Ndamukong Suh had an impressive day at the NFL
Combine. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Despite undoubtedly being one of the top picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, former Husker Ndamukong Suh felt as if he needed to prove all the hype surrounding him was truly legit. Many players who enter the draft and are expected to go fairly high will simply forgo the NFL Combine just to be safe so their stock doesn't drop by a poor performance. Suh decided to do the exact opposite and participate in the event in order to not only prove he's worthy of being considered one of the best, but to also attempt to show team's he's a no brainer at number one.
Unless the Rams pull a surprise and draft either quarterback Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen, it appears the battle for the top pick is between Suh and Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Just like Suh, McCoy decided to participate in the combine in order to put his potential and abilities on display in individual drills. Fans, coaches and scouts were able to focus in and see which of these two players was the most worthy of that first pick.
There's obviously a lot more to drafting than simply combine results, however if the goal of Suh and McCoy were to try and outshine each other, it appears as if Ndamukong Suh has won the battle. In the bench press (225 lbs.) Suh put up an impressive 32 reps while McCoy was a bit of a disappointment with a lackluster 23 reps. Then in the vertical jump (which is said to help measure the explosiveness of a player) Suh jumped an astounding 35.5 inches, a whole five inches more than McCoy.
Suh demonstrates his explosiveness with his
impressive vertical jump.
(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
While paying close attention to the experts commenting the combine, it seems as if scouts really enjoyed seeing how intense and serious Suh was throughout all the drills. On the other hand it was the opposite for McCoy which according to Sports Illustrated's Ross Tucker, didn't take the drills seriously enough which is something that disappointed scouts and coaches evaluating each player. McCoy did run a faster 40-yard dash in 4.96 seconds compared to Suh's 4.98, so the slightly heavier Suh didn't out do the OU defensive tackle in every event.
There are ton's of different aspects of a player's game scouts and GM's breakdown in order to decide who the best fit for their team is at the draft. Some believe the combine is a bit overrated and the results on the field is all that really matters. However if Suh and McCoy really were as neck and neck as reported, Suh's dominance at the combine could ultimately give him the boost he needs to become the clear cute overall number one draft pick in April. It's still a month and a half until the draft begins so it'll be interesting to see what the experts have to say about the Suh and McCoy battle. Either way these two appear to be on their way to stellar NFL careers and are likely to both go in the top three picks.
Comments