Mere mortals spent the weekend running errands, going out with friends, sleeping in, and maybe enjoying a little downtime from work. For those looking to make a living playing defense in the National Football League, though, the stakes this past Saturday and Sunday were exponentially higher.
Defensive linemen and linebackers competed in their drills in Indianapolis on Day Three of the NFL Scouting Combine, while safeties and cornerbacks had to wait until the final day to show teams what they can do on the field. Representatives from Dallas were undoubtedly paying close attention, as the Cowboys’ defense in 2019 exposed several glaring weaknesses that need to be addressed heading into next season.
Here’s a quick look at who overperformed and who underdelivered in Indy.
Day 3 Winners
Isaiah Simmons, LB, Clemson
Simmons is sure to be one of the defensive darlings from the 2020 Combine, and with good reason. The Clemson junior torched the competition with 4.39-second 40-yard dash, even beating the combine times of noted speedsters Derwin James (Chargers safety, 2018) and Jalen Ramsey (Rams cornerback, 2016). And remember, he’s a linebacker. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow said that Simmons was the single biggest thing he had to worry about in the national championship game. High praise, indeed. the 2019 Butkus Award winner didn’t even participate in drills in Indianapolis, but his freakish workouts will make him a blazing-hot commodity out of the Day 3 position group.
Willie Gay Jr., LB, Mississippi State
Gay may have been something of an under-the-radar secret before Indianapolis, but his weekend work at the combine assured that it’s not just the hardcore draftniks who know his name now. His bench press, broad jump, vertical jump, and 40 scores were all Top 5 for linebackers, and he demonstrated notably quick feet during drills. If there’s knock, it’s off-the-field issues; Gay has admitted to cheating on a chemistry exam in 2019 and getting an 8-game suspension because of it. He also reportedly got into a physical altercation with his team’s quarterback late in the season. But his combine numbers will help some team decide he’s worth taking a chance on.
Neville Gallimore, DT, Oklahoma
Gallimore doesn’t move like a big man, but the 304-pounder ran the fastest 40 for a three-bill D-lineman since 2000. He went on to show incredible change of direction skills, impressive power, and quick feet every time he was asked. Gallimore was the top high school prospect coming out of Canada in 2015, and ended up leading the Sooners to a Big 12 championship as a college senior with a season that earned him third-team AP All-American honors.
Jabari Zuniga, DE, Florida
Zuniga is known to evaluators as a player who’s shown flashes of greatness, but couldn’t do it consistently. Last year, he played just five games for the Gators due to an ankle injury. The redshirt senior needed a great combine. He had it. With good speed, a position-best broad jump, and a solid vertical score, Zuniga put himself in a much better light by the end of Day Three.
Day 3 Losers
Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn
“Loser” is a harsh label to slap on the 2019 unanimous All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. But Brown has drawn early comparisons to NFL legends thus far, and his combine performance was just average at best. Some drills were legendarily poor; his 3-cone time was the fourth-worst in combine history. Of course, a subpar workout doesn’t make Brown a bust, but it could cause him to slip a bit in April’s draft and cost him some dollars on his rookie deal.
A.J. Epenesa, DE, Iowa
The junior had been a standout on the Hawkeyes defensive line since his freshman year, but his combine stood out in all the wrong ways. Once projected to be a first-round selection, the consensus now says his weekend’s lack of athleticism will drop Epenesa into the second round. There’s already talk of the 275-pounder needing to put on some weight in order to play at the pro level.
Day 4 Winners
C.J. Henderson, CB, Florida
The junior lit up the stopwatches in his 40-yard dash after impressing scouts with 20 reps in the bench press. He drilled well, too, showing off a nice catch radius. That will serve him well in the upcoming draft, since most of the concerns about Henderson are about his tacking abilities. They’re probably not serious enough to drop him out of the first round, though. And for some evaluators, it’s a nitpicky gripe about a true shutdown cover man who’ll be paid to do his best work to prevent catches, not clean up after them.
Jeremy Chinn, S, Southern Illinois
Chinn showed that the small-school guys can play, too. The safety’s broad jump was the second-best across all positions at the combine, and he wowed with most of his other drills, too. The Southern Illinois Saluki continued to attract big buzz following his invitation to the Senior Bowl. That could translate to a draft day leap for Chinn, of whom CBS Sports insider Jason La Confora says, “multiple teams… have a late-first/early-second grade on him.”
Jeffrey Okudah, CB, Ohio State
Okudah came in to the weekend as a near-lock to be one of the first players selected in April. His workouts did nothing to dampen that expectation, with excellent 40 times and vertical and broad jumps that were near the very top. The unanimous first-team All-American did go down awkwardly during a drill, though, and had to skip the rest of the Day Three events. The hit to his head/neck area isn’t expected to be much to worry about, but it cut short a superb combine performance.
Essang Bassey, CB, Wake Forest
The first thing most evaluators mention regarding Bassey is his lack of size. But during coverage drills, in Indianapolis, the Wake Forest product showed great hands and fluid movement that could well put the three-year college starter on track for a Day Two selection in April’s draft.
Day 4 Losers
Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State
Sharing the Buckeye secondary with Jeffrey Okudah is tough duty, but Arnette didn’t do much to shine on his own in Indy. After a wrist injury in college, he had returned to Ohio State for one more season in hopes of catapulting his draft stock, but a relatively slow (for his position) 40 time didn’t move him out of being projected Day Two pick.
Cameron Dantzler, CB, Mississippi State
Speed kills in the NFL, but the lack of it can also kill a prospect’s chances of grabbing a first- or second-round look. Dantzler was once projected as a Top 5 corner in the 2020 Draft, but a 4.64 time in the 40 is going to make that tough to achieve. That comes after he skipped the team’s bowl game specifically to prepare for the draft. He’s tall and physical, but teams won’t like the fact that he couldn’t turn on he jets when he needed to. Dantzler may fall as far as the third round now.
Xavier McKinney, S, Alabama
One of the Cowboys’ supposed top targets did not have a good weekend. The Crimson Tide junior came up limping at the end of his first 40-yard dash and had to withdraw from on-field drills. Still projected to be a first-round pick, McKinney will now have to wait until Alabama’s pro day to solidify his draft status.
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