2015 NFL Scouting Combine: Draft Prospects with the Most to Gain in Indy
Don't count it twice.
Thats the oft-repeated draft maxim that cautions evaluators from crediting a guy for athletic play on the field and then crediting him again for showcasing athleticism in a workout. If speed, agility, strength, endurance, etc. are known commodities already, knowing them again may necessitate a check in the appropriate box, but it's not worth bumping a guy up a second time.
This is where so many fans, media and even teams go awry at the NFL Scouting Combine. Athleticism may be eye-popping and fun to watch when it's televised live from Indianapolis but anyone "counting it twice" or hinging their decisions greatly on workout numbers will see themselves disappointed.
This is why, when making this list, the way it's usually done is also the worst way to do it.
Often, a list like this becomes a way for an author to pick more obscure prospects whom he thinks will blow up a combine drill or two.
In reality, though, teams already know who these players are and that they're athletic, so Indianapolis doesn't give them as much of a chance to actually help themselves as it may just be boosting the player's reputation in the public eye (which doesn't really matter in terms of draft stock).
Instead, for this list, I've picked players who have to show something specific that may still be a question mark even with all of the tape out there on them. It will be things teams will come into the combine looking for and will be sure to grill the players about in private interviews away from the field.
Click ahead for a list of players who can help themselves more than any workout warrior at the combine.
Ameer Abdullah (RB Nebraska)
1 of 9
At worst, Abdullah is a gadget back with "Big Ten speed."
I'm not sure very many teams are in the running for that sort of thing.
The first question mark Abdullah could help himself by answering is going mano a mano with the best running back prospects in the draft and showcasing some "SEC speed," or (better yet) NFL speed. Even with the "don't count it twice" maxim in place, plenty of scouts who saw him torch teams like Indiana or Purdue will be intrigued if he's able to put up big numbers and prove he's a movable chess piece sort of weapon.
A much bigger question mark will be pass blocking.
Even with all the athleticism in the world, no NFL team wants a third-down back that can't block anyone. That turns the chess piece into a one-trick pony or a liability on the field. Teams will want to see his strength on display—both on the bench and in a functional sense—just as much as his speed and agility.
Blake Bell (TE Oklahoma)
2 of 9
Like Gardner, Bell is a player who played quarterback in college but is trying to go pro somewhere else. For Bell, it's the same tight end position. Also like Gardner, Bell had some burn at his future position so he's not a complete unknown. He also has a father and grandfather who played in the NFL, so that will likely give him a benefit of the doubt in at least a few teams' minds.
In many ways, just take what I said on the last slide and bring it over here.
The biggest difference between Bell and Gardner, though, is that Gardner is trying to make his way in a ridiculously packed receiving crop. The tight end group this year is much lighter. Minnesota's Maxx Williams is the clear-cut No. 1 right now and the only one challenging him might be Michigan receiver Devin Funchess, who some like better at that position.
With a good workout and that same progression in terms of comfort level I mentioned with Gardner, Bell could leapfrog a lot of NFL hopefuls and reach as high as the No. 3 or No. 4 tight end in the class.
Anthony Chickillo (DE Miami)
3 of 9
At the risk of repeating myself from my Shrine Game week recap, Chickillo played like a man among boys against competition in that game after an entire career of not living up to his promise as a Miami Hurricane.
Can he continue his streak?
The natural talent is clearly there, and Chickillo can light up a game with the best of them, but any team drafting him higher than the very latest rounds will have to weigh his possibilities with the reality of the fact he rarely did those awesome things during his collegiate career.
He can't just just be a guy in Indianapolis, he has to test through the roof and look as natural as anyone during the positional drills. He cannot give teams a reason to overlook him because there just isn't enough good tape on him.
.png?w=256)
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (CB Oregon)
4 of 9
Ekpre-Olomu is about a decade too late to join the undersized cornerback movement.
Although the former Duck has first-round talent, it is unlikely he'll end up in the first 32 picks because he has late-round size. In an NFL where everyone is looking to copy Seattle's "Legion of Boom" secondary, few teams will take a cornerback seriously unless they're at least six-feet tall and 190 pounds, if not a few inches taller and 20 pounds heavier.
Ekpre-Olomu is listed at a (likely generous) 5'10", 180 pounds.
That ain't it.
Moreover, he's coming off of a serious knee injury and may not even work out in Indianapolis. So, he'll need to convince teams he's healthy and suddenly the world's foremost expert on playing nickel corner. If not, he could plummet past the middle rounds of the draft.
Ereck Flowers (OT Miami)
5 of 9
Flowers has a shot to be one of the top tested athletes at his position, but that's a "don't count it twice" sort of thing. Frankly, if he isn't, he's going to have some explaining to do.
He's on this list because he has the chance to prove (like Chickillo) that he's a better pro prospect than he was a college player and also that he has the feet and balance they'll be looking for in position drills to prove he can play left tackle.
If he does that, he could vault from a borderline first-round prospect toward the top of the class and potentially go as high as top ten.
Ali Marpet (OL Hobart)
6 of 9
Not many people knew who this guy was before the Senior Bowl...
I realize I just said in the intro slide that NFL teams have a far bigger frame of reference on these players than fans and media do, but a Division III interior lineman from a school 99 percent of us couldn't place on a map? This one you can assume was a little bit of a pleasant surprise.
For teams, though, the Senior Bowl was an invitation to go back and get as much tape on the talented lineman as they could. What of it, though? Grainy footage of him dominating kids from Johns Hopkins? Who cares, really?
No, the combine is a chance to see him side-to-side with players like the Ereck Flowers of the world. He needs to not only test well, but prove the stage is not too big for him. He should make sure he shows up as the most polished lineman in all of the tests and drills, having run them to perfection countless times in training.
Shaq Thompson (LB Washington)
7 of 9
See where it says linebacker up there?
Well...that may not happen.
Look around at different draft profiles of Thompson, and you'll catch that just about everyone agrees he belongs on a football field, but no one is quite sure where. Does he have the size to play linebacker in the NFL? The pass-rushing ability to play outside? Can he maintain the middle in a 3-4? What about safety? Have you seen his tape at running back? Can't we find a way to get the ball in his hands?
These are all the types of questions being asked about Thompson in 32 war rooms across the NFL.
He needs to answer some of them at the combine and leave little doubt about what kind of player he is.
Ty Montgomery (WR Stanford)
8 of 9
Montgomery is a receiver but not quite a receiver.
He never quite lived up to his promise at Stanford, though he's clearly a fantastic athlete for his more-than-ample size for the position. He's a player who consistently leaves you wanting more as you watch tape on him, and that's never a good thing.
With some good pre-combine training, he should test well though likely not through-the-roof. He just needs to prove he's someone a team should want to work with. Up in the interview rooms, he'll be asked what went wrong with him in his college offense, and he needs to be more than just his affable self. He'll need to point out what he did wrong and how he's planning on fixing it between now and the draft.
Brett Hundley (QB UCLA)
9 of 9
Throw the football.
Hundley could've shown up to the Senior Bowl and solidified his stock as the No. 3 quarterback in the draft class. Heck, he could've even created some doubt in the minds of teams that aren't entirely sold on Oregon's Marcus Mariota or Florida State's Jameis Winston for on and off-the-field issues respectively.
Instead, he declined to opportunity to compete.
Though there may have been a lingering injury issue, ESPN listed Hundley as part of a group called out by Senior Bowl organizer Phil Savage for not showing up—something he wouldn't do if Hundley could have participated. That's a big issue for NFL teams, especially at the quarterback position. They want the kind of players who will continually look to prove they're the best rather than skirt chances to showcase their skills.
At the combine, Hundley has to let the ball loose and remind team scouts that he's closer to Mariota/Winston than people might think and just leave everyone else in his dust.
Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
