NFL Draft 2015: Matt Miller's Pre-Free-Agency Scouting Notebook

The combine is in the books. Pro days are here, and free agency is just days away. What's happening in the world of the NFL draft? Let's get caught up.

The Scout's Report

— Who made the most money at the combine? In seven responses to the text I sent out, they all said UConn cornerback Byron Jones. His 12'3" broad jump is the best I've ever seen, but he also scored well in the vertical jump (44 ½"), three-cone drill (6.78 seconds), 20-yard-shuttle (3.94 seconds) and 60-yard shuttle (10.98 seconds). That's the type of performance that opens eyes.

— Missouri edge-rusher Shane Ray had a foot injury that kept him out of the combine (at the command of doctors; he wanted to perform, I'm told), but he'll do everything at his March 19 Missouri pro day. I'm told by sources close to Ray that he could realistically run in the 4.4 range.

— Cornerback Marcus Peters is a top-10 player on my board, but he comes with off-field questions. He'll work out at Washington's pro day (a good sign after being kicked out of school), and scouts in the room for his interviews at the combine told me he did very well. Expect Peters to make many official team visits to further clear up character concerns.

— How do you value Dorial Green-Beckham? I asked one general manager that question. "If you want to put your balls on the line for him, he's a top-10 player. I'm not ready to do that right now."

— Area scouts raved to me about how good La'el Collins looked at the combine. The LSU lineman was listed at 321 pounds during the season but weighed in at a svelte 305 at the combine. That's down slightly from 308 at the Senior Bowl.

— Marcus Peters is the clear-cut top cornerback in this class, but who is No. 2? Three team scouts told me Florida State's Ronald Darby is their second guy, while another two said it's Michigan State's Trae Waynes.

Five Up, Five Down

With the NFL Scouting Combine approaching, here's a look at five players moving up and five players moving down my board after extended film review.

5. CB Ronald Darby, Florida State

When you find a college cornerback who looks, moves and plays like a pro, you take note. Ronald Darby does that. He's fast, confident and physical, and college offenses routinely avoided his side of the field in the passing game. He's also built like an NFL cornerback at 5'11" and 193 pounds. Darby is one of the few cornerbacks in this class ready to step in and play right away.

4. CB Byron Jones, UConn

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

A great combine has folks talking about Byron Jones, but what does the film show? He only appeared in seven games in 2014 because of a shoulder injury, but when he was on the field, he showed up as a physical press cornerback with the size and speed to play on the boundary. We know he can jump out of the gym, but projecting that athleticism with the technique and instincts he shows on film makes Jones special.

3. T Jake Fisher, Oregon

Finding finished tackles in college is becoming harder thanks to spread offenses, and you wouldn't expect to find one at Oregon, but Jake Fisher is just that. Finished. His hand placement and control are rare, and he backs it up with a very fluid foundation of footwork and balance. He's also versatile enough to play right tackle, guard or left tackle and has experience all over the offensive line at Oregon. Fisher may not be as athletic as Kyle Long, but there are some similarities there.

2. WR Breshad Perriman, Central Florida

Few names are as hot in the draft world right now as Breshad Perriman. The son of former NFL wide receiver Brett Perriman, the younger receiver has top-flight athleticism and speed on film, showing he can run past coverage and make plays above the field. The question marks are a very raw route tree and inconsistent hands. Is he Stephen Hill or Demaryius Thomas? That's what teams are weighing now, but his upside is exciting.

1. LB Stephone Anthony, Clemson

Athletic linebackers with NFL size are rare in this draft class, but Clemson's Stephone Anthony has both. He also had one heck of a senior season followed up by an eye-opening Senior Bowl. Then he went to Indianapolis and wowed again with a 4.56 in the 40-yard dash at 6'3" and 243 pounds. That range and production on film has scouts excited.

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1. EDGE Markus Golden, Missouri

Missouri has become a factory for defensive linemen over the last decade, and Markus Golden definitely has the production to catch the eye of scouts. But does he have the athleticism to play at the next level? Golden's lack of burst is seen on film and showed up at the combine, too. He needs to bounce back with a better showing at the March 19 pro day to answer concerns about his lack of athleticism affecting his transition to the NFL.

2. EDGE Nate Orchard, Utah

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Nate Orchard was a favorite of mine in-season, and it's always dangerous to walk away from what you saw in-season, but something like a lack of agility and speed is a concern for an edge-rusher. It didn't keep Orchard from posting 18.5 sacks this year or wowing at the Senior Bowl, but his testing scores will cause me to go back and re-evaluate his tape, looking for weaknesses in his hips and burst.

3. G Arie Kouandjio, Alabama

Sometimes a name and a helmet do a lot to propel a player up boards early in the process. That looks to be the case for Alabama guard Arie Kouandjio, whose brother Cyrus was drafted by the Buffalo Bills last year. The college Kouandjio shows up as too stiff and not agile enough to play in a moving scheme in the NFL. If you want a pure power-blocker at guard, he can do the job, but don't ask him to get outside the tackle or move to the second level.

4. T Ereck Flowers, Miami (Florida)

I did an in-season report on Ereck Flowers and graded him as a second-rounder. Then some scouts I trust told me he was a top-25 player for them, so I went back to re-watch his tape against Nebraska and Florida State. What I saw was still a concern.

Flowers is a hulking presence, but he doesn't play with power or finish blocks. He moves well but doesn't use his hands to generate separation at the point of attack. Those are coachable issues, but his tape is full of holes.

5. S Chris Hackett, TCU

The 2015 safety class isn't a great one, which makes you start to look for players to fill in the gaps in the early parts of the draft. TCU's defense was great in 2014, and Chris Hackett was a big part of that. But on film, he doesn't show deep speed—he's much better coming up to play the ball—and that was echoed at the combine with a 4.81 time in the 40. None of the TCU defenders ran well in Indianapolis, so it can be taken with a grain of salt, but he has to run better than this at his pro day.

Scouting Report: D.J. Humphries, Florida

Throughout the 2014 draft season, one draft prospect will be highlighted each week with a first-look scouting report.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Tackle D.J. Humphries, Florida (6'5", 307 lbs)

Strengths

• A smooth, fluid, agile mover off the line of scrimmage.
• Has a quick, easy kick step and slide.
• Has the athleticism to reset and counter pass-rushing moves.
• Plays with a mean streak and is a finisher at the point of attack.
• Uses his length well to create separation with smart timing and angles.
• Foot and hand quickness work well in concert.
• A former top prep lineman with big upside in technique.
• Projects as an immediate starter at left tackle.
• A very physical player who is scheme-versatile.
• High-ceiling player with tons of potential ahead of him.

Weaknesses

• Never dominated at Florida.
• Was often asked to down-block, hasn't been on an island exclusively.
• Can oversell his length and get caught lunging to protect the corner.
• Boom-or-bust player who could be stronger in his lower body. 
   

Pro Player Comparison: Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys

The Big Board

With the NFL Scouting Combine closed, here is an updated look at my top 25 players as pro days get started.

Rank	Player	Pos.	College
1	Jameis Winston	QB	FSU
2	Leonard Williams	DL	USC
3	Kevin White	WR	West Virginia
4	Dante Fowler	EDGE	Florida
5	Amari Cooper	WR	Alabama
6	Marcus Peters	CB	Washington
7	Randy Gregory	EDGE	Nebraska
8	Brandon Scherff	G	Iowa
9	DeVante Parker	WR	Louisville
10	Todd Gurley	RB	Georgia
11	Marcus Mariota	QB	Oregon
12	Danny Shelton	NT	Washington
13	Shane Ray	EDGE	Missouri
14	Malcom Brown	DL	Texas
15	Arik Armstead	DL	Oregon
16	La'el Collins	T	LSU
17	Vic Beasley	EDGE	Clemson
18	Landon Collins	SS	Alabama
19	Alvin Dupree	EDGE	Kentucky
20	Shaq Thompson	LB	Washington
21	Jaelen Strong	WR	Arizona State
22	Cedric Ogbuehi	T	Texas A&M
23	D.J. Humphries	T	Florida
24	Eli Harold	EDGE	Virginia
25	Jalen Collins	CB	LSU

Parting Shots 

10. The scouting combine is a little overrated—especially now that TV cameras are in there and the network has to hype the event—but the 40-yard dash has significance for cornerbacks and wide receivers. Especially for cornerbacks. I want to see the speed to recover and attack the ball. A cornerback is at a disadvantage every step of the way in coverage, which is why raw speed is the only way to overcome bad technique. And flawless technique is super rare. If a cornerback can't run in the 4.6 range, he probably won't score well for me.

9. Much was made of the San Francisco 49ers only sending five coaches to the combine. I'm not worried about it. The 49ers sent their entire scouting staff, and they're the ones sitting in on interviews and workouts. The coaches in San Francisco won't have a major say in personnel now, so their presence isn't as important.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

8. Washington linebacker Shaq Thompson wants you to know he's a linebacker. He mentions it nearly every time he talks, and probably will until people let the idea of him playing running back or safety go. Once he's drafted, teams can do whatever they want with him, but you can bet Shaq knows the job of an NFL linebacker lasts longer than that of a running back and is higher-paying than that of a safety.

7. If the scouting combine times looked slow to you this year, it's because they were. Not only did the TCU players (Paul Dawson, Kevin White, Chris Hackett) run slow, but the running backs, tight ends and linebackers in this class all looked a step slower than normal. It's worth tracking to see if these times compare across the board when players run at their pro days. But only having one running back get below the 1.56-second 10-yard split is much lower than the seven running backs who met or broke that time in 2014.

6. 'Tis the season for player comparisons to be made, and here's my annual plea to consider that player comparisons don't mean the college player will have the same pro career, just that their styles or athleticism are similar. Comparing Brett Hundley to Ryan Tannehill is more about comparing their athleticism and Hundley's upside—it doesn't mean Hundley will become a starter. Context, with comparisons, is always important.

5. Much was made of the combine performances of Trae Waynes and Vic Beasley, but how about what Kentucky edge player Bud Dupree did?

www.mockdraftable.com

That's a great day for the star SEC pass-rusher, and it cements his status as a top-20 player in this class.

4. So many people want to compare Dante Fowler to Khalil Mack this year...but that seems dangerous. Fowler is a great prospect, but Mack is a different kind of player (more of a linebacker than edge-rusher) and, in my eyes, was more dominant as a player. What Mack did against Ohio State in 2013 is still one of the top performances I've seen a defensive player make since I began grading players in 2009. Fowler is good, but no one is ready to be compared to Mack in my book.

3. Need-based drafting. Everyone does it, but it's important to classify it. All NFL teams scout with needs in mind, so when they draft a wide receiver in the first round, they're really drafting the best player (highest grade) at a position of need. On the flip side, fans have to accept that teams can't just draft a wide receiver in the first round if there isn't a player of value on the board. A team's top need can't always be filled in Round 1.

2. If anything more needed to be said about the state of the quarterback class in the 2015 draft, consider that Josh McCown and Matt Cassel were just heavily sought-after as starting quarterback options in Cleveland and Buffalo, respectively. Outside of Jameis Winston, there is no Day 1 starting quarterback in this class. And outside of Winston and Marcus Mariota, there isn't a quarterback in this class with long-term starting potential.

1. What do NFL teams think of running backs? LeSean McCoy is one of the best running backs in football, and he was traded for a linebacker who missed all of 2014 with his second ACL injury, according to Adam Schefter and Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. Kiko Alonso is a heck of a football player, but his return is no sure thing. That McCoy was reportedly shipped off straight up for the linebacker tells you how Chip Kelly—and a lot of the NFL—views big contracts at running back.