideline. While he may still need some seasoning, he is clearly an ascending player whose best football is still ahead of him. If Queen is available at pick No. 19, it would be a slam-dunk pick for the Raiders. Don’t be surprised if he even gets some buzz at pick No. 12 after the NFL Combine.

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NFL Scouting Combine 2020 schedule: Arrivals, workouts, drills, TV, press conferences, more

The first groups of NFL prospects start reporting to Indianapolis for the scouting combine Sunday, starting with tight ends, quarterbacks, and wide receivers. Each day another group of players arrive and start the process while the group that arrived the previous day will move onto the next phase. The week’s schedule for all prospects will go like this:

Day 1: Arrival, registration, orientation, interviews.
Day 2: Measurements/weigh-in, Pre-exam and X-rays, interviews
Day 3: Media, medical exams, position coach interview, psychological testing
Day 4: NFLPA meeting, bench press, interviews, psychological testing
Day 5: Limited testing, interviews, on-field workout,
Day 6: Departure

Tuesday begins head coach and GM press conferences with Mike Mayock speaking at 8:15 a.m. P.T. (11:15 E.T.). You can see the entire press conference schedule here.

The first day we see any players take the field for workouts is Thursday, February 27 and there will be four days of workouts lasting until Sunday, March 1.

On-field drills include the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle, and 60-yard shuttle along with position-specific drills. There are some new positions drills this year, which you can see here.

All times below are Pacific

NFL Scouting Combine schedule

Sunday, February 23

Group 1-3 (TE, QB, WR) arrival, check-in

Monday, February 24

Group 4-6 (PK, ST, OL, RB) arrival, check-in

Tuesday, February 25

Group 7-9 arrival (DL, LB) arrival, check-in

5am – 8am: Group 1-3 (QB, WR, TE) media interviews

8am – 1pm – HC, GM press conferences (Mike Mayock 8:15am)

Wednesday, February 26

Group 10-11 (DB) arrival, check-in

5 a.m. – 8 a.m. Group 4-6 (PK, ST, OL) media interviews

8:45am – 11am HC, GM press conferences

11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Bench press (QB, WR, TE)

Thursday, February 27

5 a.m. – 8 a.m. Group 7-9 (DL, LB) media interviews

11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Bench press (RB, OL, ST)

1 p.m. – 8 p.m. QB, WR, TE on-field workouts – LIVE, NFL Network (3-hour recap at 9 p.m.)

Friday, February 28

5am – 7am Group 10-11 (DB) media interviews

11:30am – 3:00pm Bench press (DL, LB)

1 p.m. – 8 p.m. RB, OL, ST on-field workouts– LIVE, NFL Network (3-hour recap at 9 p.m.)

Saturday, February 29

Noon – 3:00pm Bench press (DB)

1 p.m. – 8 p.m. DL, LB on-field workouts – LIVE, NFL Network (3-hour recap at 9 p.m.)

Sunday, March 1

11 a.m. – 4 p.m. DB on-field workouts.– LIVE, NFL Network (3-hour recap at 5 p.m.).

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Raiders GM Mike Mayock holding press conference at NFL Scouting Combine, Jon Gruden is not

There will be 50 total head coach and general manager press conferences held at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine this year. The Bills don’t seem to be on the schedule at all for some reason. That means of the league’s 32 teams, 19 of them will have both their head coach and their general manager. The Raiders won’t be one of them.

Mike Mayock will take to podium three on Tuesday at 11:15 a.m. E.T (8:15 A.M. P.T.) Meanwhile, the usually talkative Jon Gruden will be skipping the press conference portion this year.

Does not look like the #Bills are participating in the NFL Combine press conferences this year. pic.twitter.com/l7yYQ1W6Hb

— Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) February 21, 2020

Last year both Gruden and Mayock spoke at the combine. But it’s not vital that they both take the podium. No doubt, Gruden envisions the various ways media can ask him the same question about Derek Carr’s future to which he will have to say something to the effect that he isn’t going to address that at this time. And after the third or fourth attempt to get him to comment on it, he’ll get visibly irritated and start his next answer with “Look…” We can all picture it now and that will have to be enough for him not to participate any further.

Don’t worry though, Mayock will have to field the same questions. And hopefully, it will be televised so everyone can see his responses.

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Raiders grab Alabama CB Trevon Diggs in latest Touchdown Wire mock

For the most part, the mock drafts for the Raiders have looked about the same over the past two months. Typically, mock drafters give the Raiders a wide receiver at pick No. 12 (usually CeeDee Lamb or Jerry Judy) and then a linebacker at pick No. 19.

However, one position that hasn’t gotten enough attention from mock drafters is cornerback. The Raiders have just one reliable cornerback, and that is second-year defensive back Trayvon Mullen. Whether it be in free agency or through the draft, the Raiders need to add talent and depth to this position.

In a recent mock draft Doug Farrar of the Touchdown Wire, he mocked cornerback Trevon Diggs to the Raiders at pick No. 19. Take a look at what Farrar thinks about the player and the potential fit in Las Vegas:

Diggs, the younger brother of Vikings star receiver Stefon Diggs, also has a receiving background, which adds to his understanding in zone and match concepts, and he’s able to use his size (6-foot-2, 207 pounds) to affect routes off the line and high-point for interceptions and deflections. He’s not who you want trailing speed receivers down the seam, but he works well as a boundary guy in an embryonic Richard Sherman sense and can improve coverage in the short and intermediate passing game. Diggs is the kind of defender the Raiders need.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Diggs to Aqib Talib in his scouting profile, as he has the perfect blend of height, weight, and speed for an outside cornerback. If the Raiders can’t address cornerback in free agency, look for Diggs to be a potential option in the second half of the first round.

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Sweeping changes to 2020 NFL scouting combine format to turn it into made-for-TV event

You just knew it was headed this direction They say in the NFL there is no offseason and they are pushing as hard as they can to make that a reality. NFL fans are starved for content in the long offseason and the NFL is always trying to find ways to make more money. The draft had long since become a major TV event. The next target to meet the demands of both the NFL and its fans is the scouting combine.

What has long been seen as a necessary event for analyzing draft-eligible talent this year will be moving away from that and towards entertainment and TV ratings.

The major changes to the event revolve around the on-field events which are televised over a four-day period. Those events have always been held in the early part of the day and now will be moved to the late afternoon and evening. Better known as prime time.

It used to be NFL Network would simply show the combine footage live and then air it again later in the day for those who missed it the first time.

Events will also be changed to make them more viewer-friendly. An article in Sports Illustrated detailed some of the changes in events. As many as nine position-specific events will be swapped out for new ones. And to add timing to the drills to make them more competitive. All in the interest of the viewing audience. But there are also some practical changes that will be happening.

Some of the new drills include a smoke route for quarterbacks and wide receivers. A smoke route is a short route, a one-step hitch that is popular in run pass option plays which are now a staple of NFL offenses. The smoke route is usually used on the backside of a run play as a bail out for the quarterback when the run look isn’t there. This drill will also be timed, from the quarterback’s hands to the receiver’s hands.

A screen drill is new for offensive linemen this year, so evaluators can see their speed in blocking on screen plays. Offensive and defensive linemen used to do mirror drills where they would shadow another prospect who would mimic a lineman across the line of scrimmage and act as the “rabbit.” Foster said they have eliminated the rabbit in those drills this year because, “The rabbit doesn’t typically make those movements any other time, so why would we have him do it then? And then we have him turn around and do the drill, that is not reflective of today’s game.” A coach will signal change of direction instead.

For offensive and defensive linemen and tight ends, instead of squaring up to coaches holding bags in certain drills, they will push a sled for two-to-five yards.

For defensive linemen, the committee added a popular figure eight pass rush drill seen at pro days. The prospects will run a timed figure eight formation to show their bend and lean coming around the edge.

Moving all the events to later in the day means sacrificing some other parts of the combine. The main area that will change is the number of interviews each team will get. They were allowed up to 60 interviews with prospects and now that number will be 45.

Most NFL teams say they get the most from the medicals and interviews portion of the combine. The 15 fewer interviews at the combine will force some teams to get the info they need in other ways, such as the player’s pro day or at one of their 30 allowed visits to their facility.

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Raiders select Clemson WR Tee Higgins at No. 12 in latest Bleacher Report mock

If you’ve been following any of the mock drafts over the last two months, then you know which receivers are typically given to the Raiders at No. 12; Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy. However, there is another name that needs to be considered at that spot; Clemson’s Tee Higgins.

In a recent mock draft by Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, the Raiders grabbed Higgins at No. 12 after Jeudy and Lamb were selected inside of the top-10. While it may feel a tad early for Higgins, there is a decent chance he won’t be available when the Raiders pick again the first round.

Higgins is one of the biggest receivers in this draft class as he was listed at 6’4, 216 pounds. While his size suggests he’s just a possession receiver, that is far from the truth. In 2019, Higgins averaged nearly 20 yards per reception for the Tigers. He caught an incredible 73.8 percent of his targets and scored 25 touchdowns over the last two seasons.

In his recently debuted prospect rankings, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared Higgins to A.J. Green of the Bengals and graded him as one of the best wide receiver prospects in this class. Take a look at Zierlein’s thoughts on Higgins entering the NFL:

His size and “above the rim” talent make him a uniquely dangerous playmaker deep and in the red zone. The transition to NFL press corners will be an early challenge that could take some time to solve, but he’s an instinctive ball-winner whose traits should win out and make him a very good NFL starter.

While Higgins might not have the same speed and quickness as Green, their games are somewhat similar as they both can win anywhere on the field. If the Raiders are looking to add more size to their wide receiver corps to pair with Tyrell Williams and Hunter Renfrow, Higgins might be one of the best options in the first round.

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What condition the position is in: Assessing Raiders need at tight end ahead of free agency

Assessing Raiders need at tight end ahead of free agency

With just a month until free agency opens, we check in on the Raiders wide receiver position to give it a condition of either Strong, Stable, Unstable, Serious, or Critical.

Starters: Darren Waller, Foster Moreau

Backups: Derek Carrier

Free agents: Eric Tomlinson

Waller was the story of the Raiders last season. From his inspiring story of overcoming substance abuse that was detailed on HBO’s Hard Knocks to his outstanding season in which he put up the second-most receiving yards (1145) by any tight end in Raiders history.

Moreau was an under the radar pick in the fourth round rookie who showed himself to be more than just a blocking tight end. He had 25 catches for 147 yards and 5 touchdowns before being placed on injured reserve after week 14.

Carrier had 13 catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. That’s not much, but he’s the third option, so not much is expected. He is also proficient as a blocker.

Condition: Strong

Waller is a bonafide star at the tight end position. He would have gone to the Pro Bowl in as an alternate had he not had offseason thumb surgery. The team locked up the 27-year-old midway through the season on a long term deal.

Moreau is an ideal second tight end who has a solid all-around game. He and Waller have the makings of a great one-two punch for the next few years. The Raiders could probably upgrade from Carrier, but it isn’t vital. They could go into next season with this trio and be just fine. Another battle for that third tight end spot in camp should be plenty.

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2020 NFL mock draft: Add NFL.com’s Charley Casserly to growing list of those linking Jerry Jeudy to Raiders

Over the past couple weeks, the number of mock drafts that have had the Raiders taking Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy at No. 12 overall has grown considerably.

At one time, it was all about Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons. Then at some point, it shifted to Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb. But for whatever reason, the mocks seem to be falling toward Jeudy as the Raiders’ top pick.

Tuesday saw Mel Kiper put out his mock draft 2.0 and he changed his pick for the Raiders at 12 from CeeDee Lamb in his first mock draft back on January 24 to Jeudy. His ESPN cohort Todd McShay had Jeudy as the Raiders’ pick back on February 3, the day after the Super Bowl.

NFL.com’s Charley Casserly joined the mock draft fray today and his pick for the Raiders at 12 is also Jerry Jeudy.

Jeudy is a top-10 value who could fall because of teams in front having more pressing needs at other positions. But the Raiders could use a WR1. They could also go defense with this pick, though.

Casserly may have let the cat out of the bag on who he would be sending to the Raiders in his mock draft last week when he said that Jeudy was a must-watch at the combine for the Raiders who are clearly in a desperate need at the position.

Jeudy has electrified college football the past couple of seasons. He has caught 159 passes for 2742 yards (17.2 yards per catch), and 26 touchdowns.

Mike Mayock said earlier this offseason that adding speed on the outside was a top priority for the Raiders this offseason and Jeudy has plenty of that. If he lights up the 40-yard-dash at the combine, the Raiders may be sweating that he makes it to No. 12 overall.

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