Former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks is spotlighting the prospects who make a mark -- for better or worse -- at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine. On Saturday, the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers took the field. Bucky provides his impressions from Indianapolis on this glamour group below.
Buzzworthy
Kevin White, WR, West Virginia: The buzz has been building around White's prospects as a potential top-five pick since the end of the college season, with scouts raving about his exceptional size-speed combination. This momentum certainly will continue after White's sensational showing at the NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder clocked a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash and shined in positional drills, showing outstanding hands and ball skills while snagging passes. White looks like a dominant WR1 in every aspect. If he can continue to tighten up his footwork and route-running skills, White could surpass Amari Cooper as the No. 1 receiver in the 2015 class.
Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Missouri/Oklahoma: After Green-Beckham missed the entire 2014 season due to transfer rules, coaches and scouts were anxiously awaiting his workout, hoping to catch a first-hand glimpse of his immense talent and potential. The former Mizzou standout, who scored 12 touchdowns in the 2013 campaign, did not disappoint. Green-Beckham ran the 40 in 4.49 seconds and flashed impressive movement skills. It's rare to see a guy this big (6-5, 237 pounds) with this kind of balance, body control and short-area quickness. In positional drills, Green-Beckham flashed strong hands and outstanding ball skills. He is a natural pass catcher capable of tracking and adjusting to balls thrown slightly off the mark. With several teams in need of a big-bodied target to create mismatches on the perimeter, Green-Beckham's strong showing will prompt evaluators to dig deeper into his questionable character profile to see if the risk is worth the potential reward.
Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State: The diminutive playmaker continues to check off all the boxes as a potential Day 2 pick. Lockett followed up a sensational week of work at the Senior Bowl with a terrific showing at the NFL Scouting Combine. He blazed the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds and displayed exceptional explosiveness in the rest of the athletic drills, notably leaping 35.5 inches in the vertical jump and just over 10 feet in the broad jump. Most importantly, Lockett showed outstanding savvy and poise running routes in the positional workout. He was one of the most polished route-runners in his group, exhibiting good balance, body control and burst getting out of breaks. In addition, he displayed excellent hands and ball skills reacting to passes thrown late and delivered slightly off the mark. With Lockett also possessing exceptional return skills to complement his natural receiving talents, the Kansas State product is poised to make a sudden move up the charts following his performance in Indianapolis.
Jeremy Langford, RB, Michigan State: Despite posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons at Michigan State, the former Spartan has flown under the radar for most of the pre-draft process. That should change after Langford posted the fastest 40 time (4.42 seconds) in the RB group, displaying excellent acceleration and burst. The surprising showing in this sprint event will force scouts to take an extended look at Langford's tape to see if they overlooked his second gear while watching him carry Sparty's offense as the feature back. If the evaluators see Langford's surprising speed and burst show up on tape, the former Spartan will move up the board as a potential sleeper pick in war rooms around the league.
Buzzkill
Devin Funchess, WR, Michigan: The former Michigan standout was viewed as one of the most athletic hybrid (WR/TE) prospects in the draft, but a disappointing 40 time (4.70) will lead scouts to question his ability to thrive on the perimeter. Funchess' lack of explosiveness could make it hard for him to work free from defensive backs on vertical routes, and his lack of supreme strength (17 reps of 225 pounds) makes it tough to envision him moving defenders off the ball as a tight end. Thus, the Wolverine playmaker could be a man without a position at the next level.
Ty Montgomery, WR, Stanford: The former Cardinal was expected to light up the combine, but he delivered a disappointing performance in front of the scouts. Despite testing well in the vertical jump (40.5 inches) and broad jump (10-foot-1), Montgomery failed to log a 40 in the 4.4 range (posting a 4.55) and didn't look like the explosive athlete in positional drills that many expected to see, having watched his impressive film from the past few seasons. With Montgomery also struggling to consistently snatch passes without a bobble, the jury is still out on if he can develop into a legitimate receiving threat as a pro.
Biggest subplot entering Sunday's workout
The aerial nature of today's NFL has forced scouts to covet pass rushers at premium. Unfortunately, one of the most celebrated specimens of this class -- Missouri's Shane Ray -- won't be able to participate in Sunday's workout due to a foot injury. That said, there still will be a number of enticing edge-rushing talents on display, including Nebraska's Randy Gregory, Florida's Dante Fowler and Clemson's Vic Beasley. Evaluators will closely watch these guys to see if they possess the first-step quickness, hand-to-hand combat skills and closing burst to develop into double-digit sack artists in the NFL. Scouts will keep a particularly close eye on Gregory and Fowler, who both could make a case to come off the board within the top five picks of the draft.
Follow Bucky Brooks on Twitter @BuckyBrooks.
