NFL Combine 2017: Full Monday Schedule and Predictions for Top Prospects

Monday marks the final day for the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine, with the defensive backs getting their turn in the spotlight for scouts and team executives. 

It's fitting cornerbacks and safeties got saved for the final day of the combine, since this year's class is considered to be a deep group.

B/R draft analyst Matt Miller has four secondary players ranked among his top 11 overall prospects and 27 of the top 100 prospects overall.

Date	Start Time (ET)	Watch	Position
Monday, March 6	9 a.m.	NFL Network	Defensive Backs

Notable NFL Prospects

Player	College
Jamal Adams, Safety	LSU
Malik Hooker, Safety	Ohio State
Marshon Lattimore, Cornerback	Ohio State
Gareon Conley, Cornerback	Ohio State
Quincy Wilson, Cornerback	Florida
Teez Tabor, Cornerback	Florida
Jabrill Peppers, Safety	Michigan
Tre'Davious White, Cornerback	LSU
Marlon Humphrey, Cornerback	Alabama
Sidney Jones, Cornerback	Washington

What Position Will Peppers Play?

Michigan's Jabrill Peppers was one of the best players in college football last season, even finishing fifth in Heisman Trophy voting as a defensive player. 

The problem for Peppers heading into the NFL is finding a position that suits his skill set. He's trying to help all 32 teams by working out as a linebacker and safety at the combine. 

Some of that is out of necessity, as Chase Goodbread of NFL.com reported Peppers was told he had to work with linebackers since the Wolverines had him listed at that position. 

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera compared the process of evaluating Peppers to 2015 first-round pick Shaq Thompson, via CBS Sports' Howard Balzer:

"

We had everybody talking to us like, 'Oh, he's a special teams player,' to 'He's a running back, he's a safety, he's a linebacker. But we looked at him and thought, 'Where would he best fit us?' For us it was the linebacker position, for us it was what we call the Buffalo position, the Buffalo nickel. Where you can take a bigger guy, put him out to a slot receiver and still have some athleticism to help you.

"

There has been a heavy dose of criticism directed toward Peppers. One director of college scouting posed this thought to Miller in December: "You're going to draft a safety with a lucky interception in the top 10? We get fired for mistakes like that."

Listed at 5'11" and 213 pounds on the NFL's website, Peppers lacks the size and muscle of an NFL linebacker. He can add the weight to look more like a prototype at the position, but that would also likely result in a trade-off by decreasing his speed. 

Being a tweener is no longer a bad thing in the NFL. Teams have had success with players like Thompson and Deone Bucannon in recent years that Peppers just needs to prove he can play. The team will figure out how to best take advantage of that. 

The Rise of Malik Hooker

Ohio State star Malik Hooker was already one of the top defensive backs in this year's class, ranked No. 5 on Miller's big board.

The buzz got louder on Saturday when Hooker measured in at the combine with these numbers, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports:

If there was a knock against Hooker before the combine, it was due to the fact Ohio State had so much talent that he was only able to emerge as a starter in 2016. 

One AFC personnel director told NFL.com's Lance Zierlein Hooker's lack of college experience will be a factor early in his career but won't matter in the long run.

"Hook(er) is still so raw and you see him making all of those plays," the personnel director said. "He's a player who will come in and look bad his first year and then be an all-pro by his third year. I think that's his arc. No short-cut for experience."

The only unfortunate part of things is Hooker won't be able to take part in the on-field drills after having surgeries last month to repair damage to his core muscle and hip. 

Despite not being able to work out this weekend, Hooker has already put himself in the mix for being the top defensive back taken in April. There's no denying the potential is there. Everyone knows now the physical measurements are there.

Keep An Eye On...

While Peppers generated headlines for Michigan in 2016, cornerback Jourdan Lewis continued to have a steady hand with opposing quarterbacks having just a 23.3 completion percentage when targeting him, per NFL.com. 

Lewis is one of those players whose performance on the field could end up looking better than it does in shorts and a t-shirt. 

"I love this guy's (Lewis') tape," wrote ESPN's Todd McShay. "He shows outstanding instincts and quickness when shadowing WRs, but a lot of scouts question his top-end speed. At 5-foot-10, he's already on the shorter end for a cornerback, so a slow 40 won't help his cause."

Among notable cornerbacks who measured in this week, Lewis was clearly on the smaller side of the equation, per Goodbread:

The big key for Lewis will be showing he has the speed to overcome that lack of size. He's not going to be the type of cornerback who is going to jam NFL receivers at the line of scrimmage, so he has to be able to keep up with them at top speed. 

Another player in a similar boat is Washington's Sidney Jones. At 6'1", he does have a noticeable height advantage over Lewis, but he's only 170 pounds and will get beaten by bigger wide receivers. 

On the bright side, Zierlein received a positive report about Jones' upside from one regional scout who works for an NFC East team.

"I think he picked up all of (Marcus) Peters' good traits as a player without the personality defects," the scout said. "He marries that great FBI (football intelligence) with an explosive close-out and that will win in the pros just like it wins in college. You will always wish he was 198 pounds, but he won't be."

Peters has turned into a terrific player for the Kansas City Chiefs. If Jones follows that trajectory, his future team will be extremely happy.