2010 NFL Combine: Eight Offensive Skill Position Players That Turned Heads

You don't need me to tell you that yesterday was the most important day for the man pictured to the left.

Tim Tebow was the talk of yesterday's event that featured the skill positions. From an NFL fan's perspective, yesterday was about as exciting as the combine will get.

You get to see the fastest and most interesting players, unless you are a defensive guy, in which case you will enjoy today's festivities with the defensive lineman and linebackers.

That being said, here is a list of players who improved their stock, on paper anyway.

Ben Tate—RB

You wanna talk about someone who completely blew the competition out of the water in the RB class, it doesn't get much better than Ben Tate's performance at the combine.

Inside the Numbers:
Drill—result (rank)

40-yard dash—4.43s (3rd)
Bench Press—26 reps (1st-T)
Vertical Leap—40.5" (2nd)
Broad Jump—10'4" (1st-T)
3-Cone—6.91s (6th)
20-yard shuffle—4.12 (2nd)

Rarely does a tailback dominate across the board like this. Tate may have jumped up a couple of rounds when you combine his film against SEC defenses and this performance. (You listening New York Giants front office??)

Toby Gerhart—RB

The 2009 Heisman silver medalist was eager to get to yesterday's combine to show that he is worth the hype. We all knew he was a bruising back who could run over anyone, but he also showed he possesses breakaway speed.

Inside the Numbers

40-yard dash—4.53 (8th)
Bench Press—22 reps (4th)
Vertical Leap—38 (5th)
Broad Jump—9'10" (8th)
3-cone—6.94s (7th)
20-yard Shuffle—4.25 (8th)

OK, so it wasn't exactly an amazing performance. But the main thing people wanted to see was a fast 40-yard dash time, because Gerhart possesses many of the skills that a RB needs to succeed in the NFL, but speed was not supposed to be one of them. He proved us wrong.

Ryan Mathews—RB

Ryan Mathews was considered by many to be the best back in the country, but he missed some games and did not lead the nation in total yards (although he was first in yards per game). He did have a 200-plus yard performance against Boise State's defense.

Matthews did so much at the combine to increase his buzz and looks to be a late first or early second round pick when the draft eventually rolls around.

Inside the numbers:

40-yard dash—4.45 (4th)
Bench Press—19 reps (8th)
Vertical Leap— 36" (14th)
Broad Jump—10'1" (4th)

Mathews will be a top round pick, and the team that gets him will be getting a great player.

Lonyae Miller—RB

Miller played behind Mathews at Fresno State, but so did Marion Barber when he was behind Lawrence Maroney at Minnesota. Who turned out better?

This is almost the same situation, with Mathews being considered the better pro prospect, as he is faster and was the starter while at Fresno.

Barber has had a much better career than Maroney, so it remains to be seen with Miller and Mathews.

Inside the Numbers

40-yard dash—4.53 (T-8th)
Bench Press—26 reps (T-1st)
Vertical Leap—36.5" (9th)
Broad Jump—10'0" (5th)

People were most impressed with Miller's combination of power and speed at the Senior Bowl. He reiterated that interest at the combine.

Jacoby Ford—WR

Any time someone runs a sub-4.3 40-yard dash time, they instantly increase their draft stock.

Ford did not do well in any other drill, but his speed will have draft experts salivating. He will either turn into Chris Johnson or Bethel Johnson.

40-yard dash—4.28

(I was unable to find any of his other measurables, as I did not watch him do any others. And he was not listed under "top performers" at the combine's website for any of the other drills)

Ford is still not a first, second, or maybe even third round pick in my opinion, but he improved his paper stock with the 40-yard dash.

Scott Long—WR

If Scott Long was a bit under the radar before the combine, he certainly isn't anymore.

Inside the Numbers:

40-yard dash—4.46 (9th)
Bench press—20 reps (T-1st)
Vertical Leap—41.5" (1st)
Broad Jump—10'3" (4th)
3-cone—6.45 (1st)
20-yard shuffle—4.09 (2nd)
60-yard shuffle—11.06 (1st)

If there was anyone that dominated their position rankings more than Ben Tate, you could argue that Scott Long did just that.

Ignore the 40-yard dash rank, considering the No. 2-8 ranks ran between 4.41 and 4.46. Taking that into account, he was the strongest, best leaper, and most agile WR. I would be willing to overlook .05 seconds.

Long should move up a couple of rounds considering he was a late third-day prospect.

Oh, by the way, he did all of this with great size at 6'2", 216 lbs.

Golden Tate—WR

Golden Tate may be the best at yards after the catch of this wide receiver class, but many questioned his speed before yesterday's drills.

He may have answered those questions.

Inside the Numbers:

40-yard dash—4.42 (4th)
Bench Press—17 reps (7th)
Vertical Leap—(not under top performers, but < 36", which is not good)
Broad Jump—10'0" (11th)

Tate is someone who will impress more on film, but he really needed to turn in a good 40-yard dash time to justify taking him in the second or third round.

Without great leaping ability, he won't give you the deep threat that many teams covet, but he will be a great slot receiver.

Dorin Dickerson—TE

Dorin Dickerson had one of the more peculiar workouts, looking more like a wide receiver than a tight end. In fact, his 40-yard dash would have ranked second, and his vertical leap is the highest at the combine so far at any position.

Inside the Numbers:

40-yard dash—4.40 (1st)
Bench press—24 reps (4th)
Vertical Leap—43.5" (1st)
Broad Leap—10'5" (1st)
3-cone—6.96 (3rd)
20-yard shuffle—4.30 (3rd)

It is hard to get a handle on what exactly all of this means, because he is more likely a WR prospect than anything. But you cannot deny he made a splash.