We already knew former Terps’ left tackle Bruce Campbell would do something like this during his workouts on Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Campbell ran a 4.85-second (official) 40-yard dash, the fastest time for an offensive linemen at this year’s event. You can see the rest of his testing results here.
Now comes the hard part for NFL scouts and general managers, the debate that comes up every year at this time: How much stock should you put in to combine results?
Campbell’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, tweeted that his client’s performance should make him a top-10 pick. Not so fast.
The NFL.com network’s Mike Mayock has has put the “buyer beware” tag on Campbell, because of “average” film.
He’s not the only one raising doubts about how good a player Campbell will actually be.
ESPN’s Todd McShay said Campbell’s performance has solidified his standing in the bottom half of the first round. That would validate Campbell’s decision to leave school early, although it’s unlikely a 40-yard dash time will push him into the top 10 like Rosenhaus suggested.
What’s missing on Campbell’s game film?
Campbell told the NFL Network’s on-location crew he knows he needs to work on his leverage, both in pass-blocking and run-blocking. Mayock pointed out Campbell had trouble against speedy defensive ends in pass-blocking, which is generally considered his strength.
Really though, it comes down to experience. Campbell doesn’t have as much of it as some of the tackles that will go before him in April.
But as Terps’ strength and conditioning coach Dwight Galt pointed out, when the NFL sees a guy with the raw athletic ability of Campbell, somebody’s going to take that chance no matter what the risk.
Aaron Kraut is The Diamondback’s sports editor. He can be reached at akrautdbk@gmail.com.