The 2011 NFL Combine wraps up tomorrow afternoon with the defensive backs going through their various drills. The last major set of 2011 NFL Mock Drafts were released last week in advance of the combine and we’ll start to see more significant mock drafts later this week after the conclusion of the combine. As players run through their drills, a second short here or a few bench presses more there could cost some of these players millions of dollars.
Tomorrow’s Combine drills are of serious significance to the top ten of the 2011 NFL Draft. The running of the defensive back drills means the consensus two best cornerbacks will be in the dash for cash. At the moment Patrick Peterson has an edge over Prince Amukamara. Peterson is projected in the top seven picks with most folks having him fall no lower than the 49ers at number seven and going as high as number two to the Broncos. Amukamara is slotted somewhere in the seven to 10 range.
Peterson reportedly ran a sub-4.3 40, which if repeated might be enough to lock him in as the number one cornerback. One of the question marks about Peterson has been whether he’s too stiff in the hips. Some folks have said he’s likely to end up as a safety at the NFL level, which could cost him a few spots since safeties generally don’t go as high as cornerbacks. His positional drills tomorrow will give him a chance to quiet some of the naysayers.
Barring a disaster I don’t see Peterson going after Amukamara. However, tomorrow provides one last shot for Amukamara to elevate his stock. After tomorrow all that remains are team-by-team interviews and Pro Days. Given the somewhat protected nature of Pro Days, that would not provide enough opportunity to elevate stock. Accordingly, tomorrow could be a sort of million dollar day for Prince Amukamara.
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