Combine Day 3 Recap

Story of the Day
Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o. All eyes were on the Heisman trophy runner-up as he worked his way through Monday's on-field work. He started off the day posting a 4.82 second 40 time which was below average among the LB group but I'm not sweating it. Recent years have shown us that fast 40 times aren't necessary to perform at a high level at inside linebacker in this league. Look at Bengals starting linebacker Vontaze Burfict and Patriots starting linebacker Brandon Spikes as recent examples, who ran wretched 5.09 and 5.06 40 times in their respective years. Te'o's time didn't help his stock but I don't think it really hurt it either. He looked smooth in drills and I expect him to go in the first round despite the highly publicized catfishing scandal.
(Photo Credit: AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Others that Impressed

• Florida DT Sharrif Floyd. I loved the way the 6'3", 297 pounder moved out there today. He ran a 4.92 40 which is pretty good considering his size and looked very fluid and smooth in the drills. He's got great footwork and I think he's a top 5 talent.
• Physical freak defensive ends Barkevious Mingo, Dion Jordan, and Ezekiel Ansah. All of these guys performed well as expected. While listed as defensive ends today, I project them as 3-4 OLBs in the league. They all are likely first rounders.
• Day 2 prospects UConn LB Sio Moore, Georgia DE Cornelius Washington, and SMU DE Margus Hunt. Sio Moore performed well continuing his Senior Bowl momentum. Washington was a top performer on both 40-yard dash and bench press among the D-line group. And Hunt moved well and ran a 4.60 40 despite being 6'8".

Disappointments

• Texas A&M DE Damontre Moore. This is a kid who was in the top 10 on a lot of boards but only managed to put up 12 reps on the bench, lowest among the defensive linemen. He then had a poor 4.95 40 time on his first attempt, and pulled up possibly straining his hamstring on his second attempt. Just a bad day all around and his stock will certainly take a hit.
• First round prospects DE Bjoern Werner (FSU) and DT Sheldon Richardson (Mizzou). Neither of these guys had particularly bad days but they certainly didn't look like the top half first round prospects many project. In a stronger class like in years past, these guys would probably be closer to late first round, early second but due to the overall lack of standout talent at the top, they could go mid first.