Another day; more boxes checked off. Sounds like a bit of a broken record, but through the first two days of the combine there really haven’t been many shocks or surprises during the weigh-in/measurement sessions. And that was pretty much the case again today when the receivers’ measurables were tested. If one thing did stand out it was that Ole Miss’ D.K. Metcalf, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position this year, certainly looked the part. Metcalf measured in at over 6-3 and a full-sized 228; he also showed a huge catch radius with almost 35″ arms, along with big hands just under 10-inches.
In fact, just about all the WRs considered to have at least some top 50 potential for this year’s draft fell within most acceptable parameters. A.J. Brown, Metcalf’s Ole Miss teammate, for example, was a little shorter than scouts were hoping at under 6-1, but he’s a thick 226 pounds with 33-inch arms and 9.75 inch hands. South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel is also a little shorter than ideal at just over 5-11; he also has somewhat short arms (31.5) but is a solid 214 pounds with10-inch hands. And so it went for guys like N’Keal Harry of Arizona State (6-2.3, 22, 33, 9.5); NC State’s Kelvin Harmon (6-2.4, 221, 32.5, 9.5); Stanford’s J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (6-2, 225, 33, 9.5); and Riley Ridley of Georgia (6-1.2, 199, 32.5, 10).
On the other hand, the one receiver nobody expected to break the scales was Oklahoma’s Marquise Brown, who many teams consider to be the #1 guy at the position for this year’s draft. Unfortunately, Brown wasn’t much bigger than advertised as he measured in at just 5-9 and 166 pounds with shortish (30.5) arms. Of course, Brown’s game is all about speed and quickness, but unfortunately he won’t be able to workout this week after undergoing surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury early last month. In fact, Brown won’t be able to work at all before the draft, but is expected to be healthy by the start of training camp.
Among the second-tier prospects, a couple of receivers jumped out in shorts today. In fact, Iowa State’s Hakeem Butler won the day outright – and second place wasn’t all that close – as he measured in at over 6-5 and 227 pounds with 35-plus-inch arms and huge 10.75-inch mitts. Underrated Syracuse big-play receiver Jamal Custis also turned some heads as he came in at 6-4, 214 with 34″ arms and almost 11 hands. Meanwhile, a trio of smaller school receivers had scouts double checking their programs. Jazz Ferguson of Northwestern State, for example, broke the tape at 6-4.5 and 227 pounds with a 34-plus inch reach, while South Alabama’s Jamarius Way measured in at 6-3.5, 215 with 33″ arms and 10″ hands. Same for Emmanuel Butler of Northern Arizona who measured in at 6-3, 217 with 33″ arms and 10-plus inch hands.
Of course, every receiver in Indianapolis isn’t huge and there are clearly some smaller guys with talent along with Oklahoma’s Brown. In fact, two of the very best pure receivers in college football this fall are almost smurfish. Indeed, ask almost any scout who has the best hands in college football and one of the first names they’d come up with is national champion Clemson’s go-to guy Hunter Renfrow who is 5-10, 184 with 29 inch arms and tiny hands at under 8″. But he’ll catch everything in sight on Saturday. Meanwhile, Andy Isabella of UMass, who had over 100 receptions this past fall when he led all FBS with over 1,700 receiving yards, over 200 yards more than any one else, measured in at under 5-9 and 188 pounds with a sub-30-inch reach and 8.5″ hands.
Here are the full combine weigh-in/measurement numbers for the WRs courtesy of Steelers Depot.
