The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine is now underway. Scouts and coaches from every team have descended on Indianapolis to watch, meet with, and get the medical information on most of the top names available in the 2022 Draft.
The Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers, and Tight Ends all got their weigh ins and did field work on day 1. So who made themselves some money? And who may have lost some? I’m also going to specifically be looking at positions the Chargers will likely be interested in, so you won’t see any QBs on this list.
Risers
Calvin Austin III - WR
Calvin Austin III has made himself a bunch of money between the Senior Bowl and the Combine. He was a star at the Senior Bowl during the practice periods, showing off great speed and quickness and consistently winning despite his small size. At the Combine he backed that up with some impressive numbers. He managed a 4.32 in the 40 yard dash, then jumped out of the gym with a 39” vertical and an 11’3” broad jump. He is a fast, explosive player and has gone from a day 3 sleeper to basically a lock for day 2 now.
Skyy Moore - WR
Skyy Moore has been a favorite of “Draft Twitter” for a bit and a lot of people were thinking he was closer to the 5’7, 5’8 sizes of Calvin Austin III and Wan’Dale Robinson. He measured in at 5’10” weighing 195 pounds, and ginormous 10 1/4” hands. He followed up those numbers with a 4.41 in the 40 yard dash and looked smooth and natural catching the ball. This was one of those rare circumstances where his actual weigh in may have made him the most money.
Christian Watson - WR
Watson is a smaller school guy, coming from North Dakota State. Their offense limited his numbers and playing against that level of competition helped muddy where people were projecting him in the draft. He absolutely owned the NFL Combine. His measurables were off the charts. At 6’4 208 pounds (with 32 1/2” arms and 10 1/8” hands) he ran a blazing 4.36 in the 40, jumped 38.5” in the vert and 11’4” in the broad. His performance has his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) at 9.98 which is the 5th highest for a WR since 1987. Quick side note, if you dont follow @mathbomb on Twitter, you should, he’s the RAS guy and the Chargers in recent years have been drafting a lot of high RAS guys.
Watson has gone from a high upside day 2 pick to even getting some 1st round buzz now.
Daniel Bellinger - TE
Bellinger had a really really good combine. He has ideal size at 6’5 and 253 pounds and really showed off his athleticism with a 4.63 40 yard dash, 34.5” vertical jump, 10’5” broad jump, 22 reps of 225 on the bench press, and a very good 7.05 3-cone. From an athletic testing standpoint, he measure almost identical to Travis Kelce.
Daniel Bellinger had a great Combine, and even if his splits (projected shown) end up being lower, having Travis Kelce as a close athletic comparison can't hurt. #RASCompare pic.twitter.com/xNMykmhVej
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 4, 2022
Jelani Woods - TE
Woods is a massive man. He measured in at 6’7 and 259 pounds. And he showed great athleticism at that size. He turned in the 2nd fastest 40 time at 4.61 and lead the TE group with 24 reps of 225 on the bench, despite having 34 1/8” arms. With that size, speed, strength combination, Woods is a very tempting prospect in the middle rounds.
Fallers
David Bell - WR
Bell is considered to be in the top group of 5 or 6 WRs for the draft, but he had a rough combine. He only managed to put up average to below average numbers across the board. He ran a 4.65 in the 40 yard dash, only had a 33” vertical, 9’10” broad jump, and a 7.14 3-cone. His tape is great but these numbers are going to bump him down some boards.
Treylon Burks - WR
Burks is one of the top 2 or 3 WRs, and the WR1 on my board. He had great measurables at the weigh in at 6’2, 225 pounds, 33.5” arms, and 10” hands. The testing however, was somewhat disappointing based on his tape and a few questions about his long speed. His best 40 was 4.55, which is good for his height/weight, but not exciting. He also had disappointing jumps at 33” on the vertical and 10’2” on the broad jump. Burks only managed a 7.28 3 cone, which is bad, however with the new combine format 3-cones were very slow across the board which has resulted in all of the Running Backs opting out of the 3 cone. His pro day will be important to try and put any hesitation to rest.
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