Brown runs to No. 1
By Charles Robinson, Yahoo! Sports
February 28, 2005
( Robinson has Rolle dropping in the top prospects, reason is given--but i see Gibbs is thinking of having one tough, intimidating secondary----his pick of SeanTaylor i feel has proven to be excellent--Taylor looked great to me on the 2 ocassions i saw him--but 15million signing bonus for Rolle--Snyder is crazy)
sports.yahoo.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Here's a post-combine look at the top 10 players, based on talent level. Their official heights have been rounded to the nearest inch …
TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. Ronnie Brown, RB, Auburn (6-foot, 233 pounds)
He dominated the combine talk after running a 40-yard dash in the low 4.4-second range. Some scouts clocked him in the 4.3s. For a player his size, that was stunning. He also went through drills and looked sharp. One of the most impressive aspects was that Brown decided to run at all. Teams think he loves competition, and they like his friendly rivalry with fellow Auburn backfield mate Carnell Williams. With his speed and ability to catch the ball, Brown is a complete back who appears to have a little more zip than Texas' Cedric Benson.
2. Braylon Edwards, WR, Michigan (6-3, 211)
It was hard to downgrade Edwards a spot, especially since he didn't run or go through drills, but he checked in about an inch shorter than expected. However, his hands measured out as some of the largest among the receiving group, and two teams said he interviewed well. Now everyone is waiting to see how he works out on Michigan's pro day.
3. Cedric Benson, RB, Texas (5-11, 222)
Hindsight is cruel, but the reality is Benson made a mistake by not running or working out. He stood idle while Brown, Williams and J.J. Arrington wowed teams. He'll have to run in the low 4.4s on his pro day if he's going to keep pace with Brown. And now that Williams has added bulk, there is a possibility he could threaten Benson's stature too. A lot can happen in the next six weeks.
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4. Alex Smith, QB, Utah (6-4, 217)
While he might have gone into the combine as a slight favorite over Cal's Aaron Rodgers, the two leave as almost interchangeable players. Despite all of the talk of Smith's speed, many scouts clocked his 4.75 in the 40 as being slower than Rodgers. While the San Francisco 49ers seem to favor Rodgers at this point, the true dividing line between the two will come when each goes through passing drills at their respective pro days.
5. Aaron Rodgers, QB, California (6-2, 223)
The throwing motion concerns still persist, but Rodgers had a couple of pleasant surprises in store for teams. Despite concerns about his size, he measured in at his exact listed height and weighed a little heavier (but in a good way) than some teams expected. Then Rodgers predicted he would run a sub-4.8 in the 40, much to the skepticism of critics. A few teams had him clocked from 4.71 to 4.78. He seemed to have a little bit of a cocky streak to him in interviews, which was taken as a positive.
6. Derrick Johnson, OLB, Texas (6-3, 242)
He weighed in a little larger than some expected, and now scouts are waiting to see how it affects his speed – though they don't think it will. Johnson still is the No. 1 defensive player on the boards for most teams. However, he seems to be getting washed out by some teams switching to a 3-4 defense and looking for linebackers who can morph back and forth between linebacker and defensive end.
7. Carnell Williams, RB, Auburn (5-11, 217)
He's another running back who responded to his criticisms with great results. Scouts said he needed to get bigger, so Williams added 12 pounds of muscle over his playing weight from last season. When teams wondered how that would affect his speed, Williams went out and ran a 4.45 in the 40, then scored high on agility drills. He still needs to develop his pass-catching abilities, but Williams scored big by showing teams he could bulk up to carry the load as a No. 1 rusher.
8. Adam Jones, CB, West Virginia (5-10, 187)
It was predictable, but plenty of teams seem to be leaning to Jones as the top defensive back because of his ability to stick to receivers. Even though there's still some healthy disagreement over Jones and Miami cornerback Antrel Rolle, Jones has the speed and ability to mirror receivers. Jones is a bit small, but the size of cornerbacks is becoming less relevant now. People aren't looking for big physical players, and that only makes Jones and his 4.4 speed look more attractive.
9. Mike Williams, WR, Southern California (6-4, 229)
There was some talk that teams were unhappy with his 40-yard dash times (4.59 to 4.62), but it sounds suspiciously like lies. Williams is looking more and more like the player teams in the top 10 pretend to blow off – when they actually love him. While scouts would still like to see him get down to the low 220s, they like the way he uses his body and think he could be the biggest playmaker in this draft. He upset a lot people when he said he wasn't going to work out, but regained some respect when he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to run.
10. Alex Barron, OL, Florida Sate (6-8, 320)
He had the massive body everyone was looking at, and most were impressed with his lack of fat. Though Barron did not run, he went through limited drills and opened some eyes with his performance on the leg press. His arms measured out as the longest of any player at the combine. The one criticism of Barron is that he doesn't seem to have a mean streak. Depending on his pro-day workout, he could easily lock himself into the top 10 picks of the draft.
RISING
Troy Williamson, WR, South Carolina – He has size (6-2, 200) and speed (4.38 in the 40) and is nipping on the heels of Mike Williams to become the draft's second-best receiver.
FALLING
Antrel Rolle, CB, Miami – He's physical, but teams aren't seeing that as a huge benefit with the latest emphasis on illegal contact.
Charles Robinson is the national NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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