NFL combine QB recap: Tyler Bray rises, Geno Smith holds steady
 

NFL combine QB recap: Tyler Bray rises, Geno Smith holds steady

INDIANAPOLIS — The 2013 NFL Draft quarterback class is ripe for someone, really anyone, to step up and take the reins as the lead prospect.

One of the players in the mix to potentially do that, Matt Barkley, was one of three quarterbacks invited to the scouting combine that did not participate in drills because of an injury (Zac Dysert and Sean Renfree being the others). Barkley’s absence left a host of other contenders hoping to close the gap on West Virginia’s Geno Smith, currently a general-consensus pick as the No. 1 QB available.

The QB group worked through its on-field drills on Sunday, two days after meeting with the media. A quick look at how some of the top participating quarterbacks fared this weekend, and what it might mean going forward:

Geno Smith, West Virginia
Height: 6-2 … Weight: 218 … 40 time: 4.59 … Vertical jump: 33.5 inches

If you needed any further proof that there is no RGIII in this year’s QB class, Smith running the best 40-yard-dash at this position should do it. But for Smith, his 4.59 40 should help convince teams that he can get out of the pocket and make plays, even if he’s not an option-offense prospect.

On the flip, however, Day 4 of the combine wrapped without any real sense that any QB had separated himself from the rest. All the throws were there for the West Virginia product, but his inability to really run away and hide from the rest of the class certainly will not help his case for the No. 1 overall selection.

Ryan Nassib, Syracuse
Height: 6-2 … Weight: 227 … 40 time: 5.06 … Vertical jump: 28.5 inches

Nassib’s low-end 40 time (unofficially 5.06, better than only Landry Jones at quarterback) proofed what his college tape showed and what he told the media here Friday: He’s not a speed QB.

“I’m not much of a runner by trade like some other guys,” Nassib said, when asked if he could run the zone-read.

As a pocket passer, though, Nassib did nothing to hurt his stock during Sunday’s workout. The knocks on Nassib include that he lets his mechanics slip and occasionally floats passes downfield. But in the controlled combine environment, he was able to flash a strong, accurate arm. Nassib is a more athletic QB than he showed in the 40, too, so don’t expect his 5.06 to hurt him too much.

Mike Glennon, N.C. State
Height: 6-7 … Weight: 225 … 40 time: 4.94 … Vertical jump: 26.5 inches

Right now, Glennon is a sort of take-what-you-get prospect for NFL teams. He did manage to come in under 5.0 seconds unofficially in the 40, topping Nassib, Tyler Bray and Jones, but he’s simply a tall, gangly QB with room to grow both physically and as a passer.

There’s no denying that he has a strong arm — one of the strongest in the draft. Is that enough to convince NFL teams to overlook his downsides? Maybe, but Sunday likely will not go down as his distinguishing moment.

Tyler Bray, Tennessee
Height: 6-6 … Weight: 232 … 40 time: … Vertical jump: DNP

Say hello to your high-riser at the QB position out of the combine. Bray weighed in at 232, up a whopping 24 pounds from his final game at Tennessee. Like Glennon and Nassib, he’s far from a burner or an option guy, so his high 40 time shouldn’t hinder him too much.

And that’s especially true because Bray zinged the ball (and did so accurately) during drills. There’s definitely room for quarterbacks to rise and fall between now and the draft, and Bray’s weekend work has him trending in the right direction.

Tyler Wilson, Arkansas
Height: 6-2 … Weight: 215 … 40 time: 4.94 … Vertical jump: 28.5 inches

Wilson was middle of the road in most of Sunday’s drills. That’s an improvement from a couple days ago, when Wilson measured in alongside Colby Cameron and Matt Scott as the smallest QB prospects here (6-2) and stood alone with the smallest hands (8 3/4). The latter could be an issue for a lot of teams — small hands are believed to translate to a weak grip on the football and, thus, fumbles and/or passes that tend to wobble.

Wilson still has work to do as a passer, where his footwork tends to desert him. He did not make any glaring mistakes Sunday.

E.J. Manuel, Florida State
Height: 6-4 … Weight: 237 … 40 time: 4.65 … Vertical jump: 34 inches

Manuel said Friday, “I definitely feel I’m the best quarterback in this class.” Even though that may not wind up being true, Manuel continues to look more and more like a definite Day 2 option for teams hoping to develop a quarterback. Manuel finished second to Smith in the 40, but he measured in with the biggest hands of any QB (10 3/8 inches), put up the top vertical jump and posted the second-best broad jump (9 feet, 10 inches).

He’s an athlete with a nice arm, plus might be capable of running at least a little read-option. All of that could combine to drive Manuel up the draft board.

Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Height: 6-4 … Weight: 225 … 40 time: 5.11 … Vertical jump: 31 inches

Jones timed in as the slowest of the quarterbacks who participated Sunday, with a 5.11. That’s only so important for a pocket guy like Jones, but it does further the perception that Jones’ all-around game is tolerable yet underwhelming. Jones appeared to have a fine day throwing the football — hitting his spots when able to set and fire has never been his bugaboo, though.

Makes sense. Everyone already knew Geno was the #1 QB in the draft. The question was just if it was worth a top overall pick. And Most still say no.

EJ Manuel will end up being a steal if he drops to the third.

I prefer the NFL.com article though;

http://www.nfl.com/combine/story/0ap...ins-status-quo


They also list Matt Scott as a sleeper. A guy Jaguars have been looking at due to our QB coach's familiarity.

Tyler Bray won't be rising anywhere. He'll stay right where he is. 2nd on the Jags draft board.

Jags are not drafting a poor man's Gabbert. Actually. I don't even think Bray's football IQ brings him to that level.

This is in direct contradiction to what I saw yesterday regarding Wilson. He was crap. Complete and utter crap. I don't know if they didn't show us everything but from what I saw, I wouldn't draft him any higher than 4th.

Bray was impressive and I wouldn't be surprised to see him rise into the second round. Nassib was unimpressive and I don't even think they showed Scott in throwing drills.

I know you were waiting for the combine Dane, wondering you're thoughts now.


Also, have some baby related questions to throw your way.

Yes they did.

I'll have to go back and watch it later tonight. I saw him run but I guess I missed him throwing.

who was I arguing with about how much weight Tyler Bray would gain between the end of his season and the combine?

Ka-boom.

Hope I am as accurate with other predictions as I was with that one. It would mean Geno Smith is a Chief.

I think it depends on who you recognize. It felt like a 1 hour James Vandy show to me.

Why does everyone want to turn Geno into an option offense QB?

You know the answer to this question.

I do and it sickens me nobody has called the NFL out on it yet.

Yes. It's an inconvenient truth. Maybe he can just switch appearances with Sam Bradford for a few weeks. Needs to go see the guys that did this...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p3paF1tASh...f_ver6_xlg.jpg

Yup.

Geno couldn't be an option quarterback because he ran a 4.59, but Cam Newton is an option quarterback and ran a 4.59. Got it.

How how the **** did Geno NOT distance himself from the field? He was the best at EVERYTHING except he was second in vertical jump. He dominated the combine.

Geno Smith combine numbers:

4.59 40 (exactly the same as Andrew Luck and Cam Newton)

10' 4" broad (best out of everyone at the combine the last two years...again, same distance Andrew Luck jumped last year)

33.5" vertical (second to EJ Manuel in the position group)

Bray is basically the Joe Flacco of this draft class IMO.

If he gets his shit together, he'll be a badass mother****ing QB.

He reminds me of Cutler.

Lol, I've watched most of Gabbert's games in college and pro and I think you have your analogy backwards. Neither one is great, but Bray is a better pro prospect than Gabbert.

We need Whitlock to do a column about it.

I would have liked to have known what Geno's time was in the 3 cone and 20-yard shuttle.

But his broad jump and vertical jump were only 2 inches shorter than Cam Newton's.

Eugene Geno Smith ‏@GenoSmith_12

4.56 40, 10.4 broad jump, 34 inch vert. Yet none of this defines me as a QB! The game is won between the ears, study the tape!

Someone needs to tweet Andrew Lucks numbers from last years combine to him...and Cam Newtons from the year before when he "destroyed the combine"

What the **** is wrong with he media?

Do they just not want a stud quarterback in Kansas City?

That article may as well written its conclusions before the combine.

"Geno Smith proved to be faster than everyone else and made all the throws....but did nothing to separate himself". Just exactly WTF else did you want him to do?

And any combine article that says that Tyler Wilson was anything other than complete crap isn't worth the bandwidth it took to post it. That's a litmus test takeaway from all of yesterday's reports: Did this person know enough about what he was watching to realize that Tyler Wilson looked like dogshit?

If not, then stop reading.

Though I agree that Bray looked decent, it's hard to say how good he looked because the group he was in was just absolute trash. He clearly stood out from the Colin Klein's of the field, but that wasn't saying much.

I wish he was in group 5 with Geno, Manuel, Scott and Wilson so we could've seen where he slotted in with those guys.

:bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :bravo:

Exactly. Mayock made similar statements yesterday. Yes, I saw the film that Mayock demonstrated as poor decisions. But with nearly 70% completion rate, isn't Smith allowed to make a few mistakes?

His comments were absurd. Either there's some kind of hidden secret about Geno Smith that no one in the media is sharing or they just can't seem to wrap their heads around the simple truth that Andrew Luck and RGIII are unique.

You're right: I'd only seen Bray one time on CBS in the past two years but I'd read plenty of reports about him and the player I saw didn't fit those descriptions or the single game that I saw. So, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions because I saw a strong-armed, confident, big QB and not a whiny, scrawny little bitch.

As for the risers, E.J. Manuel clearly stood out. I had mentioned sometime in October or so that I felt he was a 4th rounder with potential but he's getting better with each passing week and clearly helped himself the most with his Combine numbers and Senior Bowl play.

I think he's moved into the second round. While I think I prefer Smith and Barkley, I wouldn't be upset if the Chiefs selected Manuel because I believe that he has a very high ceiling.

And Andy Reid would likely develop him rather quickly.

DJ has actually brought me to the dark side on EJ Manuel. It's going to take some work, but he's intriguing.

:bravo: :bravo: :bravo:

I've come to like the idea of getting Manuel, mostly because it's better than most of the alternatives.

Mayock made all of those comments about Geno and then said he'd only watched 6 of his games.

Cam 40 = 4.59 High = 39" Broad = 136"

Luck 40 = 4.67 High = 36" Broad = 134"

Geno 40 = 4.59 High = 33.5 Broad = 134"

I dont have a twitter account

**** you, Mayock.

I heard he upset a few scouts by not getting them coffee.

ROFL

I've come to the conclusion Mayock is a complete idiot and NFL network is doing a disservice to its viewers with him spouting such nonsense.

He's black... Duh

Honestly its the stupidest thing ever.

Where's the Mayock video?

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Dude, they're analyizing QBs with Mike Tannenbaum and Scott Pioli right now.

"Disservice" is way, way too polite.

I think that if Bray lasts to our 2nd pick, we should take him.

It's about as close as we're getting to a premier chance at a QB in this draft, because we're sure as **** not taking Geno.

Good god after watching the video of Mayock he's a complete ****ing idiot!

Skipping Geno for Bray would be like passing go without collecting 200 dollars

**** off!

Never done by ANY QB in this league. **** off, Mayock.

He's a big project. You need a vet for a year or two before he'd be ready. He's not good at reading defenses and he really isn't accurate. He has two WRs that may go in round 1 yet they didn't put up phenomenal college #'s because Bray couldn't get them the ball consistently.

True dat. True dat. I honestly wonder who his QB coach was and if he ever taught him anything because I don't think he did. It looks like he left UT the way he came. A lot of times people don't take into account the QB coaches at these universities. Either way, the Bray train only has room for one and that's me. The rest of yall please hate on him. It soothes me. :p

Because he had a pretty darn good 40 time?

:facepalm:


"Kurt Warner would never make that throw". ROFL


As if Warner never made a mistake......they hold some of these guys to a mythical, unobtainable standard.

These guys are holding Geno to standards that no other quarterback has been held to th last 10 years.

The stuff Mayock found to use against Geno was ****ing ridiculous.

Then the VERY NEXT SENTENCE.....

**** right the hell off, Mayock. You don't get to cover all your bases and have it both ways. Either the guy is a franchise QB or he isn't. You just don't want to go back on your own word for whatever reason and proclaim Geno a legit NFL quarterback.

Geno Smith could cure cancer, and Mike Mayock would release a statment saying it's no big deal becasue we were only a few decades away from Biotech and Nanotech doing the exact same thing.

What a ****ing clam.

As I said before what Mayock said about Flacco

After the Senior Bowl " He's a second round prospect"

Then on draft day " Flacco is a 1st round guy with great upside."

I live bray. Bray at one or die.

I'm going to say this over and over and over again until it sinks in to everyone just how goddamn stupid it is:

Had the Kansas City Chiefs kept Kyle Orton, won 9 games and drafted at 20, Mike Mayock would've called Geno Smith a brilliant pick for a team that needs to upgrade on the Qb position had he somehow fallen to us at 20.

Instead, we got rid of him, had the worst QB situation in football and now Geno Smith is a bad pick.

So in summation:

1) If you have a mediocre QB that wins you a few games = take the best QB in the draft

2) If you have the shittiest starting QB in football that drags your team down to a 2-14 record = draft a !@#$ing left tackle.

Read that twice if you have to because that's exactly what every last one of these stupid mother****ers keep saying.

I am growing to hate them with the heat of 1,000 ****ing suns.

I think its ****ing reeruned that Mayock based everything about Geno on 6 ****ING GAMES.

Them at the combine says that "he flashed everything you want to see from a franchise quarterback" ...but doesn't move him up on the overall rankings.

AT MINIMUM Geno should have moved up 5-10 spots on everyones big board after that bad ass combine. He basically did the EXACT SAME THING ANDREW LUCK DID LAST YEAR.

If Geno were white, he would be the unanimous #1 overall pick.

The next week of back stepping from Mayock will be like GOLD.

"Well, I had a chance to watch the rest of this guys tape and he is starting to win me over...I saw some really promising things on tape.

If he has a strong proday, this kid should be cemented as the number one overall pick...as it sits, I now see him as a top 12 pick"

Whats hilarious is Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner making Mayock look like an idiot at the3 combine.

Geno holds steady at #1. Excellent.

Did always like Rich Eisen.

Bray has to wow teams during his interviews with the personnel evaluators. If he really impresses them he could go in the top 15 in the 1st round.

Exactly. Its like they were like "uh, Mike, this guy looks damn good...not sure what youre watching..."....then Geno came on set and all of them fell in love...

Warner flat out said he should be the #1 pick.

I wonder what the alterior motives are behind all the anti Geno stuff?

Mike Mayock is a ****ing idiot. He always has been and he always will be. He's no different than Kiper, McShay, or dozens of other pus bags that were failed scouts.

Go back and read his opinions on Robert Ayers and Aaron Curry.

He's a jenkem-huffing cretin.

I like Mayock...but I'll never forget him leading the way for Gabbert over Newton.

He whiffed on McCluster too. LMAO

He's no different than the charlatans on those call-in gambling hotlines who have three different scripts according to callers then claim that they hit on 80% of picks.

(If he goes 18) "Oh yeah, I had Geno Smith as a top 20 pick."
(If he goes #1) "It's obvious to me that Geno Smith separated himself as far and away the guy."
If he goes 12 and fails he's Christian Ponder and he was a reach
If he goes 17 and succeeds he's Joe Flacco (who was a reach at the time) and is a great value pick.

It's all done for the express purposes of revisionist history.

This is the most miserable draft season I can remember.

And we have the #1 pick. Only we could turn that into a curse.

What mod did you piss off now, Indignayshun?

Why do you guys even read this stuff. Anyone that says anything except, "Geno is a god and deserves to be the #1 pick in the draft" is a ****ing idiot. Plain and simple. You don't want opinions. You just want your obsession justified.

My favorite two QB prospects since the beginning of the college season this year have been Geno and Bray. This hasn't changed.

What gets me about Tyler Bray's draft stock is that I've read multiple 2014 NFL mock drafts that have Tyler Bray going #1 overall. This is when it was presumed that Bray would not enter draft until 2014. What makes this even more interesting is reading these people post how the draft class of 2014 will be deep in terms of talent...and Bray is at the top of many of them. These same people, created mocks for 2013 and generally always make some sort of claim about the QB class being weak this year.

This doesn't add up... So Bray is a projected 2nd/3rd rounder in what is generally viewed by a bunch of dipshits as a WEAK QB class of 2013, but has simultaneously been projected by the SAME people as a number 1 overall pick in a draft class that they believe will be deep and talented?!?! Yeah, I know he has character concerns as of right now....but seriously, an extra college season to prove his lack of character concerns makes THAT big of a difference with him?! To go from a projected 2nd/3rd in a weak class to a 1st overall pick in a deep/talented class????

http://1000words1000days.com/wp-cont...GOB-ComeOn.jpg

Anybody that doesn't want Geno at the #1 pick IS an idiot.

That's not an obsession, that's the mother****ing truth.

:bravo::bravo::bravo::bravo:

BUTTHASH!

Geno 2012 stats

SEASON
2012

CMP 369

ATT 518

YDS 4205

CMP% 71.2

YPA 8.12

LNG 87

TD 42

INT 6

Sack 19

QB Rating 163.9

Tell me what franchise changing player is available at #1.

No, we just want Geno.

It is stupid to compare any other QB's 40 time to RG3; that kid has legit Olympic sprinter speed. Just because Geno is black & has a big arm does not equate to "the next RG3/Donovan/Vick/Cunningham/Culpepper..."

Well, Luke Joeckel of course.

Great franchises are built around the left tackle, duh.

Actually, I think he compares favorably to McNabb and Culpepper, his arm and accuracy are both better.

The comparisons to RG3, as you said, are absurd.

Honey Badger don't care.And Honey Badger don't bench.And that 4.43 isn't going to make anyone forget he only put 225 up 4 times.
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) February 26, 2013

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ROFL

Honey Badger don't care.

And Honey Badger don't get drafted either.