NFL Combine 2012: Corners Who Killed Their Draft Stock

A few corners left the combine licking their wounds and hoping they can redeem themselves at their pro days.

The combine is especially vital for corners as quickness and speed are so important to the position. The combine will never completely determine a player's draft stock, but it sure can lead to them sliding up or down draft boards.

Here are three that will be sliding down.  

Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama

Kirkpatrick appears bound and determined to derail his draft status. A little over a month ago he was arrested for possession of marijuana. 

He then turned in a subpar combine. He clocked 40 time of 4.51. That is not all that bad a time considering he measured in at 6'1.5" and weighed in at 186 pounds. 

It was not his speed that disappointed, but how he looked in drills. 

Russ Lande of the Sporting News relayed this information:

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One NFL scout said that he saw some “stiffness” in his movement.

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A corner being attached to the word "stiffness" is like a scout saying a QB "throws like a toddler." Kirkpatrick needed to kill it at the combine to make teams forget about his recent transgressions. He didn't do it. 

Cliff Harris, Oregon

Harris entered the combine in a similar situation as Kirkpatrick. He was surrounded by character issues, and needed to kill it at the combine. 

Harris was dismissed from Oregon, and if he has been working out since then, it did not show. He is 5'11" and 175 pounds. That stature makes his 4.64 forty time especially troubling. 

And he did nothing in any of the other drills to make anyone take notice. Harris likely just performed his way out of the draft. 

Leonard Johnson, Iowa State

Johnson entered the combine with a chance at securing a shot at going in the first half of the draft. The 5'10" and 196 pound corner did anything but that.  

Johnson came out and laid a giant egg in the 40 as he posted a 4.71. And he did anything but make up for that in the rest of the drills. Lande shared this about his performance. 

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After a poor 40-yard dash, he appeared to have trouble finding the ball in the air and looked to be tight in his hips which measure change-of-direction ability.

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Johnson failed to show that he has anywhere near the ability to make the transition to the NFL. He now is destined for the late rounds of the upcoming draft.