Pre-Draft Discussion (Combine, Mock Drafts, Analysis, etc...)

Is it just me or is anyone else curious about some of our underwhelming bench scores. I assume that we have a killer strength program so it's kind of head scratcher that some of our fellas under perform here.

Re: Interesting Denver Post Comparison.-Derrick Henry-Von Miller

What a great comparison. Both are hosses.

CrimsonForce said:

Diminishing margin of returns after 20-25 reps. At that point the question is do you know the technique in order to leverage that strength. Additionally, functional/core strength is a lot more important than how many bench press reps one can do..

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I think the bench press challenge is better at spotting weakness than measuring strength. There is only so much good a bench press move can apply to football. Explosive power in the hips and stuff like that have a better application. I believe Bama'a strength program is designed for functional use not for impressing people at the combine.

bamaslammer said:

I think the bench press challenge is better at spotting weakness than measuring strength. There is only so much good a bench press move can apply to football. Explosive power in the hips and stuff like that have a better application. I believe Bama'a strength program is designed for functional use not for impressing people at the combine.

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I think the bolded above is true for most of the drills at the combine. They are looking to weed out stats that are out of the mean for a certain positions.

A guy with short arms and big chest may lift 12 inches where a guy with long arms and smaller chest may lift 15 inches. That makes a difference. Technique also matters.

Person A can make 25 reps at 225 with a max weight of 400lb. Person B can make 20 reps at 225 but max at 500lb. Which person is stronger?

Same person may make 25 reps one day and only 21 the next day. Was he stronger the first day or were circumstances or technique different?

Same stuff with 40 times. Person A runs a 4.5 40yd and a 11.0 100.
Person B runs a 4.7 40yd and a 10.7 100. Who is faster?
Some teams may value certain split times different than others.

22 Bench + 33" Length = Killer Stiff Arm

Cyrus' first unofficial 40 time is a 4.48.

RTR91 said:

Cyrus' first unofficial 40 time is a 4.48.

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Just ran an unofficial 4.44 on his second run.

CrimsonForce said:

Saw an interesting factoid today: "The average 40-yard dash time of the WR's at the 2016 combine was 4.56 seconds. That's the slowest average time for WR at a combine in the 11 years of full combine data." Is this just an anomaly or is there something going on in college football that is pulling the faster players away from playing WR..

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Just a weak WR class this year regarding speed, at least, if not overall.

CrimsonForce said:

Saw an interesting factoid today: "The average 40-yard dash time of the WR's at the 2016 combine was 4.56 seconds. That's the slowest average time for WR at a combine in the 11 years of full combine data." Is this just an anomaly or is there something going on in college football that is pulling the faster players away from playing WR..

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uafan4life said:

Just a weak WR class this year regarding speed, at least, if not overall.

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It was actually tied for the slowest class w/2011. It featured Julio Jones and AJ Green. Not saying this class has a Julio or AJ, but 40 times are fairly overrated.

Running in pads isn't sprinting like at the combine, and it also shows no bearing on route running ability, hands, or separation abilities.

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Here's NFL Network's Bucky Brooks' most recent mock draft. He has 4 Alabama players drafted in the first round.

RTR91 said:

Here's NFL Network's Bucky Brooks' most recent mock draft. He has 4 Alabama players drafted in the first round.

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I saw one today from a SI writer and he had 3 Bama players in the 1st round. Ragland, A'Shawn and Kelley. No Reed or DH. Surprised he did not have Reed in the 1st.

Ragland, Reed, Robinson should be gone in 1st round from what I've seen. Kelly and Henry could go in 1st, but most likely in 2nd... who knows.

I see some projections that show Reed's stock has dropped. Some speculate that he may have already hit his ceiling and doesn't show the growth potential of A'Shawn. I'm not skilled enough to know whether it's hogwash or not.

CrimsonForce said:

I like the projection of Derrick Henry to Broncos at the end of round 1. I wonder who will be the QB for the Broncos next year? Either way Henry could be a monster in that scheme..

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Broncos QB will be Brock Osweiler. He started a big chunk of the season this year, and has the team behind him already.

I've said it several times, Henry lands in Seattle, Denver, or Dallas. I think it's a guarantee he lands in one of the three.

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Matt0424 said:

Broncos QB will be Brock Osweiler. He started a big chunk of the season this year, and has the team behind him already.

I've said it several times, Henry lands in Seattle, Denver, or Dallas. I think it's a guarantee he lands in one of the three.

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The problem is that both the Broncos and the steelers were in position to take lacy and were in both of desperate need for a running back but chose monte ball and bell instead. John elway is more a free agent type gm and he isn't exactly one that I would consider a draft strategist. He is one of the main reasons that the patriots are able to reload every year with draft steals. Seahawks are interesting because Pete Carroll has the ability pick who he wants without the gm' approval so it's hard to tell what he is thinking.