NFL Combine, winners and losers from Day 3: Isaiah Simmons is a freak, Derrick Brown falters

Loser: A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa

A.J. Epenesa at the NFL Combine is a guy who really fits into the same mold as Derrick Brown. He’s a player who has terrific tape, is polished in terms of his technique and moves as a pass-rusher and who also wins with punch and power. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that he didn’t test very well — but that still doesn’t make it a bit disappointing.

Epenesa’s 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash was lackluster and the 5.04-second time was the same. And while the 7.34-second time in the 3-cone drill is good enough, he just didn’t wow in absolutely any capacity.

Winner: Willie Gay Jr., LB, Mississippi State

For people who were already pretty deep into the tape for the 2020 NFL Draft class, Willie Gay Jr. was a sleeper as a highly athletic player who had the potential to, if he can stay healthy, be a mid-round steal for some team. After Saturday, no one’s sleeping on him.

The 6-1, 243-pounder put up 21 reps on the bench press, jumped 39.5 inches in the vertical and 136 inches in the broad before capping his day off with a 4.46-second time in the 40-yard dash. That’s elite athleticism on-par with Simmons and teams are going to be diving deeper on him right away.

Loser: Michael Divinity Jr., EDGE, LSU

Considering that he was suspended during the second half of the season for LSU in 2019 and had some inconsistent film, Michael Divinity Jr. very much needed to come to Indianapolis and make a name for himself. Instead, he did the opposite. Despite weighing in at 242 pounds, Divinity put up only 14 reps on the bench, jumped 31 inches in the vertical, had only a 9-foot-7 broad and ran the 40 in 4.85 seconds. He might’ve tested his way into being a UDFA.

Winner: Jabari Zuniga, EDGE, Florida

When you watch Florida’s Jabari Zuniga on film, you see a player that has plenty of moves, size and strength, and some explosiveness to possibly succeed in the NFL. But what he did on Saturday should turn some heads.

Though his 33-inch vertical jump was nothing too special, Zuniga had a monster 10-foot-7 broad jump and a nice 4.64-second time in the 40 — and he did that at 6-3, 264 pounds. This young man has some juice and should make some team very happy with a Day 2 EDGE pick.