NFL Combine 2017: What to Watch for on Friday

The 2017 NFL Scouting Combine is already underway, but Friday is when things really start getting interesting.

Because it's time for the workouts to begin in earnest.

Actually, they sort of already did. Thursday, the offensive linemen and running backs participated in the bench press. Tackle Forrest Lamp of Western Kentucky and Oklahoma tailback Samaje Perine took full advantage and got their lift on.

USC tackle Zach Banner and Stanford tailback Christian McCaffrey, on the other hand, would probably like a do-over.

However, the action really gets rolling Friday. And I do mean rolling.

There will no doubt be plenty of attention paid to college football's best run- and pass-blockers. And, given the success Ezekiel Elliott enjoyed with the Dallas Cowboys last year, perhaps even more will be paid to the young running backs who burst through the holes paved by those linemen.

As we get ready for the first big day of workouts in Indianapolis, here's a look at what to watch for.

Top Tackles

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Offensive tackles might not get a lot of publicity, but, as the blindside protectors of the NFL's star quarterbacks, tackle is a position that carries a ton of importance.

There isn't a team in the NFL that isn't looking to get better on the edges of the offensive line.

However, this isn't the best year to be in the market for a high-end tackle. Only three received a first-round grade from Rob Rang and Dane Brugler at CBS Sports, and there isn't a presumptive No. 1 guy.

For Rang, it's Wisconsin's Ryan Ramczyk, a former Division III star he compared to Nate Solder of the New England Patriots.

"Ramczyk is not quite as tall as the 6'8" Patriots left tackle," Rang wrote, "but he is also a hulking presence with similar poise, balance and agility in protecting the edge."

However, there are concerns about Ramczyk's durability after hip surgery in January—surgery that will keep the 6'6", 310-pounder from working out in Indy besides a 25-rep effort in the bench press.

That could open the door for a player like Alabama's Cam Robinson to vault past Ramczyk.

Provided, as Chad Reuter of NFL.com pointed out, he can allay the skeptics who believe the 6'6", 322-pound Robinson would be best served by kicking inside.

"Robinson's foot quickness and mobility in drills, as well as timing in short shuttles, will be monitored by teams looking for a blindside protector," Reuter said. "If he displays only adequate foot quickness in Indy, it would confirm the feelings of scouts wanting to push Robinson inside to guard."

Bleacher Report NFL Analyst Brent Sobleski thinks a dark horse may emerge from Indy as the top tackle prospect in Utah's Garett Bolles.

"In a poor offensive tackle class, multiple prospects continue to jockey for the top spot," he said. "Utah's Garett Bolles is the most likely to emerge as the No. 1 tackle after he displays his tremendous athleticism during workouts and answers questions about his background during team interviews. His age (24 years old) is still a concern, but he presents the best overall combination of traits to be the first blocker selected in April's draft."

There's something of a precedent there. The tackle class in 2013 was a less-than-stellar group headlined by Luke Joeckel—until Central Michigan's Eric Fisher began climbing boards during draft season.

When draft day came, it was Fisher who was taken No. 1 overall.

At least two (and quite possibly more) of these young men will be drafted on Day 1, and none of them participated in Thursday's bench press. What happens on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium Friday could go a long way toward determining in what order that happens.

Other Tackles to Watch

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There's much more to see at the tackle position than just the big guns. Keep an eye of these youngsters as they try to make a big splash at the combine.

Zach Banner, USC

At 6'8" and 353 pounds, Southern Cal's Zach Banner is all about big splashes.

Actually, Banner is slim and trim now compared to where he was at USC. His weight ballooned up to nearly 400 pounds in college, but Banner was down to 361 at the Senior Bowl and told Ryan Mink of the Baltimore Ravens website that he's aware he needs to do a better job at maintaining his weight.

“I’ve grown up. I’ve turned myself into a man that understands that he’s going to lose money, going to lose a spot, get fired, if he doesn’t get control of it,” Banner said. “I’m going to take care of my weight. I’ll be in the 330s by the combine.”

Yeah...he didn't quite make that.

In addition to proving he can keep his weight down(-ish), if Banner wants to remain a tackle at the NFL level he needs to demonstrate to scouts that he also has the quickness to hold the edge.

All the power in the world isn't much help if defenders can just run around you.

Antonio Garcia, Troy

If Banner's the big man from the bigger school, Antonio Garcia of Troy is his polar opposite—the small-school star who weighed in at just 302 pounds in Indianapolis

Still, getting over 300 pounds can only help Garcia's cause after playing most of his collegiate career about 15 pounds lighter—too light for the tastes of many NFL clubs.

As ESPN's Ben Goessling wrote, Garcia needs to show he can add more weight without losing his impressive quickness:

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"He's a former high school basketball player with great footwork," Goessling said. "He's not the type of player you'd expect to step in and protect (the) blind side on Day 1, but his combination of size (6-foot-6) and quickness will attract attention from teams that believe they can develop him into a solid NFL starter."

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Garcia's (relative) speed and agility would appear a skill set well suited to the underwear Olympics, making him an excellent candidate to impress at the combine.

Julie'n Davenport, Bucknell

At 6'7" and 318 pounds, Bucknell tackle Julie’n Davenport looks like he was put together in a laboratory somewhere. His 36-inch arms were over an inch longer than any other tackle’s at the Senior Bowl in January.

At the combine, they actually measured at 36.5 inches—longest of all the tackles.

Those arms can be both a blessing and a curse, however. Scouts love that length, but Davenport managed only 17 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press Thursday (players with long arms often struggle in the drill).

That number they aren't going to like so much.

As Bucknell offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton told Ed Valentine of SB Nation, Davenport’s athleticism rivals his size and length. “There’s very few people on this earth walking around with his length and his athletic ability,” said Stapleton. “If you get a chance to sit down and watch him stretch and watch the positions he can put his body into you know you have something special.”

Davenport is a long way from a finished product as an offensive lineman. He isn’t going to come in and help an NFL team from Day 1. Still, the combine is an event that favors the agile and fleet of foot.

There’s little reason to think Davenport won’t be one of the stars of the first day of drills.

Top Guards

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There might not be a more underappreciated position in the National Football League than guard. They don’t get many endorsement deals. Precious few get big contracts.

But good luck running the ball inside or creating a pocket for your quarterback to step into if your team’s guards get blown back at the point of attack.

Guards also aren’t as highly valued on draft day as their counterparts at tackle. Last year, five tackles were selected on the draft’s first day. Only one guard (Stanford’s Joshua Garnett) joined them among the first 32 picks.

There are a pair of guards with a puncher’s chance of going in the first round this year. But to do so, both must answer questions in Indianapolis.

For Indiana’s Dan Feeney, it’s questions about whether he possesses the strength to be more than the zone blocker he was down the road in Bloomington.

Feeney didn't hurt his cause in Thursday's bench press, putting up a respectable (although admittedly not eye-popping) 26 reps of 225 pounds.

At least one AFC scout isn’t buying it, telling Lance Zierlein of NFL.com that he sees Feeney as a Day 3 pick.

"If he's a zone-only guard then what is his value? You can find those types of guards in the later rounds and not spend as much money on them,” the scout said. “If you think he's more than just a zone guard then he goes on the second day (Rounds 2-3). I wouldn't take him until the third day personally."

Western Kentucky’s Forrest Lamp, on the other hand, wasn’t a guard at all in college. However, given his relatively compact, 6'4", 309-pound frame, most scouts project Lamp as an interior lineman at the next level.

A really good interior lineman.

As Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times wrote, NFL Network’s Mike Mayock compared Lamp to arguably the best guard in the NFL.

“He had the best single offensive line game I’ve seen against Alabama in five years,” Mayock said. “He played left tackle there. I think he’s going to be a guard in the NFL, like a Zack Martin-type guard, that’s how good I think he is.”

Martin is also who Zierlein compared Lamp to, with an AFC executive telling Zierlein that he’s sold on Lamp before the combine even happens.

“He's the real deal,” the executive said. “If he can snap, you could get away with playing him all up and down the line. Great feet, strong, smart."

However, a high-ankle sprain cut Lamp’s Senior Bowl week short. He’s all systems go for Indianapolis and ranked second among all linemen with 34 reps in the bench press.

If that momentum carries over into Friday, look out.

Other Guards to Watch

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Much like at the tackle position, the general consensus is that this isn’t a great year to be in the market for a sure-fire starter at guard.

Of course, that doesn’t mean those players aren’t out there.

We just aren’t sure who they are yet.

Dorian Johnson, Pittsburgh

If there’s a guard out there who might bust his way past Lamp or Feeney, it’s Pitt’s Dorian Johnson, a thickly built 6'5", 300-pounder who was a four-year starter for the Panthers.

In fact, longtime NFL draft analyst Tony Pauline already has Johnson as the top-ranked interior lineman on his board.

“Johnson is a strong, nasty lineman who dominates opponents when he flips on the switch,” Pauline said. “He’s a better athlete than advertised and could line up in a variety of systems on Sundays. We expect Johnson to quickly break into a starting lineup as a rookie in the NFL.”

Like Lamp, Johnson’s time in Mobile was marred by an ankle ailment. The scouting combine offers him another opportunity to stake his claim to the title of top guard of 2017.

Nico Siragusa, USC

Siragusa isn’t related to Tony Siragusa, but, at 6'4" and 319 pounds, it isn’t hard to see why some might make that assumption.

What Siragusa is, however, is the proverbial "road-grader"—a powerful guard more than capable of blowing defenders off the line of scrimmage who peeled off 28 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press.

As Austin Gayle reported for Fox Sports, Siragusa is eager to show at the combine that his game is about more than just brute force.

“I’m athletic,” Siragusa said. “I may be big, but I still can move well and I can change direction well. I’m one of the most athletic guards in the class. No matter what, I’m going to beat the guy in front of me. I’m going to do whatever it takes to beat him because I want to win.”

Siragusa’s mission in Indy is to back that talk up. This isn’t to say that he’s going to be setting any records in the 40, but, for Siragusa to lock in as a Day 2 pick, he needs to demonstrate that smaller, quicker tackles (think Aaron Donald) won’t be able to blow right past him.

Jordan Morgan, Kutztown

It’s been 20 years since a player from Kutztown University was invited to the Senior Bowl. But that’s just the latest first for Jordan Morgan, the walking embodiment of the term "late bloomer."

A 6'3", 309-pound mauler who didn’t even play football until his senior year of high school, Morgan was both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference offensive player of the year and the Gene Upshaw Award winner as the top lineman in Division II.

Per Matt Lyon of CBS Philly, Morgan said in a recent radio interview he’s only just getting started:

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"I'd say around my sophomore year of college, as I started to become a better player, I started to realize that I could do some things that not just any other player could," he told KYW Newsradio. "From that point on, it became more of, 'OK, I really need to figure [out] how great I can be because I haven't seen a ceiling yet. I can do all these things in such a short amount of time that some guys who have been playing their whole life haven't even gotten to.' As I started to see that more, I started to become more excited, and that was pretty much my motivator throughout college in me developing my skill."

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Morgan remains very much the "project" type, but a big showing at the combine is going to leave teams that much more enamored with the raw material they’d have to work with.

Top Centers

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Center is a position of understated importance in the NFL. Centers are one of two players who touch the ball on every play, and it's the center who usually makes the blocking assignment calls along the offensive front.

However, just like at tackle and guard, this year's crop of centers isn't perceived as being especially strong. In fact, there's isn't a center in this year's class who is believed to have more than a slight chance of being selected in the first round.

The pool of talent looks even shallower when you consider that the player many view as the No. 1 prospect at the position, Ethan Pocic of LSU, might be moving to guard at the professional level.

The reason for the switch is the same as why Pocic finds himself ducking a lot. At 6'6" and 310 pounds, Pocic is tall for a center—really tall. That has led to some problems with being blown off the ball by power rushers at the point of attack in college.

However, while Pocic might be big for a center, he offers NFL teams the versatility to play all five spots on the offensive line. Pocic told Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post that, given the choice, he'd stay in the middle, but he's more than willing to go wherever he's needed.

“I’m most comfortable at center because I’ve played it most of my career, but I can adapt,” he said. “It’s obviously a plus for teams that I can play both. The only thing I’ve told them is I need more reps at guard if I’m going to play there. It’s been a while since I did anything other than center. It’s just timing and different techniques.”

This year's other top center prospect has already made such a move—albeit in reverse.

After starting his collegiate career at guard, Pat Elflein of Ohio State made the move to center—a move that paid off to the tune of being named the 2016 Rimington Trophy winner as the best center in college football.

Elflein isn't particularly big (6'3", 303 pounds) or particularly fast. But one AFC West scout told Lance Zierlein of NFL.com he wouldn't hesitate to add Elflein to his team's locker room.

"You are getting a guy who will be great for your locker room and will get the rest of the offensive line on board," the scout said. "I think he could have the same fast impact on a team's running game that Zach Martin had in Dallas. Safe draft pick to me."

A number of draftniks (including Zierlein) have drawn comparisons between Elflein and Travis Frederick of the Dallas Cowboys. Back in 2013, the Cowboys raised plenty of eyebrows when they made Frederick the 31st overall pick in the draft.

Now Frederick is considered one of the league's best centers. Elflein has a long way to go before he's mentioned with him again, but a strong combine from either of these young centers might lead to them joining Frederick as a "surprise" first-round choice.

Other Centers to Watch

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It's very possible no centers are selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. It wouldn't be a titanic shock if only one (or even none) were taken in Round 2. However, NFL offensive lines are littered with starters who were taken later in their respective drafts, so there's still plenty to see when the centers hit the field at Lucas Oil Stadium for workouts.

Kyle Fuller, Baylor

At first glance at least, Baylor's Kyle Fuller appears to have the size at 6'5" and 306 pounds that NFL teams are looking for from centers. He checked in at the combine with 34-inch arms—just the sort of wingspan scouts covet from interior linemen.

The problem, as one NFC scout told Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, is that in his opinion Fuller's performance doesn't match the package. "Other than his size, it's hard for me to find strengths," the scout said. "But when you look around the league at center play, size matters and it plays."

Now, one day of good workouts isn't going reverse reservations raised by hours and hours of tape. What it could do, however, is lead NFL teams to combine (see what I did there?) those workouts and Fuller's impressive measurables and tell themselves "we can work with that."

Tyler Orlosky, West Virginia

Just as there aren't really any can't-miss center prospects in this year's draft, there also aren't any true physical specimens. At 6'3" and 298 pounds, West Virginia center Tyler Orlosky didn't cause any ooh's and aah's at weigh-ins in Indianapolis.

As Dane Brugler reported for CBS Sports, Orlosky himself admitted that his quickess is far from otherworldly as well. "Being a center, especially in pass pro, you don't kick as much," Orlosky said. "So my athletic ability, getting back is something I can improve in order to take on more athletic rushers. It's something I feel I can do, but also something I can work on."

However, an AFC North scout told Brugler there's plenty to like in Orlosky's game. "I get excited when I can use words like 'nasty' and 'warrior' in my lineman reports, and both those words sum up No. 65," he said. "He might not be the best athlete or technician, but he has the awareness, aggressiveness and inner confidence required to get the job done." 

Nastiness and aggressiveness will be rather hard to display at the combine, at least without getting arrested. But, if Orlosky can demonstrate better-than-advertised quickness in Indy, he could push his way into the Day 2 conversation.

Jon Toth, Kentucky

Toth has a name fit for a Game of Thrones character and a 6'5" 307-pound frame that appears better suited for a tackle than a center in the NFL. Toth actually logged some time at tackle before settling in as a four-year starter for the Wildcats in the middle of the line.

Toth is making the most so far of his draft-season opportunities. First, Pro Football Focus gave him the highest grade of any lineman on the South squad at January's Senior Bowl. "He was easily the most impressive lineman on the South squad," they wrote, "flashing impressive athleticism on inside zone-rushing plays in particular."

Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller thinks Toth might carry that performance over to the combine.

"Athletically," Miller said, "he's lacking the twitch and burst of an elite lineman, but Toth is a good technician and has the leverage and angles to succeed as a center in the NFL if given time to work on his foot quickness before taking the field. His combine prep may include the needed work on a rope ladder that could boost his stock with strong workouts."

His bench performance didn't do much in the boosting department though—a pedestrian 18 reps at 225 pounds.

Top Running Backs

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The running back position has experienced something of a resurgence in recent NFL drafts. In each of the last two drafts, a tailback has been taken in the first 10 picks, and both of those rookie running backs (Todd Gurley of the Los Angeles Rams and Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys) enjoyed considerable success in their first NFL seasons.

The leading contender to join those young backs as a top-10 pick entering the combine was probably LSU's Leonard Fournette. However, Fournette checked in in Indianapolis at just over six feet and 240 pounds, kicking off whispers about his weight relative to his quickness.

As Jim Kleinpeter wrote for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman isn't worried about Fournette's waistline.

"Big running backs are nice," he said. "They tend to run people over better than 180-pound running backs. But this is a deep group, we know that. And it'll be interesting to see how the whole process plays out, because we're really just halfway through it. You've got to evaluate the film and get a picture of every individual running back. Then you talk about "fit" and then we go from there."

It's really quite simple. If Fournette runs well in the 40 and fares well in agility drills, those whispers are going to turn to gasps as teams watch a 240-pound back tear up the track. If that's the case, Fournette will be locked in as the No. 1 running back in this draft.

If he doesn't, then the door is going to open for Florida State's Dalvin Cook to run past Fournette and into the No. 1 slot among running backs.

It isn't an inconceivable notion. Both CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated listed Cook as the top backfield prospect in this class, with the former going so far as to compare Cook to all-time great Marshall Faulk.

"It is unfair to compare a college prospect to a Pro Football Hall of Famer," Dane Brugler wrote, "but stylistically the comp fits for Cook. Who knows what type of NFL resume Cook will accumulate and if it will come close to Faulk's storied career. But the on-field talent is similar from the size to the athleticism and the versatility to be an offensive weapon."

Cook's speed and agility aren't at all in question, and his is a skill set that lends itself quite well to the drills at the combine. It will be a major upset if the 5'10", 210-pound junior doesn't shine during Friday's drills. He already did in the bench press, racking up 22 reps at 225 pounds.

For Cook, the toughest test of the combine has likely already occurred. Cook had a number of off-the-field dust-ups in Tallahassee, including an incident with a BB gun and accusations of animal cruelty.

It's important to point out that Cook wasn't convicted of any wrongdoing, but, in today's atmosphere of heightened awareness in the NFL about behavior off the field, Cook was no doubt asked some very pointed questions during Wednesday and Thursday's interview sessions.

Other Running Backs to Watch

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This year's class at running back is the deepest we've seen in quite a while. I could easily do an entire article like this one just on that position and still not hit on every young back worth keeping an eye on at the combine.

With that said, here's a handful of young ball-carriers you definitely should watch.

James Conner, Pittsburgh

At 6'1" and 233 pounds, Conner told Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he's aware his 40 time will be closely scrutinized at the combine.

“I know a lot of people have been asking about my speed, so my 40-yard dash is going to be a big part of it,” he said. “But for me, really, I’ve done everything I can do. I’ve been working out hard, my film is out there. With my history, I’ve got to show teams I’m healthy and let God take care of the rest.”

That history Conner alluded to is his recovery from a torn ACL and Hodgkin's lymphoma, setbacks that derailed the collegiate career of the 2014 ACC Player of the Year.

If Conner can show he's 100 percent healthy and throws up solid numbers in workouts, his is a name that could be mentioned among the biggest "winners" of this year's combine.

Although, given everything he's been through, Conner has already won.

Christian McCaffrey, Stanford

Despite his tremendous numbers with the Cardinal, some doubters still view McCaffrey as a back who is neither exceptionally fast nor exceptionally powerful.

It's awfully hard to argue with the numbers the 5'11", 202-pounder put up at Stanford, though, nor does anyone question McCaffrey's abilities as both a runner and receiver. If he can post a solid 40 and good times in the agility drills, McCaffrey could sneak his way into the back end of the first round.

There isn't any one thing that McCaffrey does great, but he does just about everything (including returning kicks) really well. Given his versatility, McCaffrey could be a force in the NFL in the right offense.

He's got a little work to do, however. The bench press isn't the most important of drills for a young tailback, but McCaffrey's 10 reps of 225 pounds Thursday was the second-worst at the position.

Samaje Perine, Oklahoma

Teammate Joe Mixon's omission from the combine has garnered all the headlines, but one AFC scout advised Lance Zierlein of NFL.com not to overlook his bigger teammate. "I love Perine," the scout said. "Great kid, hard worker, reliable. He's a team-first player who will fit into a committee approach or can handle all the work. He will be a solid pro back."

Perine doesn't have to answer the questions in interviews that Mixon does. For the 5'11", 233-pound Perine, the answers will come in workouts—to the question of whether he has the speed to be more than a straight-ahead bulldozer at the professional level.

Power certainly isn't a question. In Thursday's bench press, Perine piled up 30 reps at 225 pounds—tops among all running backs.

Donnel Pumphrey, San Diego State

Pumphrey measured 5'8" at the combine and weighed in at 176 pounds. Neither of those is a misprint, and he's a good 20 pounds lighter than Darren Sproles of the Philadelphia Eagles—the patron saint of small running backs.

Pumphrey may be small, but he was wildly productive for the Aztecs as both a runner and receiver, and his wheels and athleticism should lend themselves to an excellent performance in speed and agility drills at the combine—the sort of performance that could have more than a few teams targeting the diminutive runner in the 2017 draft's middle rounds.

And yes, Pumphrey benched 225 pounds only five times Thursday. You try lifting 50 pounds more than your own weight that many times. Then get back to me.

Joe Williams, Utah

Williams, a 210-pound speedster who is expected to run in the 4.3s in Indy, left the Utes for a time this past season. However, he told Tom Pelissero of USA Today that he's dealt with the issues that led to his initial retirement (the death of his sister) and is eager to show NFL teams he has re-dedicated himself to the sport.

“What brought me to the decision was just how bad my mental health was going,” Williams said. "I took a lot of painkillers to mask the pain that I had from it, the stress that it was causing. And football just wasn’t a big enough outlet for that emotion.”