There’s still two days left at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, but Darrius Heyward-Bey has already made his presence felt. The 6-foot-2 wide receiver impressed scouts yesterday by posting the top 40-yard dash time among wide outs (4.30 seconds). Heyward-Bey may have cemented his status as a first-round pick by leading a group of pass catchers that featured four players who topped the 4.4 second mark. Heyward-Bey’s run currently stands as the top 40-yard dash so far, but that could change when defensive backs run tomorrow.
Heyward-Bey also fared well in other aspects of the workout. According to www.nfl.com, Heyward-Bey finished ninth among receivers by bench pressing 225 pounds 16 times. More predictably, the former high school track star also finished in the top five at his position in vertical jump (38.5 inches) and broad jump (10-feet-6-inches).
The other Terp standing out at his position is tight end Dan Gronkowski. Gronkowski, who dropped weight before this season to improve his speed, ran his 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds. He also finished third among tight ends with 26 reps in the bench press. He also showed his athleticism by finishing at least tied for second in the 20- and 60-yard shuttles, 3-cone drill and broad jump. Gronkowski struggled with drops towards the end of his senior season, but his performance in Indianapolis should strengthen his case to get a look in the League.
I haven’t been able to find a lot of information about the performances of the other four Terps at the combine (cornerback Kevin Barnes, guard Jamie Thomas, center Edwin Williams and linebacker Moise Fokou). But Thomas, weighing in at 323 pounds, probably helped his stock by running his 40-yard dash in 5.22 seconds.
Here is www.nfl.com’s list of all the top performances at the combine.
UPDATE: Moise Fokou and the linebackers did most of their testing on Monday. While the big news was injuries to highly-rated USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, Fokou put up some impressive workout numbers. Fokou, who once challenged former Terp tight end Vernon Davis to a race and lost by a hair, needed to showcase his speed and athleticism to impress scouts. His 40-yard dash time (4.76 seconds) ranked tenth among linebackers. He also tied for third in broad jump and finished behind only Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry in the 60-yard shuttle.
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Tags: Dan Gronkowski, Darrius Heyward-Bey, edwin williams, Jamie Thomas