With all due respects to Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota who put to bed many doubts with solid performances at the QB workout at the scouting combine, the ‘real’ big story out of Indianapolis was just how well the entire cadre of tweener DE/OLBs performed on Sunday. One by one, Florida’s Dante Fowler, Vic Beasley of Clemson, Randy Gregory of Nebraska and Kentucky’s Bud Dupree checked off all the boxes. Fowler, for example, put to bed any doubts about his long speed as he ran the 40 in 4.60 with a sub-1.60 split, while both Beasley and Dupree turned in ‘wow‘ performances with the former stopping the 40 clock in 4.53 seconds while he added a 41-inch vertical leap and was among the fastest LBs in the agility drills. That was after he led the LBs with 35 reps in the bench press, which was after he measured in at 246 pounds, rather than the 230 or so that most analysts were expecting. Indeed, Beasley may have done as much for his final grade as any player in Indianapolis this week. Meanwhile, the 269-pound Dupree ran the 40 in 4.56 seconds with a 1.60 split while posting a very athletic 42-inch vertical, while Gregory had a 4.64 40 clocking and a 36.5“ vertical, although pro scouts are still concerned about the fact he only weighed 235 at the combine and will be looking to see if he adds some bulk before his pro day next month. And it likely would have been 5 OLBs turning heads this week, but Missouri‘s Shane Ray wasn‘t allowed to run because of a foot injury.

Of course, nobody wins football games running track so it remains to be seen how NFL teams factor all this into each guy’s grade, but every one made the case that they should at least get some top 10 consideration this spring, that is they weren’t getting it already. And while there is still a long way to go until the draft, the sense we get is that if the draft were held this week Fowler just might be the first OLB off the board, followed by Beasley, Gregory, Ray and Dupree, although much will also depend on the particular preferences of individual teams.

And while the top tier of DE/OLBs had a great day on the field at the combine, the second tier group was also very good. Danielle Hunter of LSU for example ran a 4.57 40, while Virginia’s Eli Harold had a 4.60 clocking, along with a 35-inch vertical and was among the leaders in the position in the agility drills. Same for Owamagbe Odighizuwa of UCLA who had a 4.62 40 clocking and a 39-inch vertical, while he was also among the top at the position in the short shuttle. Even Zach Hodges of Harvard had a pretty good day as he ran a 4.68 40 with a very quick 1.62 split.

On the other hand, tweeners who had somewhat disappointing days included Nate Orchard of Utah who was only able to run a 4.80 40 while posting a less than athletic 31.5” vertical. Sam story for Lorenzo Mauldin of Louisville who was even a tad slower at 4.85 in the 40 while recording a 32-inch vertical. At the same time, both of Markus Golden of Missouri and Norfolk State’s Lynden Trail weren’t able to crack the 4.9 barrier in the 40.

Speaking of tweeners checking off all the boxes, Southern Cal DE/DT/5T Leonard Williams had a solid outing posting a sub-5.0 40 with a quick (for a 302-pounder) 1.72 split, while he had a decent 29.5” vertical. Nothing there that would be a deal breaker for a player many consider to be the best non-QB prospect in this draft, although Williams’ numbers still paled to a considerable extent with those of J J Watt, whom the former Trojans’ star was trying to emulate. Somewhat unheralded Washington State 5T Xavier Cooper also had a very good day as he ran a very good 4.86 40 clocking with an even quicker 1.70 10-yard split. Continuing a PAC-12 theme, Henry Anderson of Stanford only ran in the 5-flat range in the 40, but was quicker in the short-area stuff. Same for Corey Crawford of Clemson, while both Darius Philon of Arkansas and B.J. Dubose of Louisville may have some 3-4 teams scrambling to find some old game tapes after posting some athletic splits. It was also an interesting day for Oregon DT/5T Arik Armstead who only managed to run a 5.10 40, but had a pretty good 1.76 split over 10 yards while he also added a very athletic 34-inch vertical. Time will only tell, though, whether that will necessarily move the 6-7 Armstead’s final grade.

Meanwhile, among the true DTs Malcom Brown did nothing to hurt his status as at least a mid-to-late first rounder as the 320-pounder ran a 5.05 40 with a 1.76 split and a 29-inch vertical. In fact, in terms of pure athleticism – and nobody really expects much pure athleticism from 300-plus pound DTs – the interior defensive linemen that stood out in combine drills were lesser known types such as Derrick Lott of Tennessee-Chattanooga (4.99 40 clocking), Auburn’s Angelo Balckson, Rakeem Nunez-Roches of Southern Miss and Darius Philion of Arkansas.

While the tweener DEs could be the strength of the 2015 draft, it appears that it may be something of a wasteland for prototype 4-3 DEs. Preston Smith of Mississippi State at least looked the part as the 6-5, 271-pounder ran a respectable 4.74 40 with a quick 1.63 split and a reasonably athletic 34-inch vertical. The most impressive DE in Indianapolis, though, was Frank Clark of Michigan who had a 4.79 40 with a 1.70 split and a 38.5-inch vertical while posting the fastest times among all defensive linemen in the agility drills. However, eyebrows were raised when Clark, who is dealing with some major off-field stuff, was even been invited to the combine.

The only thing that maybe gives the DE crowd some hope is that there wasn’t a ton of athleticism shown by the 4-3 LBs. Indeed, pro personnel people are still scratching their heads over the poor show by TCU LB Paul Dawson, who was one of the most productive players in the country this past season as he made plays all over the field, but didn’t show much speed or range as he was clocked in a very pedestrian 4.93 in the 40 and had an unathletic vertical, although his 10-yard split (1.70) wasn’t as bad. Meanwhile, Mississippi State LB Benardrick McKinney had an impressive vertical leap of 40.5 inches, but pro scouts were probably expecting a somewhat faster 40 time than 4.66. Same for Washington’s Shaq Thompson whose numbers weren’t necessarily bad (4.64 40; 33.5″ vertical) but pro teams were likely expecting a little more explosion from a guy more than one team had been thinking about as a possible safety or even RB. And Miami’s Denzel Perryman tested more like a two-down guy with a 4.78 40 and a 32″ vertical, although like Dawson had a decent 1.70 10-yard split.

On the other hand, nobody was really expecting much from the mike backers, but there was actually some surprising athleticism and agility at the position this week in Indianapolis. UCLA’s Eric Kendricks, for example, had a pretty good day with a 4.61 40 clocking and a very athletic 38″ vertical. Meanwhile, both Stephone Anthony of Clemson and LSU’s Kwon Alexander both ran in 4.55 range with very athletic verticals, while Ben Heeney of Kansas and Bryce Hager of Baylor ran in the 4.60 range and were very smooth in agility drills. The position also has something of a sleeper in Edmond Robinson of Newberry who ran a 4.61 40 with a very quick 1.61 split and a 37-inch vertical.