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(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Zack Follett, Anthony Felder, Worrell Williams, and Rulon Davis completed their time at the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine on Monday, and from everything that I was able to see, they did what they came to Indianapolis to do - make a case for a job in the NFL.
I don't have all of the stats, for some reason the NFL is being hush-hush with them. In fact, I haven't found them in full context anywhere as of yet, but when I do I will point you to them.
I wasn't able to get much on Rulon Davis as of yet. He's not ranked in the top of any of the drills for his position, but that means very little this year. There are 53 men in his grouping, which is quite a bit considering that there were only 26 linebackers, three of which were California Bears.
As a defensive end, Davis would be expected to run the forty somewhere around 4.85 seconds. The top ten defensive linemen ran the forty in 4.87 seconds or less. Davis ran it in 4.94. That's not a bad time considering that Davis is considered a run-stopping defensive end that will probably play on the left side of the line - the side that plays against the larger, stronger right tackle.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get Davis' bench press numbers, which are important. The top ten starts at 30 repetitions of 225 lbs, which Davis is not a part of. A defensive end is expected to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 24.
Zack Follett did make the list in a couple of categories for linebackers. An outside linebacker is expected to run the forty in 4.7 seconds while an inside linebacker is expected to run it in 4.8 seconds. Follett ran it in an official 4.75 seconds that ranks him ninth amongst the linebackers. Anthony Felder (OLB) ran the forty in 4.76 seconds, and Worrell Williams (ILB) ran it in 4.81 seconds. All three times are good enough to keep them on the board, and possibly move them up on some.
Follett definitely improved his chances. Everybody knows the guy can play and that he has the immeasurables that only show up on tape, but he also proved that he has some athleticism as well. His vertical jump of 37" tied with two others for first amongst the linebackers. When running the drills, he wasn't the most athletic backer, but he wasn't bad either. Rumor has it that Follett won't stay on the draft board past the Chicago Bears' third-round pick.
Williams stood out as well. First and foremost, he looked like the stockiest linebacker on the field. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise since he's 5'11" and 240 lbs, but he was with all of the other linebackers and still looked like he was walking on tree trunks, and not in a bad way either. He stood out in the vertical jump as well, tying with three others for seventh with a 35" leap. When it came to drills, he looked athletic and capable of manning the middle for someone. The biggest problem for Williams is that he's in a position that NFL teams don't normally stock up on.
Felder is the smallest looking Cal linebacker at the combine, but he was the strongest when it came to the bench press. He put up 225 lbs 28 times, ranking him fourth out of all of the linebackers. There were two lesser-known linebackers that were pretty impressive at the combine and one of them was Felder (the other was little-used USC linebacker Kaluka Maiava). During the drills, Felder looked to have the most fluid hips of all of the Cal linebackers. Even more impressive, he also seemed to have a great ability at making quick bursts when changing directions. It would be surprising if he didn't move up on draft boards.
Until all of the numbers come in, we won't be able to give you a clear picture of the type of success these former Bears had at the combine. From what I watched, and the numbers we have, it looks as though none of them hurt their NFL Draft chances.
We'll update you when we have more!
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