Let's start with the WRs and one mocked to the Panthers:
Live updates: 2014 NFL Scouting Combine Day 4 | cleveland.com
11:29 a.m.: While many people are gushing about Mike Evans and Brandon Cooks - rightfully so - I've been impressed with Kelvin Benjamin. He's already 23 years old, and has some baggage. One of the knocks on him was his hands. Today in the workouts, he was consistent catching the ball. I think it was a good day for him.
Now a small school prospect:
2014 NFL Scouting Combine: A Day Two Recap - The Falcoholic
Jeff Janis might be that guy. Coming out of D-II Saginaw Valley State, the 6-foot-3, 219-pound wideout had a monster day at the Combine. He's sort of built in the mold of a Jordy Nelson - a perimeter, possession type of guy - and he had an incredibly productive college career (eight 100-yard receiving games as a senior, including a 331-yard day).
More big names...
NFL Scouting Combine: Sunday winners and losers - Music City Miracles
Martavis Bryant WR, Clemson I wrote about this earlier, but Bryant looks big, fast, and athletic and he may be the player that has really risen above the rest of the pack.Mike Evans WR, TAMU Evans didn't break the 4.3 mark like he wanted (obviously) but he did look great all day, and he does such a great job catching the ball away from his body that it makes his huge frame even more important.
Brandin Cooks WR, Oregon State All day Cooks looked mean. Running with aggression, violent out of his breaks, and most impressive was that his motor just never seemed to stop. Cooks is a good player, though I'm not sure he can be a #1, and some team that needs a slot/#2 receiver will get great value with him.
Now the transcript from the Mayock recap:
Question: On who helped themselves the most and who took a step back in the first two days at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine:
Mayock: "I thought those three offensive tackles [Saturday] were spectacular; [Greg] Robinson from Auburn, [Jake] Matthews and [Taylor] Lewan. I thought they all had good days. [Xavier] Su’a-Filo from UCLA looked really good, [David] Yankey from Stanford looked good. …I thought the [Bishop] Sankey kid caught the ball well which I wanted to see him do. And I thought at the wide receiver position, Marqise Lee didn’t run as fast as I expected but he still is the kind of player I think he is; he just didn’t run as fast. I was really impressed with the [Texas] A&M kid and the day he had, Mike Evans; ran well, caught the ball extremely well…[Brandin] Cooks had a really good day, ran fast. He’s a kid I thought that kind of made a statement that, ‘I’m a first-round pick’ and this is one of the best wide receiver drafts I’ve ever seen, so that was significant."
Question: On Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans and Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin:
Mayock: "There are different ways to separate at the wide receiver position. You can separate with quickness, you can separate with speed, you can separate with route running and you can separate with body type. So when you look at the Texas A&M kid [Mike Evans] and the Florida State kid [Kelvin Benjamin], you’re talking about body type; 6’5-plus, 230-240 pounds. In today’s NFL with the advent of the back-shoulder fade, which I think has changed the whole way we’re drafting now, Benjamin and Evans are today’s NFL; outside the numbers, red zone, throw it up. In the old days, even 10,15 years ago, quarterbacks were taught if a corner or safety covered your guy in press coverage, you went to your second read. Now they’re taught to throw it at the back of his helmet. Mike Evans, he ran fast, he caught everything, he catches naturally. The Benjamin kid from Florida State is a similar body type; I thought he was a little more stiff today.
Question: On what Vanderbilt wide receiver Jordan Matthews’ performance on Sunday at the Combine did for his draft stock:
Mayock: "I don’t know. I made the comment today I thought at the Senior Bowl he struggled separating a little bit. To me, I thought he was about a 4.55 guy coming off the Senior Bowl. I liked his tape at Vandy because he’s the most productive wide receiver in SEC history and then he comes out today and runs 4.44. This is a crosscheck; don’t get too excited about guys running around in shorts, it’s a crosscheck. So that tells me and I have in my notes I have to go back and watch some more of the Matthews kid from Vandy because I’m not quite sure what he is yet."
Question: On how much LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham helped himself with his performance in the 40-yard dash:
Mayock: "I knew Beckham was going to run fast, and when you look at the two LSU wideouts Beckham is faster. I made the comment early I thought he might run 4.35 to 4.40, whereas Jarvis Landry would run 4.55. Now, I’m not sure which is the better football player but Beckham certainly helped himself with his speed, his smoothness. His route running is really, really good and I know the NFL people love him."