Winners and losers from the final day of workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine

The fourth and final day of workouts in Indianapolis was a bit odd, as the cornerbacks didn’t separate from one another, providing little clarity as to who the top dogs really are. Pro days will play a big part in further evaluating the position, as we were left with more questions than answers at the end of the day. 

That’s atypical for the corners, who usually give us plenty of edits to be made on our rankings after The Combine, but not this year.

On the other hand, the group of safeties had a more traditional day with some real risers.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from this odd day. 

Winners

Jamel Dean, CB, Auburn

Dean is big and physical at 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds. He carries his weight like a linebacker and plays like one at times, which is why his 4.30 40, which was the second-best 40 time from the entire week, was really impressive. Dean also jumped 41 inches on his vert and posted a 130-inch broad jump, both outstanding numbers.

Dean is a really intriguing talent given what we’ve uncovered about his physical upside.

Marvell Tell III, FS, USC

The rangy USC standout was explosive on the day, with two mesmerizing jumps including a 42-inch vertical and a 136-inch broad jump. While the jumps were special, his three-cone drill was even better, as he showed elite lateral mobility running a 6.63, which was better than all but one DB.

Used as a deep-safety with the Trojans, the kid was able to confirm his athleticism and explosiveness, which will help his stock in a big way.

The second-round seems well within reach after his performance.

At 6-foot-2 and 198 pounds, some even see Tell as a big press cornerback. In a safety class that doesn’t have tons of headliners, Tell will be one to keep an eye on as we get closer to the draft.

Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia

Thornhill can play all over the field and was close to elite in everything he did on the day, making him a very enticing player with his combination of versatility and athleticism.

Thornhill’s jumps were out of this world with a 44-inch vertical and a 141-inch broad jump. When you add that to his 4.42 40-yard dash and 21 bench reps, he really stood out with a special performance. The UVA star will be another player that teams will go back to watch and see if they overlooked his high-end athleticism. 

Darnell Savage Jr., S, Maryland

Savage has intriguing tape and was already a name to know among the safeties in the 2019 class. As his name would suggest, Savage plays with an edge to his game, making his testing numbers which included 4.36 40, 39.5-inch vert, and 126-inch broad jump, really impressive. 

Mississippi safety Zedrick Woods also deserves a mention as he ran the fastest 40 time of the entire combine with a  4.29. An eye-popping showing for a safety who has plenty of range and recovery speed, exactly what the NFL is looking for. 

Ken Webster, CB, Ole Miss

Combine U produced another great performance from Webster, the corner who received some hype last year before deciding to stay in school and then saw his stock die off in his senior year.

His showing in Indy is sure to raise his stock back up, as the quick-twitch corner ran a 4.43, posted an insane 43-inch vertical, and a strong 6.85 three-cone.

As long as he keeps flying under the radar, Webster could present nice value on day three and would fit what the Broncos are looking for at cornerback in Vic Fangio’s scheme.

Isaiah Johnson, CB, Houston

At 6-foot-2, the little known Houston corner put his name on the map and firmly into the day-two conversation with one of the most well-rounded performances of all. Johnson ran a 4.4 flat, then had some impressive jumps and terrific agility drills, as well. Teams are sure to be intrigued by his upside, as evaluators across the country will be going back to his tape to see what they missed.

Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson

Mullen has been all over the board for most people, with some seeing the National Championship MVP as a high-end first-rounder and others having him lower on the board in the day-two range. At his size, his 4.46 was enough to push him in the first-round conversation.

Like Mullen, a few other bigger corners impressed on the day starting with Rock Ya-Sin, the yoked up Temple corner who performed well for his 6-foot and 192-pound frame. He ran a 4.51 40 and put up a 39.5-inch vert. Ya-Sin checks off a lot of boxes and is a name to watch in the late first to early second round.

Penn State’s Amani Oruwariye had a nice day himself, measuring in at 6-foot-2, running a 4.47, and exceeding expectations in agility tests with a 6.82 three-cone drill.

Kentucky’s Lonnie Johnson Jr. was another big guy who stood out after having already impressed at the Senior Bowl. He, too, should’ve worked his way firmly into day two, where the best value seems to be for the cornerback position.

Neither Ya-Sin nor Johnson did great in agility tests, so they’re likely limited to being big press corners in cover-3 schemes, but for those teams, they raised their stocks significantly.

Losers

The big-three CBs

LSU’s Greedy’ Williams should’ve been a big winner on the day when he ran a 4.37 40 at 6-foot-2, but he looked bad in drills before shutting it down as he was dealing with cramps. It’s important not to read too much into this, but this doesn’t help Williams’ questions regarding his work ethic and coachability. The size and speed are there, the rest remains a big question mark.

Washington’s Byron Murphy didn’t run as fast as his tape would suggest with a 4.55 40, but he put on weight at 190 pounds and looked smooth in drills. None of his testing numbers were great, but all fell in acceptable ranges. However, for the smaller corner to legitimize his stock and elevate himself into the top-15 picks, he needed to do a bit more than what we saw.

Georgia’s DeAndre Baker ran slightly better than expected at 4.52, though his 14 bench reps and 118-inch broad jump didn’t impress. He looked fine in drills but not super smooth, either. Baker didn’t make himself any money but managed to stay in the mid-first-round conversation.

All these guys didn’t hurt themselves too much, but they all left a big opportunity on the table, as any of them could’ve blown up the combine and suddenly been in the top-10 mix. At this point, it would be a bit of an upset if one of the three were to be selected as high as the Broncos 10th pick.

We’ll have to see if the top-three corners can improve on their numbers at their pro days, as no one gave us the answers we were searching for.

Joejuan Williams, CB, Vanderbilt

Williams’ stock had soared since he unexpectedly declared, with his length at 6-foot-4  and excellent ball skills being his two calling cards. The Combine didn’t help his stock, though, as a 4.64 40 was slower than expected, and he didn’t do anything else aside from the bench press, where he posted 17 reps.

For the right team in the right scheme, Williams could still snatch up a selection on day two, but this pigeonholed him into being a press corner only, and slowed down the positive momentum he had coming into the week.