NFL Combine, Day 2 winners and losers: Jonathan Taylor, Tristan Wirfs wow in Indianapolis
Winner: Darrynton Evans, RB, Appalachian State
An early declaration out of App State, Darrynton Evans is clearly not a running back short on belief in himself and he put that on display with his testing on Friday evening. While he posted solid numbers with a 37-inch vertical and a 125-inch broad jump, he turned heads in the 40 with a 4.41-second time, rivaling Taylor for the fastest time in the group.
Watching his film, it’s clear that Evans has juice and he showed at the NFL Combine that it wasn’t just the level of competition in the Sun Belt that made it so.
Loser: Benny LeMay, RB, Charlotte
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Benny LeMay is another player that was dominant against non-Power 5 competition and college but needed to test well to prove himself to the NFL scouts in attendance. Unfortunately, he did the opposite.
The 5-8, 221-pounder ran just a 4.75-second 40-yard dash while posting only a 28.5-inch vertical and 9-foot-4 broad jump. Though he may be powerful (24 bench press reps), he seemingly lacks the explosiveness from a testing perspective that many of his peers in a strong class possess.
Somewhere In-Between: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, LSU
If you just look at his 40 time, Clyde Edwards-Helaire failed to impress after putting a great 2019 season on tape. But in every other capacity that was on display in Indianapolis, we saw the player that has been garnering quite a bit of buzz. From a 39.5-inch vertical jump to a 123-inch broad jump to acing the drills with pristine quickness and footwork, Edwards-Helaire showed he may not be the fastest but he’s a playmaker with the athletic tools to explode and make guys miss.
Winner: Ezra Cleveland, OT, Boise State
Outside of Wirfs, there was no better mover among the offensive linemen than Boise State tackle Ezra Cleveland. While he was expected to test well in that regard given what he showed on film, the results at the NFL Combine were impressive.
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At 6-6, 311 pounds, Cleveland ran a 4.93-second 40 with a nice 10-yard split while getting 30 reps on the bench press and showing out with a 7.26-second 3-cone drill and 4.46-second 20-yard shuttle. For teams in the market for athletic tackles, Cleveland is now on their radar after his Friday performance.