Things You'll Learn and Things You Won't From the Combine

1. The Quarterback debate will not change materially 

Expect Cam Newton to be the talk of the combine based on how well he will test physically.  His height, weight, speed and arm strength will be talked about at great length, but unless you’ve been living under a rock since September, you know he possesses all of these tools.  The big hurdle for Newton will be how he handles the personal interviews, the wonderlic test and all of the scrutiny over the next two months.  Blaine Gabbert is not throwing at the combine which I think is a huge mistake.  If he is hurt then it makes sense, but barring injury he should be throwing.  Nonetheless his stock won’t move much.  The two guys I think can gain the most are Ryan Mallet and Jake Locker.  If Mallet can dominate the interview process, he could jump Gabbert and if Locker can show improved accuracy, he could also improve his stock.  

             2.     The real change of pace backs will emerge

With the number of backfield committees on the rise in the NFL, teams will target speed backs as early as the 2^nd round.  We saw this last year with Dexter McCluster.  Guys who light the turf on fire will find themselves moving up a lot of teams’ draft boards, while the ones who don’t may end up as undrafted free-agents.  A guy I like to make some noise is Noel Divine.  His numbers have gone down as the talent around him has deteriorated, but he still has elite speed and great hands out of the backfield.  

             3.     There will be a lot of jockeying amongst the corners

If I’m confident in one thing this week it’s that Patrick Peterson will cement himself as the #1 ranked corner in the draft and a surefire top 5 pick.  While I still believe Prince Amukamara is the next best corner in the draft, he could see the gap between him and the rest of the field tighten if he fails to post a good 40-time.  Jimmy Smith, Aaron Williams and Brandon Harris are all lumped together.  A strong performance by any of these three could move them into the middle of the first round.

             4.     Von Miller will move into the top 5 of some mock drafts, even though he won’t be picked there

The hype around Von Miller reminds me of Vernon Gholston.  Ask Jets fans how that turned out.  Don’t get me wrong, I think Miller will be a good-to-great player in the NFL and likely will go in the first twelve to fifteen picks.  He will not go in the top 5.  There simply isn’t enough value to take him that high, especially when there are prospects who grade out higher than him at more logical positions.  Nonetheless he will blow up the combine and the hype train will continue rolling, right up until draft day.