Wide receiver comes close to Combine history

Credit: Dave Martin

Credit: Dave Martin

The NFL Combine began to wind down Sunday, which was the final day of full activity.

Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers did on-field work, while the defensive backs were the last position group to make their way through the media interviews and medical exams.

There will be two more days of on-field work before the players head back to their training facilities to get ready for their pro days, which are the next step in preparation for April’s draft.

Sunday’s highlight

Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin missed the Combine record in the 40-yard dash by just 0.03 seconds. Goodwin ran a 4.27, which was just shy of the record of 4.24 set by Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson in 2008.

Later in the day Auburn running back dropped jaws with an unofficial, hand-clocked time of 4.21. But when the official, electronic time was posted 30 minutes later, McCalebb came in at 4.34. That prompoted Johnson to Tweet “Can’t lie that one scared me.”

The 4.34 tied McCalebb with West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin and Texas A&M wide receiver Ryan Swope for the second-fastest 40 at this year’s Combine.

Local lens

As the defensive backs came in for interviews with the media, each of the top ranked safeties said they either had met with or will meet with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Safety is an area the Bengals are expected to address early in the April draft, and it’s considered to be one of the deepest, most-talented position groups.

“This is one of the best safety classes I’ve seen in years,” said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock.

Mayock’s top five safeties are Kenny Vaccaro (Texas), Matt Elam (Florida), Johnathan Cyprien (Florida International), Eric Reid (LSU) and Zeke Motta (Notre Dame).

“I’m a big believer (Kenny) Vaccaro is going to be gone in the top 20,” Mayock said. “If Cincinnati walked away with Kenny Vaccaro, I would be excited if I was a Bengal fan. I think he fits what (defensive coordinator) Mike Zimmer does.”

Quotable

“The all-around best player in the draft.” — West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin after being asked to assess his talent.

Quotable II

“My best friend right now is honesty.” — LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, aka the Honey Badger, when asked about turning his life around after getting kicked off the team and going through drug rehab.

Today’s schedule

Media availability ended Sunday, but the Combine will continue for two more days. Today the defensive linemen and linebackers going through their on-field workouts as the defensive backs undergo psychological testing while competing in the bench press and conducting team interviews.

Everything will wrap up Tuesday with the defensive backs doing their on-field work.

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