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2009 NFL Combine: What Can Saints Fans Take From It?


Now that the 2009 NFL Combine is over and all the prospects have returned to their corner of the globe it's time for fans and experts alike to analyze the results and recalculate what they think the draft will look like this April. Whatever the landscape of 2009 mock drafts looked like last week doesn't matter anymore. With fresh stats  from the Combine to use now, most mock draft authors will begin tweaking their picks and releasing their mock drafts version 2.0. To help us all get a better handle on what this means for Saints fans let's review some of the things we've learned these past few days and how it will shape draft talk in Who Dat Nation.

 

Aaron Curry

Before the Combine, Curry's name was linked with the Saints in a handful of mock drafts. If you still think the Saints might have a chance to snag him with the 14th pick you should probably un-tap your Kool-Aid keg. Curry was just plain nasty in Monday's workouts as he solidified his position as the top linebacker in the draft. He should be a top five pick. 

 

Brian Cushing

Like Aaron Curry, Cushing had an awesome combine and did wonders for his value. Brian was a top performer in six of the seven workouts. He did so well, in fact, that he will probably now be off the draft board by the time the Saints are on the clock. If Cushing did somehow fall to the Saints at 14th they would probably be stupid not to snag him and ignore their need for a DB. Or even better, use it as a bargaining chip for a sweet trade down. I wouldn't plan on it though.

 

Malcolm Jenkins

Once touted as the best cornerback in the draft, Malcolm Jenkins is now being viewed as the top safety in the draft. This is good news for Saints fans. If Jenkins is viewed as a safety, his draft stock would inevitably lower and the chance of him being available when the Saints pick would be much more likely. Personally, I think the possibility of a versatile player who could play either cornerback or safety would be just what the doctor ordered for the Saints. I'm likin' it. He didn't have the best of Combine performances, but finished with the best 3-Cone time and top five in the 20-yard Shuttle. Still, the fact of the matter is that Jenkins is a talented football player. 

 

James Laurinaitis

I'm just not a fan of James Laurinaitis for the Saints. Personally, I don't want to see New Orleans draft any linebacker unless it's Aaron Curry (not happenin') or maybe even Brian Cushing (also probably not happenin'), but Laurinaitis just seems to have this aura of dud surrounding him. He's already got the reputation for dissappearing in big games. Laurinaitis performed well in the 3-cone drill and well enough in the 20-yard shuttle but he layed an egg in the 40-yard dash. I hope he's still not on the Saints radar. 

 

Studs and Duds

After taking a look at the cornerback and safety top performer lists I must say I am surprised by a lot of the names that appear and just as surprised by the names that don't appear. Here are a few players who really helped themselves yesterday and who may be possible targets by the Saints.

 

  • Kevin Barnes - Cornerback - Maryland - Top performer in 40-yard dash, Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, 3-cone Drill and 20-yard Shuttle.
  • Lardarius Webb - Cornerback - Nicholls State - Top performer in 40-yard dash, 3-cone Drill and 20-yard Shuttle.
  • Donald Washington - Cornerback - Ohio State - Best performance in both the Vertical Jump and Broad Jump.
  • David Bruton - Free Safety - Notre Dame - Top performer in 40-yard dash, Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, 3-cone Drill and 60-yard Shuttle.
  • Sherrod Martin - Free Safety - Troy - Top performer in 40-yard dash, 3-cone Drill 20-yard Shuttle and 60-yard Shuttle.
  • C.J. Spillman - Free Safety - Marshall - Top performer in 40-yard dash, Vertical Jump and 60-yard Shuttle.

 

These guys will probably start showing up a bit more often on future mock drafts. Particularly as second and third round options. We will take a better look at all of these players as we get closer to the draft. 

There were also a few prospects who didn't make much of an impression during yesterdays workouts. Did some of these guys decide not to participate and wait for their respective pro day? What happened to...

 

  • William Moore - Safety - Missouri - Didn't finish as a top performer in any workout.
  • Rashad Johnson - Free Safety - Alabama - Didn't finish as a top performer in any workout.
  • Alphonso Smith - Cornerback - Wake Forest - Didn't finish as a top performer in any workout. 
  • Patrick Chung - Strong Safety - Oregon - Only finished as a top performer in the Bench Press. 

 

 

Random Fact

Ever wonder who foots the bill for the NFL Combine every year? The teams do! Each NFL franchise pays a $75,000 fee to help host the Combine making the total hosting cost $2.4 million. This buys each team all of the medical reports, test results and video tapes of the workouts and drills. 

 

Make the jump to see a complete list of all the top linebacker, cornerback and safety performers for each workout.

 

 

Linebackers

40-yard dash

Name Time
Curry, Aaron 4.56
Arnoux, Stanley 4.61
McRath, Gerald 4.61
Matthews, Clay 4.67
Phillips, Jason 4.69
Brinkley, Jasper 4.72
Cushing, Brian 4.74
Freeman, Marcus 4.74
Follett, Zack 4.75
Fokou, Moise 4.76


Bench Press

Name Reps
Cushing, Brian 30
Freeman, Marcus 30
Maiava, Kaluka 30
Felder, Anthony 28
McKillop, Scott 27
McKenzie, Tyrone 27
Brinkley, Jasper 26
Curry, Aaron 25
Casillas, Jonathan 24
Robinson, Lee 24


Vertical Jump

Name Height
Curry, Aaron 37.0
Follett, Zack 37.0
Freeman, Marcus 37.0
McKillop, Scott 35.5
Matthews, Clay 35.5
Brinkley, Jasper 35.5
Ellerbe, Dannell 35.0
Williams, Worrell 35.0
Cushing, Brian 35.0


Broad Jump

Name Distance
Curry, Aaron 10'4"
McRath, Gerald 10'3"
Arnoux, Stanley 10'1"
Fokou, Moise 10'1"
Matthews, Clay 10'1"
Phillips, Jason 10'0"
Cushing, Brian 10'0"
Levy, DeAndre 9'11"
Sintim, Clint 9'11"
McKillop, Scott 9'11"


3-cone Drill

Name Time
Cushing, Brian 6.84
Matthews, Clay 6.90
Laurinaitis, James 6.93
Freeman, Marcus 6.98
Maiava, Kaluka 6.98
McKillop, Scott 7.00
Ellerbe, Dannell 7.00
Brinkley, Jasper 7.03
Fokou, Moise 7.09


20-yard Shuttle

Name Time
Freeman, Marcus 4.12
Matthews, Clay 4.18
Maiava, Kaluka 4.20
Cushing, Brian 4.22
Ellerbe, Dannell 4.23
Laurinaitis, James 4.24
Fokou, Moise 4.28
Phillips, Jason 4.32
Brinkley, Jasper 4.32


60-yard Shuttle

Name Time
Curry, Aaron 11.35
Fokou, Moise 11.41
McRath, Gerald 11.51
Arnoux, Stanley 11.64
McKillop, Scott 11.66




Cornerbacks

40-yard dash

Name Time
Webb, Lardarius 4.46
Davis, Vontae 4.49
Hughes, Brandon 4.50
Owens, Christopher 4.51
Barnes, Kevin 4.52


Bench Press

Name Reps
Davis, Vontae 25
Word-Daniels, Jahi 24
Francies, Coye 24
Pegues, Derek 23
Trent, Morgan 23
Quin, Glover 22
Burnett, Joe 22
Allen, Asher 22


Vertical Jump

Name Height
Washington, Donald 45.0
Butler, Darius 43.0
Moore, D.J. 39.5
Mouton, Ryan 39.5
Barnes, Kevin 38.5
Fletcher, Bradley 38.5
Quin, Glover 38.0
Trent, Morgan 38.0


Broad Jump

Name Distance
Washington, Donald 11'3"
Butler, Darius 11'2"
Mouton, Ryan 10'9"
Barnes, Kevin 10'8"
Hughes, Brandon 10'8"
Trent, Morgan 10'7"


3-cone Drill

Name Time
Jenkins, Malcolm 6.59
Burnett, Joe 6.68
Harris, Victor 6.68
Johnson, Bruce 6.71
Barnes, Kevin 6.72
Davis, Vontae 6.75
Webb, Lardarius 6.77


20-yard Shuttle

Name Time
Barnes, Kevin 3.96
Harris, Victor 3.98
Trent, Morgan 4.01
Johnson, Bruce 4.05
Jenkins, Malcolm 4.07
Davis, Vontae 4.07
Powers, Jerraud 4.08
Webb, Lardarius 4.10


60-yard Shuttle

Name Time
Trent, Morgan 11.07
Akins, Kevin 11.12
Hughes, Brandon 11.25
Burnett, Joe 11.27
Owens, Christopher 11.40



Safeties

40-yard dash

Name Time
Clemons, Chris 4.41
Bruton, David 4.46
Spillman, C.J. 4.50
Vaughn, Chip 4.51
Martin, Sherrod 4.52


Bench Press

Name Reps
Ellison, Kevin 32
Sanford, Jamarca 29
Chung, Patrick 25
Hodge, Stephen 22


Vertical Jump

Name Height
Bruton, David 41.5
Spillman, C.J. 41.5
McBath, Darcel 38.0


Broad Jump

Name Distance
Bruton, David 11'0"
Taylor, Curtis 10'9"
Clemons, Chris 10'7"
Delmas, Louis 10'6


3-cone Drill

Name Time
Martin, Sherrod 6.60
Bruton, David 6.60
Delmas, Louis 6.67


20-yard Shuttle

Name Time
Martin, Sherrod 3.98
Vaughn, Chip 4.12


60-yard Shuttle

Name Time
Bruton, David 10.96
Martin, Sherrod 11.17
Spillman, C.J. 11.27