Initial Texas, Virginia, USC Pro Day results....Benson, S. Cody were terrible.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

Texas Pro-Day - RB Cedric Benson ran anywhere from 4.61 and 4.68 only one team had him under 4.6. Scout.Com reports are disputing other media reports who are reporting Benson ran under a 4.6. as no team had him faster than a 4.61. Bensons pro shuttle was 4.23 & 4.47, and 3 cone time of 7.55. and a 33" BJ . Bensons 21 reps on the bench are in question as many scouts did not think he locked 3 of those repetitions. Bensons workout was not good and whether running the cone drills or pass routes he was consistent slowing into breaks / cuts

OLB Derrick Johnson looked very good in positional drills.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

U.Virginia Pro-Day - LB/ DE Darryl Blackstock ran a pair of 40's at 4.56 & 4.61 with a long shuttle of 11.53

Many teams had problems getting to the Virginia Pro-day because of the weather. According to a scout in attendance Blackstock looked good in LB position drills and looked very natural.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USC Pro-Day - DT Shaun Cody weighed in at 292, and ran a pair of 40's of 5.07 5.03, 3 cone times of 7.76 7.94 Scouts were not impressed with Cody's overall workout and feel his stock has slipped after todays perfomance.

S Matt Grootegoed ran a pair of 40's 4.77 4.79

TE Alex Holmes ran a disappointing pair of 40's 5.07 5.04

DT Mike Patterson had a pair of 40's of 4.95 & 4.93 and a vertical jump of 32.5

S Jason Leach ran in the low 4.6, and had vertical jump of 37.5

MLB Lofa Tatupu ran a pair of 40's at 4.75 & 4.74 and measured in at 6-0.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news Stanford Routt from Houston once again impressed NFL scouts in his workout yesterday. Routt who ran 4.3's at the NFL combine looked outstanding in positional drills and many scouts feel he has secured a spot to be a first day pick.

[Dream]

I think Cody's injury is getting to him. Patterson still looks good though. I think this killed Cody's stock and he might slip down into the second round after that.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

I think Cody's injury is getting to him. Patterson still looks good though. I think this killed Cody's stock and he might slip down into the second round after that.

Oh, definitely a 2nd round pick now. He might even be passed up by John Babineaux of Iowa. He certainly has been lapped by both Patterson and Castillo now. He still should be ahead of Hawthorne though.

Patterson was actually expected to run a high 4.8, so his 4.93 was a tad higher then expected, but the 40 isnt so important for a DT. He's still at the very top with that time though along with Johnson and Castillo. Im waiting to see how he did in his short shuttle, which is very important and his bench press. I have high hopes for those results.

The real story is Benson, he's in trouble now. WIth all the wear and tear his body has taken, to put up pedestrian numbers is extra bad. He's probably a mid 1st round pick now, likely to Carolina at 14.

And also, Demarcus Ware is in trouble if Blackstock had a great workout, that will knock Ware out of round 1.

[DPg2003]

Yea Benson and S. Cody have definitely hurt their pockets with these workout numbers.

[Dream]

I'm guessing that Cody will play DT in the pros though, so a 5.0 isn't really anything terrible. When you get his full results, especially the benches let me know.

Patterson and Cody that is!

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

Patteron's vertical jump was lights out though. Most DT who are 6'2 average about a 27 inch jump. His height just became less of an issue with that reach, I was not expecting that amount of athleticism.

[PRBronco]

I really like patterson, definitely can't wait to hear about the rest of his test results. Razor scared me off with some of those comparisons to anthony adams, so i looked up how adams did in college, and he didn't come close to patterson's performance. Patterson's athleticism is definitely superior, lookin forward to hear how he did.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

I'm sure Cody sat on his combine bench press, he had a very impressive 34 reps. Strength is certainly not an issue with Shaun, which is more of an asset at DT then DE.

Patterson did not lift at the combine, so he certainly did today. He can bench 500 lbs and squat 700, so he better of tossed up 30+ reps as well. Though as long as you get over 25, you're considered pretty strong.

[myoung]

Good post MUG. I think this will really hurt Benson. It may actually help us offload Rueben as some of the top tier teams may not jump on Benson as high. the Auburn boys should definately be 1-2 now.

I am not sure how much Cody hurt himself. I don't think anyone projected him as a 4-3 DE. There are a ton of DTs in the league that run that time or less. I think it hurt but overall there are very few good DTs in the draft. I do think it will help establish Johnson as the top guy at that position. I think Cody will fall back with some of the other second round prospects.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

Derrick Johnson after Pro Day Interview.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/story/8320534


Sounds like he delivered on being the best LB prospect since Ray Lewis.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

Good post MUG. I think this will really hurt Benson. It may actually help us offload Rueben as some of the top tier teams may not jump on Benson as high. the Auburn boys should definately be 1-2 now.

I am not sure how much Cody hurt himself. I don't think anyone projected him as a 4-3 DE. There are a ton of DTs in the league that run that time or less. I think it hurt but overall there are very few good DTs in the draft. I do think it will help establish Johnson as the top guy at that position. I think Cody will fall back with some of the other second round prospects.

The thing to watch with Cody is his short shuttle time and the scouts' opinions on how he did with his positional workouts. The 3-cone is more useful then the 40 time for a D-lineman but not as key as the short shuttle.

What we know as of now...

Is that Cody looked bad, or at least worse then expected of a 1st round pick, at his positional drills.

We know he does have good strength, so that didn't hurt him.

We know his 3-cone drill was very average-poor. A big discrepency between the 2 times. Travis Johnson ran a 4.5 3-cone.

I think Cody is in competition with John Babineaux now for the DT picked at the top of Rd. 2.

[OhNoKoolAid]

Good post MUG. I think this will really hurt Benson. It may actually help us offload Rueben as some of the top tier teams may not jump on Benson as high. the Auburn boys should definately be 1-2 now.

I am not sure how much Cody hurt himself. I don't think anyone projected him as a 4-3 DE. There are a ton of DTs in the league that run that time or less. I think it hurt but overall there are very few good DTs in the draft. I do think it will help establish Johnson as the top guy at that position. I think Cody will fall back with some of the other second round prospects.

You just cannot mess with back injuries and linemen. I realy don't see how any team with a legitimate need at DT or DE will mess with him until the end of the second. Also, he is big, but he isn't big waisted and doesn't anchor well to begin with, and without a healthy back, he cannot anchor period. Cody is in no man's land, he lacks speed and quickness for end, and a bad back and girth for 4-3 defensive tackle. If you want him at a 3-4 end, watch his games at USC, he was a quickness and penetrating guy in college, not an anchor and gap control guy. His production will allow him to get drafted in the mid second, and when healthy he can be good, but he is a major gamble, and in my book, may be passed up by the two Missouri kids.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

Mosley Notes

Do you like CJ Mosley?

3/23/2005
With the number of teams moving to a 3-4, there have been a lot of articles on players who fit the system. While most of the concentration has been on LSU’s Marcus Spears and USC’s Shaun Cody, there is a player flying a little under the radar in Missouri DT/DE C.J. Mosley. At 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, Mosley is an impressive combination of size, strength, quickness, and speed. Ability wise, he is in the class of Spears and Cody. He also appears to be a good effort player. The primary difference is that he hasn’t played much in a two gap system and has a long way to go technique wise. Mosley is a player desperately in need of a good DL coach and might take an extra year to develop, but might be considered a steal a year from now.


"Vikings Target Mosely"

Linebacker and defensive tackle might be the positions with the most dramatic changes from top to bottom on the Vikings’ roster entering the 2005 NFL Draft.

At defensive tackle, the Vikings have obtained nose tackle Pat Williams in free agency to place alongside Kevin Williams. Last year’s breakthrough rookie free agent, Spencer Johnson, will move to a reserve role, and unrestricted free agent Chris Hovan will move to another NFL team. Steve Martin, acquired during free agency last year, didn’t show enough consistency to guarantee him a roster spot in 2005.

So the options for the Vikings at defensive tackle are wide open entering the April 23-24 draft, and they have shown an interest in C.J. Mosley, a 6-foot-2, 314-pound junior out of Missouri.

In an interview with Scout.com, Mosley revealed that Vikings defensive line coach Brian Baker traveled to Columbia, Mo., to work out one of the draft’s top defensive tackles.

"It was fun. Coach Baker came down to Columbia, Mo., and worked me out," Mosley said. "I thought he was going to kick my butt, honestly. He said he saw me run at the combine and he was like ‘Man, I know you can run. Conditioning is not a problem. I just want to see you move, how you rip and react and everything.’ … I think he was satisfied with everything he saw. He did kick my butt in the very last drill. He ran me through like a rabid dog."

Mosley is considered versatile enough to play either tackle position but can get out of control, according to one analysis. He might be best as the under tackle in the Vikings defense.

Mosley was the last man invited to the NFL Combine in February, but that didn’t stunt his confidence.

"Learning what I’ve learned, I know that I can damn near out-produce a lot of the D-tackles that are ranked above me or that are ranked up there. I would have to say I’m a sleeper," he said.

That might be best for the Vikings’ chances of drafting Mosley, as they probably wouldn’t spend a high draft pick on a player that might need to add weight and wouldn’t be expected to vie for a starting job in 2005. He is the eight-ranked defensive tackle in the draft, according to Scout.com, and the only junior among the top 20 at his position.

While he learned he can compete with some of the top rookie-to-be talent at the position and said he doesn’t think he has a weakness that’s been pointed out to him yet, he was disappointed with the sustained speed he showed at the combine. His 40-yard dash time was a disappointment to him, he said.

"I got clocked anywhere from a 5.05 to a 5.1. I weighed in at 314 at the combine. My fastest 40 was a 4.89, so I wanted to run a 4.9, anywhere from 4.95 to 4.96. I was disappointed in that," he said.

So far, the biggest knock on Mosley’s game might be the way he faces double teams. According to one analysis, he tries to take on both players instead of defeating one. But Mosley says he can split the double teams.

"The zone blitz defense that we ran … if you’re across the center’s face, most likely you’re going to get double-teamed by the center and the guard. If you’re quick enough, you can split it," he said.

He is considered an aggressive player who is better on the move than he is making reads at the snap of the ball. But, is he too aggressive?

"I don’t think so. If you make smart plays, not at all," Mosley said. "You’ve got to be aggressive to play the game of football. My sophomore year I played real calm and made sure I did the right things. But junior year, I pushed it up — I tried to be more violent. There ain’t no friends on the field at all. I had to learn the hard way."

That aggressive style helped lead him to 167 tackles, 15.5 sacks and 38 tackles-for-loss in 36 games (27 starts) at Missouri.

He was in the center of a defense that was ranked 14th in the nation in 2004, and he was named first-team All-Big 12 by the Associated Press and was the team’s defensive lineman of the year.

While not everyone knew a lot about Mosley at the start of the offseason since he was a junior declaring early, other teams besides the Vikings are showing interest as well.

He talked to almost every team at the combine, he said, and has since heard from the New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons.

"I’ll be happy when I get drafted and know where I’m going," Mosley said.

The Vikings would be happy if he slipped to them at some point in the draft.

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

How did he stack up against Thomas Davis?

Brian Urlacher's Pro Day stats:

6'3, 258lbs, 4.56 40, 27 reps, 4.19 short shuttle, 6.94 3-cone, 34 vertical.


LaVar Arrington's Pro Day stats:
6'3, 250lbs, 4.55 40, 20 reps, 4.28 short shuttle, *No 3-cone data, 37 vertical.


Thomas Davis' Pro Day stats:
6'0, 227lbs, 4.44 40, 12 reps, 3.97 short shuttle, 7.09 3-cone, 36.5 vertical.


Derrick Johnson's Pro Day stats:
6'3, 243lbs, 4.56 40, 21 reps, 3.87 short shuttle, 7.20 3-cone, 37.5 vertical.


And then of course the biggest factor, which can't be measured here is how they did in their positional drills.

[myoung]

The thing to watch with Cody is his short shuttle time and the scouts' opinions on how he did with his positional workouts. The 3-cone is more useful then the 40 time for a D-lineman but not as key as the short shuttle.

What we know as of now...

Is that Cody looked bad, or at least worse then expected of a 1st round pick, at his positional drills.

We know he does have good strength, so that didn't hurt him.

We know his 3-cone drill was very average-poor. A big discrepency between the 2 times. Travis Johnson ran a 4.5 3-cone.

I think Cody is in competition with John Babineaux now for the DT picked at the top of Rd. 2.

I am a little confused by a couple of your statements. Do you think he is rated higher than Patterson or lower at this point?

I thought I read that you had said Patterson and Castillo had lapped him. At this point I still question whether Patterson has jumped Cody because of the lack of ideal size and the college production difference. I agree with you that Cody slipped. I am just not clear at this point how far. The information is still a bit weak from alot of the scouting places.