2008 NFL Draft Stock Watch: Combine Consensus, part 2

Following up on last night's post—and sticking to the same method I used following the Senior Bowl—here are my top five guys who helped their stock at the Combine, limiting myself to the players who received two or fewer mentions in yesterday's sources.

1. Andre Caldwell, WR, Florida
At 6'1" and 200 pounds, Caldwell ran the forty in 3.7 seconds: tied for the third best time among wide receivers. He added a 6.75 in the 3-cone drill (third among receivers) and a 4.11 in the 20-yard shuttle (second). Add that to his solid performance at the Senior Bowl practices—not to mention the game itself where he scored the winning touchdown on an end around—and a college career that saw him catch 78% of the passes thrown his way, and you have a player who has moved himself up to late first/early second round territory.

2. Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame
Just like his game, Laws just keeps coming on in these post-season events. He's another prospect who has backed up a strong Senior Bowl week with a great performance at the Combine. His 35 bench press reps were tied for third among all players. He ran a relatively smooth 5.06 forty (third among defensive tackles), while his 30.5" vertical jump was the best among DTs. If Laws hadn't already worked his way up to second round consideration, he surely has now.

3. Jason Jones, DE, Eastern Michigan
I've sung his praises before, and I'm surprised Jason Jones hasn't moved up higher on draft boards around the Web. Checking in at 6'5" and 273 pounds, Jones ran about a 4.75 forty, basically the same as Chris Long. His broad jump was 10'3", third among defensive linemen behind only Long and Vernon Gholston, and he posted a 4.23 in the 20-yard shuttle (third behind Curtis Gatewood and—you guessed it—Chris Long). I keep thinking one of these days they're going to start talking about him as a mid-to-late first round pick. More likely, though, he'll be a steal for somebody in the second.

4. David Roach, S, TCU
Roach looked surprisingly fluid in the drills, and he stood out from many of the other safeties in this year's generally weak class of prospects. At 6 feet and 210 pounds, Roach posted a good 4.51 forty time. His 38" vertical jump was best among safeties and tied for second among all DBs (behind Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie's 38.5"). Roach's 6.88 3-cone drill was third among safeties (ninth among DBs); his 4.15 20-yard shuttle was also third among safeties (tied for ninth among DBs); and his 11.11 60-yard shuttle was first among safeties and second among DBs (again behind only DRC). Though no one's talking about him, Roach has moved himself up from a sixth- or seventh-round guy to a fifth rounder, at least in my eyes.

5. Ray Rice, RB, Rutgers
I'm surprised Rice didn't get a single mention in the source articles as one of the players who helped their stock at the Combine. While some draftniks already have him right there in the second tier of this great running back class, there's certainly a contingent who felt he lacked the speed to be a top prospect and that his size was a major concern. But Rice checked in at 5'8" and 199 pounds, a height and weight very similar to one of the best backs of all time. To prove his strength he put up a respectable 23 reps, then he ripped off a 4.4 forty, which is plenty fast enough, and went on to show great agility by posting a position-best 6.65 in the 3-cone drill. Rice's performance at the Combine all but guarantees he won't escape the second round; and by dispelling some concerns, he could sneak his way into the late first.

2008 NFL Draft Stock Watch: Combine Consensus

Similar to what I did after the Senior Bowl, here's a consensus from around the Web of those prospects who most helped or hurt their draft stock at the NFL Combine. There are eleven sources here for offensive players and ten sources for defensive players (the sources are listed below the two lists of players). I hope to add my own thoughts to these "results" this weekend. But for now, if you're interested, you can glance below and easily see the consensus top five players who helped or hurt their draft stock this past week.

Helped Their Stock
"votes" - name, position, school (source)
10 - Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue (RL, AW, NH, TP, PF, FC, RO, BB, RB, DP)
9 - Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas (RL, AW, TP, PF, FC, BB, RB, LZ, DP)
8 - Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Illinois (RL, AW, TP, PF, FC, RB, LZ, DP)
8 - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St. (RL, AW, NH, TP, FC, RO, BB, RB)
8 - Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State (RL, AW, TP, PF, FC, RO, BB, RB)
7 - Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina (RL, AW, NH, PF, RO, BB, RB)
7 - Jonathan Stewart, RB, Oregon (AW, TP, PF, FC, RO, RB, LZ)
6 - Jake Long, OT, Michigan (RL, AW, FC, BB, RB, DP)
5 - Devin Thomas, WR, Michigan State (RL, AW, TP, FC, RO)
5 - Jeremy Zuttah, OL, Rutgers (AW, TP, FC, BB, DP)
5 - Chris Long, DE/OLB, Virginia (RL, AW, PF, FC, RB)
4 - Josh Barrett, S, Arizona State (RL, FC, RO, BB)
3 - Eddie Royal, WR, Virginia Tech (RO, BB, DP)
3 - Brad Cottam, TE, Tennessee (FC, BB, RB)
3 - Cliff Avril, DE/OLB, Purdue (RL, PF, FC)
3 - Justin King, CB, Penn State (FC, BB, LZ)
2 - Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware (NH, BB)
2 - Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii (PF, BB)
2 - Andre Caldwell, WR, Florida (RL, TP)
2 - James Hardy, WR, Indiana (RO, RB)
2 - Limas Sweed, WR, Texas (RO, RB)
2 - Craig Stevens, TE, California (TP, RB)
2 - Branden Albert, G/T, Virginia (LZ, DP)
2 - Dre Moore, DT, Maryland (RL, BB)
2 - Quentin Groves, DE, Auburn (NH, FC, RO)
2 - Derrick Harvey, DE/OLB, Florida (RL, FC)
2 - Marcus Howard, DE/OLB, Georgia (TP, BB)
2 - Gary Guyton, LB, Georgia Tech (AW, BB)
2 - Stanford Kegler, LB, Purdue (PF, BB)
2 - Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas (RO, LZ)
1 - Brian Brohm, QB, Louisville (RL)
1 - Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego (RL)
1 - Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College (AW)
1 - Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas (RO)
1 - Kevin Smith, RB, Central Florida (LZ)
1 - Matt Forte, RB, Tulane (LZ)
1 - Dexter Jackson, WR, Appalachian State (FC)
1 - DeSean Jackson, WR, California (DP)
1 - Jordy Nelson, WR, Kansas State (DP)
1 - Carl Nicks, OT, Nebraska (TP)
1 - Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt (FC)
1 - Duane Brown, OT, Virginia Tech (BB)
1 - Donald Thomas, G, Connecticut (BB)
1 - Mike Pollak, C, Arizona State (BB)
1 - Jason Jones, DE, Eastern Michigan (TP)
1 - Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame (FC)
1 - Wesley Woodyard, LB, Kentucky (RL)
1 - Bryan Kehl, LB, BYU (TP)
1 - Jerod Mayo, LB, Tennessee (BB)
1 - Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy (RL)
1 - Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona (FC)
1 - Orlando Scandrick, CB, Boise State (FC)
1 - Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana (RO)
1 - Mike Jenkins, CB, South Florida (RB)
1 - Kenny Phillips, S, Miami (RL)

Hurt Their Stock
"votes" - name, position, school (source)
8 - Mike Hart, RB, Michigan (RL, AW, TP, PF, FC, RO, BB, LZ)
7 - Mario Manningham, WR, Michigan (AW, TP, PF, FC, RO, BB, RB)
6 - Jeff Otah, OT, Pittsburgh (RL, AW, FC, RO, BB, DP)
6 - Ali Highsmith, LB, LSU (RL, FC, RO, BB, RB, LZ)
5 - John Carlson, TE, Notre Dame (RL, PF, FC, RO, RB)
3 - DeSean Jackson, WR, California (NH, PF, RO)
3 - Jermichael Finley, TE, Texas (FC, BB, LZ)
3 - Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU (AW, NH, RB)
3 - Frank Okam, DT, Texas (RL, FC, BB)
3 - Branden Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech (AW, TP, FC)
3 - DeJuan Tribble, CB, Boston College (NH, FC, BB)
3 - Marcus Griffin, S, Texas (RL, FC, BB)
2 - Davone Bess, WR, Hawaii (FC, BB)
2 - Calais Campbell, DE, Miami (TP, BB)
2 - Curtis Lofton, LB, Oklahoma (AW, LZ)
2 - Kenny Phillips, S, Miami (FC, BB)
1 - Andre’ Woodson, QB, Kentucky (NH)
1 - Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego (DP)
1 - Anthony Morrelli, QB, Penn State (BB)
1 - Felix Jones, RB, Arkansas (LZ)
1 - Ryan Torain, RB, Arizona State (FC)
1 - Yvenson Bernard, RB, Oregon State (RB)
1 - Adarius Bowman, WR, Oklahoma State (FC)
1 - Fred Davis, TE, USC (RB)
1 - Barry Richardson, OT, Clemson (FC)
1 - Chad Rinehart, OL, Northern Iowa (BB)
1 - Pedro Sosa, OT, Rutgers (FC)
1 - Phillip Merling, DE, Clemson (FC)
1 - Pat Sims, DT, Auburn (RL)
1 - Letroy Guion, DT, Florida State (FC)
1 - Jolonn Dunbar, LB, Boston College (FC)
1 - Spencer Larsen, LB, Arizona (BB)
1 - Alvin Bowen, LB, Iowa State (LZ)
1 - Jordon Dizon, LB, Colorado (LZ)
1 - Chevis Jackson, CB, LSU (RL)
1 - Jack Ikegwuonu, CB, Wisconsin (NH)
1 - D.J. Wolfe, S, Oklahoma (FC)

Sources
AW: Allen Wilson, Buffalo News, "McFadden still tops NFL prospect list."

BB: Ben Broman, NFL Draft Watch, "Combine Review—Defense" and "Combine Review—Offense."

DP: Dan Pompei, Chicago Tribune, "Draft stock now soaring for Keller, Mendenhall." Note: Only offensive players are discussed in this article.

FC: Frank Coyle, Draft Insiders' Digest, NFL Draft Prospects (four reports from the combine).

LZ: Lance Zierlein, The Z Report, "Notes From the Combine."

NH: The NFL House, "Stock Up/Stock Down." Note: this link is not to an article, but to a web page that changes as the draft process goes along; the players counted for this consensus are on the page as of February 28.

PF: Pete Fiutak, College Football News, "Who's hot, who's not, NFL Combine version."

RB: Roshan Bhagat, Football's Future, "2008 Scouting Combine Review"

RL: Russ Lande, The Sporting News, "Combine Dish: Winner and Losers."

RO: Rich O'Callaghan, Giants 101, "2008 NFL Combine: Winners & Losers"

TP: Tony Pauline, TFY/SI.com, "Assessing the winners, losers at scouting combine."