2019 NFL Scouting Combine Live Tracker: Day 7 open thread

Time to wrap things up.

The 2019 NFL Scouting Combine is coming to a close as every position group has finished their combine sessions save for the defensive backs. Today, cornerbacks and safeties will go through the public, on-field gauntlet to measure up against their peers and set thei draft stock before finalizing things at their individual pro days.

Here’s the schedule for the groups:

Making things interesting today is the fact that the Los Angeles Rams are in prime position to draft prospects at both cornerback and safety this year. With all their other roster gaps under consideration, it means that nearly every prospect is under review today from as early as the first round all the way out of the 2019 NFL Draft into the undrafted free agent signing period.

A couple of prospects I’m personally interested in:

Clemson Tigers CB Trayvon Mullen

Plus size, minus quicks. The next Trumaine Johnson? If so, where does he fall? Tru was underdrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft at #65 perhaps partially because of his small school resume. Mullen, however, is coming out of college football’s premier programs with a plus performance in the national championship. If #31 is too high, #94 might be too low.

Oregon Ducks S Ugochukwu Amadi

Size for skill, Amadi is the obvious successor for Rams S Lamarcus Joyner. But skill for size-wise... You’re just not going to find many players who can do what LMJ does under 5’10”. Which raises the question of what matters.

If you want a smaller guy who can impress with physicality and directness, you can get it in that package. But someone of his size that can play corner or file the seam at safety with his man skills? That’s just rare. Amadi might be the only one who measures at Joyner’s build without losing a ton on the skill sheet.

Michigan State Spartans CB Justin Layne

Success breeds copycats. If you’re looking for the next version of former Seattle Seahawks CB and current San Francisco 49ers CB Richard Sherman, Layne fits the bill.

But that’s a hard ladder to climb...

Iowa Hawkeyes DB Amani Hooker

Hooker is one of those guys that is just confusingly good. Is he a cornerback? Is he a safety? I don’t know. I know he’s talented. I know in the right situation he can thrive. But I also know Iowa had to make up a new position just to suit his skills. And it did! (the staff created a position called “star” or “cash” or “bang” or “splash” or “volcano” and only some of those are true) He won Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, which is kind of the conundrum.

If you can get him in the right spot without asking too much of him from the people around him, he can be, well, one of the best defensive backs in the game. If not, you’re going to be searching for ways to maximize his skill set. And of course what makes that scary is that’s exactly what Rams fans said about WR Tavon Austin for years.

Alabama Crimson Tide S Deionte Thompson

If the Rams are going to go safety at #31, Deionte is probably the play. If anything, his candidacy is about the other options.

USC Trojans CB Iman Marshall

One of the few guys who testing might really, actually, sincerely matter for. Build/skills are early draft levels. But with iffy technique (which is coachable), natural measurables might not be (which aren’t).

Boston College Eagles CB Hamp Cheevers

Actual prospect, but I prefer to think this is just a dude from some stuffy BC frat who earned a spot at the combine because his dad knows a guy.

Good luck, Hamp Cheevers!

And this’ll do it. After today, we pack things in in Indy and head through the Pro Day gauntlet toward free agency next week.

Click in, folks!