Combine Notebook: Bradley Chubb Separates from the Pack

INDIANAPOLIS — Sunday at the NFL combine belonged to the Hog Mollies, edge-rushers and a new generation of hyper-athletic linebackers. And while Shaquem Griffin yet again stole the show with a dazzling performance in the 40-yard dash, it was Bradley Chubb who did the most to secure his NFL future.

Today's Combine Notebook looks at why Chubb did more than Griffin and Saquon Barkley to solidify his draft status this week. Plus...

• Josh Allen explains why he has put himself in some "weird positions" while preparing for the draft;

• Vita Vea nearly causes a natural disaster with his workout;

• We find out which team had the best combine week;

And much more!

How Bradley Chubb Won the Combine

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Shaquem Griffin was the most inspirational and electrifying player at this year's combine.

Saquon Barkley was the most dominant and impressive player at this year's combine.

But NC State pass-rusher Bradley Chubb had the best combine.

Chubb ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash Sunday, among the best for players at his position. He benched 24 reps, a fine result. His other splits and drills, including a 36-inch vertical jump and 121-inch broad jump that demonstrated his lower-body power and explosiveness, were excellent. It wasn't all superlatives—Chubb's cone drills were slower than expected—but Chubb did everything he had to do to confirm what evaluators will see in his game film.

His results lack the wow factor of Barkley's performance or Griffin's heroic, against-all-odds efforts. But the combine is not a television show or a track meet. Or, at least, it's not intended to be a television show or a track meet. It's a job interview where players cement their status as top draft picks. So doing well is great. Doing better than everyone else is better.

Chubb entered the combine as the best edge-rusher in his class by a wide margin. That margin is now even wider. Only Marcus Davenport (who beat Chubb with a 4.58-second 40) is in the same category as Chubb athletically, and Davenport is a developmental, small-program defender. Boston College's Harold Landry had a strong combine, but not strong enough to make him a challenger for a high first-round selection.

For teams that need pass-rushers, such as the Colts (picking third overall) or Buccaneers (seventh), Chubb is the lone sure thing. That gives him a professional edge over Barkley, who could still be passed over at the top of the first round by teams addressing harder-to-fill needs that know they can select almost-as-good running backs—including Chubb's cousin Nick—in the second or third rounds.

There is a lot of speculation that the Browns will select Barkley first overall. But the Browns need a quarterback, too, as do most of the other teams that could benefit from Barkley's services. Even after his superlative combine, Barkley's value is highly dependent on both the vast supply of running backs and typical quarterback shortage.

By extending his lead over all of the competition, Chubb doesn't have to worry about any of that stuff. And if the Browns do take a quarterback first and bank on Barkley being there when they pick again in the fourth spot, Chubb may well leave the board before the player whose performance made headlines at the start of the combine.

Barkley had the best numbers, Griffin the best moments. Chubb achieved the most separation. By April, that's all that will matter.

Vita Vea and Other Forces of Nature

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

A brief roundup of thoughts and impressions from Sunday's defensive drills.

• Washington defensive tackle Vita Vea may have solidified his top-10 draft status by running a thundering 5.10-second 40 at 347 pounds after recording 41 reps on the bench. Vea opted not to high-jump Sunday, which was wise, because individuals as massive as Vea generate so much gravity that Vea would pull the earth up with him as he leapt. That would make his vertical deceptively low, and probably also cause tidal waves or something.

• Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith (4.51-second 40) is what we think he is. Like running back Saquon Barkley and guard Quenton Nelson, Smith is a superlative prospect at a position teams simply do not value the way they did 20-30 years ago. There is no way he gets past the Raiders at No. 10, but it's hard to envision a team taking him before that, because so many teams have more pressing needs elsewhere.

• It's always important to match workout results with a player's size and expected role. Alabama defensive end Da'Shawn Hand ran a 4.83-second 40 with impressive jump results at 297 pounds. For a player who projects as a two-gap defensive end (a "3-4" end for those of you who still cling to outdated labels), those numbers are just remarkable. If Hand is still there at the 16th pick, Ozzie Newsome will ignore the Ravens' offensive needs, draft Hand and ascend into Crimson Tide heaven.

• Boise State's Leighton Vander Esch said Saturday that he bulked up from his 240-pound playing weight to 256 pounds for the combine. Vander Esch then ran a 4.65-second 40—not bad, but not on par with the other off-ball linebackers vying for first-round selections. Vander Esch also looked a little sluggish and uncomfortable in positional drills. Kids, 240-pound linebackers who can cover running backs and tight ends play on all three downs and get big contracts, while 256-pound linebackers who are a step slow play in short-yardage situations and block for field goals. Don't bulk up.

• Ade Aruna's workout results (including a 4.6-second 40 and a top-notch 128-inch broad jump) will send some scouting departments back to recheck the Tulane game film. When they do, they will see an edge-rusher whose football career started late—the Nigerian-born Aruna only started playing in his senior year of high school—and who spends a lot of snaps gazing into the backfield and trying to interpret what he is seeing. Aruna is the kind of player Ryan Grigson would have drafted for the Colts in the second or third round and then spent two years wondering when the sacks would arrive. A team with more patience and a better plan could turn Aruna into a useful developmental project in the late rounds.

Josh Allen Talks Weird Spots and Jump Scares

Gatorade/David Dixon

After a strong showing in Saturday's passing drills at the combine, Wyoming's Josh Allen took part in the Gatorade Beat the Blitz experience, a fun and challenging simulation—I nearly pulled a muscle evading a nonexistent linebacker while trying it—that involves throwing digital footballs at virtual targets, sliding around the pocket to avoid pass-rushers and getting a crash course in hydration from Virtual Peyton Manning.

Sam Darnold also took part in the experience, as mentioned in yesterday's Notebook. Allen appeared to be more comfortable with the VR goggles on, calmly looking around as if he were sightseeing in Paris while Darnold was still dealing with the "whoa" factor. That means Allen will be a better NFL quarterback than Darnold. Kidding! Only an amateur would turn a video game session into a scouting opinion!

Anyway, Allen spent a few minutes talking about his combine performance, virtual reality and more:

Bleacher Report: You looked comfortable putting on the VR helmet.

Josh Allen: It's not my first time doing virtual reality. I bought my sister the PS4 VR for Christmas last year. I got to put that on a little bit. She's got some scary games, where things pop out or jump at you. It's pretty scary. I couldn't tell you the name of it, but you are walking around in the room and something pops out at you. It feels like you're there. It's pretty creepy.

This isn't football, but it makes you think about getting away from defenders, throwing ahead of the target, because it's moving. I wish I had this when I was younger so I could start practicing this stuff.

B/R: How do you feel you performed during combine passing drills?

Allen: I think I threw well. There's a couple I wish I put in front of the receivers a little bit more. But I think overall it was a good day.

B/R: Are you doing any unique passing drills to get ready for the NFL?

Allen: We're just trying to get into the weirdest spots possible, then get back to the right base and deliver the ball consistently and accurately. Sometimes it feels weird, and it's supposed to feel weird, but then you get back to that spot where it feels comfortable. We're moving backwards, our feet are moving, and as soon as the coach says "ball," it's time to find that spot, step and throw.

It's not just dropback stuff in the NFL. There's going to be times when you will have to move and throw within the pocket in a weird position. So it's about making that feel as consistent as it would be when you are on platform.

B/R: Every top prospect talks about shutting out the noise and hype as the draft approaches. How are you doing it?

Allen: I'm a pretty self-confident guy. I can care less what people say about me. I don't read any articles about me. My parents will call or text me articles, and they're super mad that someone said this or that. I tell them to delete Twitter and stop looking at all this stuff; it's not worth it. I know what I have to do to be successful, and I have a really good group surrounding me and teaching me the way.

B/R: Do you get a break after the combine before you return to training?

Allen: Jordan Palmer, our quarterbacks coach, says I have to take a mandatory two days off. I'll probably go hit the links and play some golf. But if I can go home right away and start throwing again I will.

Sunday Moneymaker: Josh Sweat, Edge-Rusher, Florida State

STEVEN CANNON/Associated Press

What He Did

Josh Sweat led all edge-rushers by a significant margin with a 39.5-inch vertical jump. The jump measurements for pass-rushers represent much more than the ability to bat down passes; they are proxy figures for measuring lower-leg strength and first-step explosion, two key components of getting to the quarterback.

Sweat's 4.53-second 40 was also among the best at his position.

Brief Pre-Combine Scouting Report

Sweat blows up a lot of plays in the backfield by using his burst to beat blockers and has long arms (34 5/8 inches) to disengage and wrap up ball-carriers. He has a very inconsistent first step, however, and is often one of the last players off the line at the snap. He's also not as tenacious as you would like an edge-rusher to be, and there are questions about a 2016 knee injury.

Bottom Line

For a player with inconclusive game tape like Sweat, workout measurables are everything. Assuming he clears the medicals, some team will fall in love with his workout results on Day 2 and turn him into a long-range project. The tools and upside are there if Sweat can just learn to anticipate the snap and play with a little more snarl.

Tight End Notebook

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Yesterday's Combine Notebook was too jam-packed with quarterbacks and wide receivers to squeeze in any real tight end info. (Except about NC State's Jaylen Samuels, who isn't really a tight end.) Here are some quick takes from Saturday's results for the big guys.

• Penn State's Mike Gesicki was one of the big stars of Senior Bowl week in January, and he solidified his status as one of the top tight ends in the draft with a 4.54-second 40, a 41.5-inch vertical jump and 22 reps on the bench, plus solid splits and cone drills. Gesicki has the catch radius and body control of a go-to possession receiver. There are knocks about his in-line blocking, because NFL scouts still think it's 1974 and tight ends block defensive ends for 45 running plays per game instead of lining up in the slot and catching a zillion passes.

• South Carolina's Hayden Hurst is the top tight end on many draft boards. His workout results were fine—a 4.67-second 40, middle-of-the-pack cones and shuttles—but don't hold up next to Gesicki's. Hurst is a pure H-back who lined up all over the Gamecocks formation and made big plays when he was schemed open. He can be a fine NFL player, but I don't see him as a first- or second-round pick. The NFL may have Trey Burton on the brain after the Super Bowl and now overvalue pesky H-backs.

• A tweaked hamstring kept South Dakota State's Dallas Goedert from running at the combine, just as it erased all but about 45 minutes of his Senior Bowl week. Goedert did do one important thing to help himself: He won the tight end weight-room competition with 23 reps of 225 pounds. That should erase concerns that Goedert is just a bulked-up small-program wide receiver. Goedert was engaging and impressive in interviews, as he was at the Senior Bowl. He will run at his pro day on March 30.

• Central Michigan's Tyler Conklin ran a 4.80-second 40—good enough, but not great. But 40 times can be overstated. Conklin finished among the top five tight ends in just about every other drill. The 254-pound Conklin is the best blocker among the top tight end prospects—he's quick-footed when blocking on screens, can lock out a defensive end and finishes blocks with an angry streak—and excels at making contested catches in traffic. If I'm looking to replace a legendary tight end in the second or early third round with one who fits a run-heavy scheme, I would take a long look at Conklin. THAT WAS A SUBTLE, CODED MESSAGE TO THE COWBOYS. DO YOU THINK THEY CAUGHT IT?

Team Winners and Losers from Combine Week

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

There was plenty of action on the waiver wire while the prospects ran through their drills. As the combine starts to wrap up, here's a look at the winners and losers among NFL teams this week.

Best Week: Los Angeles Rams

Trading Robert Quinn cleared cap space (which may be used to extend Lamarcus Joyner's contract, target an impact free agent or both) while replenishing the draft-pick supply that was depleted in the Marcus Peters trade. The Rams are aggressively reshaping their roster, which is the best way for a team to quickly get over the one-and-done playoff hump.

Worst Week: Seattle Seahawks

Their starting quarterback is currently playing for the Yankees. Michael Bennett is on the trade block, Sheldon Richardson will not be franchised, there is no clarity to the injury situation among the Legionnaires, and Richard Sherman hates draftniks. The Seahawks are next year's great rebuilding project. This year, they look like a bunch of guys all doing their own thing.

Secretly Good Week: New York Jets

Letting Muhammad Wilkerson leave will upgrade the locker room. Matt Forte's retirement erases the last vestiges of the old-timer's team they put on the field two years ago. And a trio of recent arrests will force the Jets to address team discipline and character concerns now instead of midway through the season. Sometimes, the best thing a beleaguered franchise can hope for is the cleanest possible slate.

Most Dolphins Week: Miami Dolphins

Robert Quinn fills an edge-rush need. But he's also the quintessential Dolphins acquisition: four years removed from his best season but still getting paid for it. Jarvis Landry is in super-secret franchise-tag-and-trade-rumor limbo. As usual, the Dolphins are handling transactions like the Madden video game AI: Each individual move makes some sense, but the algorithm isn't sophisticated enough to combine them into a coherent plan.

The Rest of the Pack

Andres Leighton/Associated Press

Bradley Chubb isn't the only NC State defensive lineman at the combine. In fact, all four Wolfpack linemen worked out Sunday. And while Chubb stole the show, his former teammates more than held their own.

Run-plugging tackle B.J. Hill showed off his athleticism with a 4.99-second 40 and some speedy shuttles at 311 pounds. End Kentavius Street ran a 4.87-second 40 and benched 28 reps at 280 pounds—solid numbers for a defender who entered the combine projected as more of a rotation lineman than a starter. Justin Jones fell squarely in the middle of the pack during his workouts, which is just fine for a 309-pounder with solid game tape.

While Chubb is a lock for the top seven in the draft, Hill has worked his way into the Day 2 conversation, and the others will be scooped up in later rounds.

Hill's athleticism should come as no surprise. Like combine star Vita Vea, he was a running back in high school. "I was a speed guy, a power guy," Hill said of his high school rushing style. "Juke moves, spin moves, everything. I caught sweeps, counters, you name it."

Hill is also one of the few people on earth who never has to fear getting his towel snatched by Chubb, even as a practice-field prank. "He knew better than that," Hill said. "I ran the line. So he knew better."

Sunday's workouts were a great chance for the other former Wolfpack linemen to escape Chubb's shadow, even as all of them stressed that the brotherhood they shared in college was special.

"I'm appreciative that all my guys got to come with me," Jones said, "and I appreciate that I got to come with them as well."

So what would happen if one team drafted Chubb, Hill, Jones and Street? "I like the wishful thinking," Jones said. "I never even thought about that, but it would be special."

Wishful thinking or the perfect Colts draft strategy? Sometimes, it's hard to tell them apart.