Burning Questions Heading into the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is the biggest predraft event in the league. Not everyone can participate in the Senior Bowl, and most questions are answered at the combine before the pro-day circuit begins.
We'll give you a rundown of the major narratives before NFL front offices, coaching staffs and media members come together Feb. 28.
Be it athletic testing, character evaluations or medical checkups, there is plenty up in the air before the draft begins April 27.
How Will Tim Williams Handle Interviews?
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Tim Williams may be the best rotational player we've seen in college football. The Alabama pass-rusher was only on the field for late and long plays in most Crimson Tide games, but he still recorded 20 sacks.
Williams went on Twitter to declare he was returning for his senior season, as he was viewed as a draftable prospect after his limited 2015 season. In May, he was ESPN's Mel Kiper's second overall prospect in the 2017 class.
He had an arrest in-season, but the charges were dropped, and Williams never missed a full game for the issue. Still, that didn't stop an anonymous NFL scout from telling The MMQB's Albert Breer that off-field issues were going to determine Williams' draft value.
"He's an extremely explosive pass-rusher with the potential to be a consistent double-digit sack guy in the league," the scout said. "He doesn't get enough credit for his edge-setting ability, either. But off-field stuff will drop him in the draft."
Williams might be the second-most talented pass-rusher in the class behind Texas A&M's Myles Garrett. In five years, he may have the most expensive contract of any of the prospects in this class.
How he handles interviews and how he tests athletically in Indianapolis could be the difference of 20 draft slots in April. At the top of the draft, that's around $10 million.
How Much of a Freak Athlete Is Solomon Thomas?
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After his bowl-season dominance, Solomon Thomas of Stanford rose as one of the top defensive line prospects in the country. The redshirt sophomore declared after just two years as a 3-4 defensive lineman with the Cardinal, and he projects to the defensive end position in the NFL.
Thomas played everything from nose tackle to edge defender in Palo Alto, but he was mostly used as an interior player. Because of that, he lives and dies off his burst at the line of scrimmage and his swim move. It's similar to Aaron Donald at Pittsburgh, though Thomas will likely measure in around 275 pounds.
That's too small for a 6'3" defensive tackle or 3-4 defensive end in the NFL. Period. So as a defensive end, he's a projection unless you think he can win completely off athleticism.
He's a young player, and there's no reason to believe you can't teach him pass-rushing moves. But if a team drafts Thomas as a top-10 4-3 defensive end prospect, it needs to be sure he's a freak athlete. Indianapolis could be the difference between his locking in as a top-five or top-10 prospect or falling into the 20s.
What Is Mike Williams' 40-Yard Dash Time?
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If not for a neck injury cutting his 2015 season to just one game, there's a good chance Mike Williams would have been the first receiver taken in the 2016 NFL draft. Just one receiver was drafted in the top 20 picks last season.
In this class, though, Williams may not even be the top receiver. For a while, John Ross of Washington was closing the distance on Williams due to his speed. If you look at online draft boards, they are split on if Williams or Corey Davis of Western Michigan, who won't be running in Indianapolis because of minor ankle surgery, is the top receiver in the class.
One major knock on Williams, who does well bringing down 50-50 balls like DeAndre Hopkins, is if he can separate with speed and route-running at the NFL level. According to NFL Draft Scout, Williams should come in at 6'3" and 225 pounds, with a 4.50-second 40-yard dash. That is similar to Dez Bryant, the Dallas Cowboys receiver he's often compared to.
If he can run in the 4.46-to-4.50 range, he can shrug off a lot of doubters.
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Is Takkarist McKinley a Future All-Pro Talent?
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Takkarist McKinley failed to qualify as a California Golden Bear coming out of high school, so the pass-rusher went to Contra Costa College, a junior college, for two seasons. After that, he transferred to UCLA, where he never took a redshirt year.
It wasn't until 2016, when he was a senior, that McKinley truly became a starter. He struggled through some injury issues, but he still recorded a 10-sack season. As an athlete, he may draw comparisons to DeMarcus Ware after he goes through the full slate of combine testing.
He's a legitimate freak athlete, but he has pad-level issues that may stem from the labrum injury that forced him to miss the Senior Bowl and may result in post-combine surgery, according to Jon Ledyard of Inside the Pylon.
There's a strong correlation between athleticism and NFL success at pass-rushing positions, and if McKinley passes with flying colors in Indianapolis, expect his pad-level issues and injury concerns to be overlooked on draft day.
Which Quarterback Will Rise Above the Rest?
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The NFL Scouting Combine is a rumor-filled event. For example, in 2015 there was a legitimate debate on who would go No. 1 between Jameis Winston of Florida State and Marcus Mariota of Oregon.
Coming out of the week, the consensus was Winston was going to be the first overall pick, even if no one in Tampa said so on record. Last year, Carson Wentz parlayed his Senior Bowl success to combine glory, elevating his stock as a top-end quarterback prospect.
This year, there are six early declarations at quarterback in North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky, Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes, Virginia Tech's Jerod Evans and Miami's Brad Kaaya. There are mock drafts with Trubisky, Watson, Kizer and Mahomes all going in the first round, as well as mocks with no quarterbacks being drafted in the first.
With so many dominoes at the position this year, including Tony Romo, Kirk Cousins, Tyrod Taylor, Jay Cutler, Colin Kaepernick and Jimmy Garoppolo, you'd assume the draft order of the 2017 quarterback prospects will become clearer as free agency approaches.
Next week could be the first time we get a feel for who is "QB1" in this class.
Who Is on Schedule for Recovery?
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Many think of the combine as a venue for athletic testing, and it is. But for NFL teams, medical evaluations can be just as important. This year is going to have a heavy lean on these medical evaluations.
Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News is a Hall of Fame voter who claimed there are rumors the San Francisco 49ers could select Reuben Foster, an off-the-ball linebacker from Alabama, with the second overall pick. Two weeks ago, Adam Caplan of ESPN said Foster had surgery on a rotator cuff issue.
Malik Hooker may be the best free safety prospect since Earl Thomas, but the Ohio State man had surgery to recover from a hernia and a labrum issue, according to Walter Cherepinsky of Walter Football. Corey Davis, the receiver from Western Michigan, had ankle surgery, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Tackle Ryan Ramczyk of Wisconsin, who played his last game against Davis, had hip surgery, per Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting.
Four players who were considered the top options at their positions in this draft will not be participating in testing because of injuries. That's not including Takkarist McKinley of UCLA, who may have labrum surgery after the combine.
Getting a timetable around all of these injuries will go a long way for the draft stock of these players.
Does Malik McDowell Have Attitude Issues?
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Kalyn Kahler of The MMQB talked with Mel Kiper, ESPN's top draftnik and the creator of NFL draft coverage as we know it today, leading up to the combine. When she asked who would receive the most buzz this cycle, Kiper rattled off some names of players with questions in their character evaluation.
"And then the interview process, that is going to be important for guys like Cam Robinson from Alabama, the offensive tackle," he said.
"Tim Williams, the outside linebacker from Alabama, Malik McDowell, the defensive tackle for Michigan State who did not have a great year; he was kind of an underachiever, so how he works out and how he interviews is going to be important.
"Teez Tabor, the cornerback from Florida, Dalvin Cook, the running back from Florida State; I think the interviews for them are going to be very important."
Cam Robinson was arrested in May. Tim Williams was arrested in September. Teez Tabor, who also went by Jalen Tabor, was suspended twice by Florida. Dalvin Cook went to trial for battery charges against a woman, which led to Florida State's taking two team photos, with and without him in 2015, per Brent Martineau of 1010XL in Jacksonville.
Here's a list of Malik McDowell's arrests, suspensions and charges: None.
From a talent perspective, McDowell is a long, athletic lineman who can play defensive end in any scheme, and he even held up as a nose tackle against Big Ten competition. He did have a bit of an off-and-on motor, though, and the 20-year-old former high school All-American only played in nine games in 2016.
Maybe his talent relative to his production, while registering just 7.5 sacks in 32 games, is the question. It seems as though effort questions always come up more with defensive linemen, with Ra'Shede Hageman, Jadeveon Clowney, Robert Nkemdiche and Chris Jones being major factors in the narrative in recent years.
Who Is Going to Fail the Drug Test?
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Nothing can turn a player's combine upside down like a failed drug test. While 40-yard dashes and interviews are great, there isn't a bigger factor in dropping down draft boards.
Justin Houston was an All-American pass-rusher who declared from the University of Georgia a year early, but he wasn't drafted until the third round because he failed a drug test. A few years ago, Randy Gregory, now with the Dallas Cowboys, failed the test and went 60th. That was the difference in making $14 million or $4 million in his rookie contract.
Now a Chargers receiver, Keenan Allen was flagged for a diluted urine sample at the combine in 2013, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Between that, an ankle issue and a poor 40 time, Allen went from a first-round prospect to a third-round pick.
There are plenty of names in this draft class who have had run-ins with substances. Alabama tackle Cam Robinson and pass-rusher Tim Williams were each arrested under the suspicion of marijuana possession in 2016. Teez Tabor of Florida, a cornerback, was once suspended by the program for flat-out refusing to take a drug test, per Brett McMurphy of ESPN.
Last year, no news came out about a single player failing the test. Hopefully, everyone in this class passes next week.
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