Read-Option: Combine or Crazy?

What do you think about the NFL Scouting Combine?

Are you one of those crazy fans who loves to watch every minute of it? Or are you one that doesn’t believe it matters in the grand scheme of things? Maybe you’re somewhere in between – probably most people.

If you enjoy it, what do you most look forward to? Is it the interviews? The drills? The chatter between teams and the information team reporters get to gather?

Who are some of your Combine sleepers or just players you’re excited to see go through drills? Do you have some key players for the Bucs you’re going to keep an eye on?

Here’s some of mine divided up into each day.

Day 1 (ST, OL, RB)

LSU RB Derrius Guice

I’m curious to hear of his medicals and interested to see just how athletic he is. If he checks all those boxes, and still falls to the second round, the Bucs should be all over him.

San Diego State RB Rashaad Penny – Photo by: Getty Images

San Diego State RB Rashaad Penny

A lot of people are big fans of Penny as a Round 2 or 3 option for the Bucs. He didn’t have a great Senior Bowl week, but shined in the game and had very good college production, leading the nation in rushing last year.

Tennessee RB John Kelly

Kelly is a beast of a running back who runs hard. Some people really like him as a later round steal, but I worry about his top speed. Does he have it? I’ve seen flashes, but I want to make sure he’s natural at full speed. If so, he could be great value.

Oklahoma OT Orlando Brown

If the Bucs are going to somehow go offensive line and it’s not Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, Brown could be a choice, if they want to go with a tackle. He’s huge (6-foot-7, 350 pounds), but how natural of an athlete does he look like at that weight?

Texas OT Connor Williams

Williams is a former consensus top offensive lineman in the class, but had a knee injury during his last year. I’d like to check up on that. He could be a Round 2 option.

Day 2 (QB, WR, TE)

Not a big area of need directly for the Buccaneers at these positions, but how well the quarterbacks look could determine how the draft order in front of them goes, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.

Day 3 (DL, LB)

Washington DT Vita Vea

Some say Vea is going to come out and look incredibly athletic for his size. At over 340 pounds, his tape shows he can be an anchor defensive tackle, but it also shows he has some athlete in him. I’m interested to see how much.

Virginia Tech LB Tremaine Edmunds

I have Edmunds on here just because his talent could make him a Bucs target if they like him in the 3-4 scheme mix, but he’s already shown he’s a good athlete on his tape. I won’t be surprised when he runs well.

LSU DE Arden Key – Photo by: Getty Images

LSU OLB/DE Arden Key

Key had a fantastic sophomore season and an extremely pedestrian junior season. I need a full medical check up on him and I need to see him check the athlete boxes. If he does, that’s good, but I have to find out why I didn’t see more production in 2017.

Virginia Tech DT Tim Settle

Settle is one big dude at 6-foot-2, 340 pounds. On tape he shows some serious athletic flashes, at times. Let’s see what the explosive test (vert and broad) tell us, and how quick that 10-yard split is going to be. He might be a rare under tackle in a nose tackle’s body.

Rutgers OLB/DE Kemoko Turay

I didn’t know much about Turay before the Senior Bowl and he showed good bend as a pass rusher. I’m wanting to see how he tests explosively, such as the broad and vertical jump.

Florida State DE Josh Sweat

Sweat was a highly recruited player going to Florida State, but a knee injury threw a wrench in his college career. I need an update on the knee, and need to see how well he can move now that he’s had some time off of it.

Day 4 (DB)

I don’t need to mention Alabama safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and Florida State safety Derwin James here. They’re both athletic freaks. Their evals won’t change after this weekend.

Auburn CB Carlton Davis

Davis is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. He’s shown he can be a shutdown cornerback with his size. I want him to prove he can be as a straight-line and vertical athlete, too.

Texas CB Holton Hill

Hill is even bigger than Davis; Hill is 6-foot-3. Anytime you have a cornerback that big, I want to see how well you can move.

Texas S DeShon Elliott

Elliott could be the strong safety compliment to Justin Evans, since the Bucs haven’t settled on one yet. He can hit, and I’ve seen him run well, at times. If he runs well, it will allow me to go back to the tape and trust that speed more.