Top-rated cornerback Joe Haden of Florida came in to the combine looking to solidify himself as a top ten pick. Many, including NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, had expected Haden to run in the 4.4 range, but when the Florida Gator hit the track things did not turn out as excepted.

Haden recorded unofficial times of 4.57 and 4.60.

The Florida cornerback looked uncomfortable from the beginning of his runs and it did not go unnoticed. NFL Network analayst Deion Sanders had said, “First of all, it was a horrible stance. I don’t know what he’s being taught — sometimes you’ve just got to let a guy run. Tweak him a little bit but don’t try to change everything.”

Haden’s father, Joe Haden Sr., says that there is a reason his son ran so poorly in Indianapolis. Joe Sr. serves as the personal trainer for his son. According to Joe Sr., his son’s 40-yard dash time suffered due to a lower back sprain. The injury tightened up and caused the defensive back to run a much slower 40 time than anticipated.

“We had stopped doing some of the heavier lifting, but it just stiffened up on him, one of those things,” Haden Sr. said. “It just really affected him. I wish I had known, because I would have had him not even work out.”

Haden will look to improve his time at the Florida Pro Day.

“For Joe, all his life, (speed) has been his biggest strength. So for something to happen like that for him, I mean, Joe ran a 4.5 40 in the ninth grade. It was just something that was a blip,” Haden Sr. said. “But I think that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It is what it is, and now it’s just time for us to handle our business.

“You ask (UF strength coach) Mickey Marotti, who was one of the fastest guys, explosive and everything at Florida, and he’ll tell you, it was Joe,” Haden Sr. said. “Joe has never never never had an issue with running, with speed, with anything. We didn’t want to put a lot of stuff out in the media and make excuses. The biggest thing was just to come out and do what we do.”

The great thing for Haden is that speed is that his game film is phenomenal. He also stole the show at the combine when competing in on the field drills. There is no question that he can play defensive back and he is still the No. 1 rated player at his position.

Haden Sr. said that his son is running the 40-yard dash every day. While he would not say the latest times that Haden is recording, he did mention that the Florida corner is “back to his regular self.”

The No. 1 ranked wide receiver in the 2010 NFL Draft class, Dez Bryant, has announced that he will not work out for scouts at the Oklahoma State Pro Day on Wednesday.

Bryant missed work outs at the NFL Scouting Combine after he tweaked his hamstring. The injury is still lingering and will force the top prospect to push back his work out even more.

Per a report on NFL.com, Bryant plans to go through drills on either March 25 or March 29 in his hometown of Lufkin, Texas. Bryant has not played since September 19 against Rice due to a NCAA suspension.

Bryant’s teammate Perish Cox will be unavailable for Oklahoma State’s Pro Day, as well. Cox won’t be allowed to work out at the Cowboys’ Pro Day because of his Cotton Bowl suspension for curfew violations. He will instead work out for scouts in his hometown of Waco, Texas.

Tebow looked excellent while competing in jumping drills — the vertical leap and broad jump.

In what was the all-time record by quarterbacks, Tebow posted 38.5-inch leap. His jump tied the record which was previously set by Josh McCown. Comparing Tebow to one of the most athletic quarterbacks in NFL history, the NFL Network’s Rich Eisen pointed out Michael Vick posted a 38-inch vertical at the combine in 2001.

After he tied the record, Tebow posted a standout broad jump of nine feet, seven inches. The average broad jump for quarterbacks at last year’s scouting combine was eight feet, ten inches.

In the 40-yard dash, Tebow ran an unofficial time of 4.70. The second attempt came in at an unofficial time of 4.72. His forty time ranked fourth among quarterbacks behind West Virginia’s Jarrett Brown (4.54), Dan LeFevour (4.64) of Central Michigan and Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson (4.66).

He continued to exceed the quarterback numbers at the combine in the short shuttle. Tebow’s time was a 4.18, while last year’s average for the position was 4.50.

Tebow’s record performance in the broad jump and vertical leap obviously does not mean he has the ability to play quarterback in the NFL, but it does show his competitiveness and athletic ability.

The Florida star said earlier at the combine that if quarterback did not work out he would be willing to contribute to a team at any position. This performance should improve belief that he could make a successful transition to tight end or H-back.

Holliday is a 5-foot-5 track star with blazing speed who has run the 100-meter dash in 10 seconds flat, and he says that his “goal is to run a 4.23.”

While Holliday is looking to break the record, he doesn’t view his time as a competition. He just wants to put the best version of himself on display for the NFL scouts.

“It’s not really a competition,” Holliday said. “I just want to come out and run as fast as I can. But I am going to try to.”

In his first attempt at the 40, Holliday got an unofficial time of 4.24. Holliday recorded an unofficial time of 4.32 seconds in his second attempt. You could see he is a very efficient runner, Holliday needs to find a way to transfer that speed to pad speed.

His official time was 4.34.

The fast time will not vault Holliday up draft boards drastically, but his speed will convince one team to overlook his size and take a chance on him. Holliday could be a valuable asset in special teams and is looked at by many NFL scouts as strictly a return specialist.

Schefter stated, “I would like to record something here, on February 24th.  Two months from the draft.  And tell you who the number one pick is gonna be right now… When all is said and done, that the Rams’ number one pick on April 22nd, two months from now, will be Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.  I’m willing to take all bets on that one right now.”

He even continued that many people have told him there is no way the Rams will not select Sam Bradford. You can listen to all of Schefter’s comments here.

The move makes sense when you look at the big picture. While defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is looked at as the top prospect in this class, St. Louis has spent multiple first-round selections on their defensive line the past few years with guys like Adam Carriker and Chris Long.

There is also a financial angle to this selection. Would St. Louis want to tie up another record setting contract to a member of their defensive line or would they prefer to get a better bang for their buck and lock up the next star quarterback?

In a quarterback driven league, Bradford could be the guy to turn around the Rams misfortune. St. Louis has passed up the likes of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and Jets signal-caller Mark Sanchez the past two years and they cannot pass up another opportunity to snag up a potential franchise QB.

Of course, there are injury concerns surrounding Bradford and the fact that we have not seen him drop back and make big time throws when he was not protected by one of the nation’s best offensive lines. Still it appears that Bradford’s shoulder will clear medical evaluations and the Oklahoma product has accuracy that scouts drool over. After he gets to perform at his Pro Day, Bradford will likely be the talk of the town.

Schefter seems very confident in his statements and when you take a closer look at St. Louis’ needs the move makes sense. No matter what the talking heads on television tell you, the No. 1 overall pick will come down to Bradford and Suh. With the way that Schefter is going on record and the amount of information his sources are giving him, I would bet the house on Bradford being the top pick in April.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has always found his way in the spotlight and this week at the NFL Scouting Combine proves to be no different. Even though the former Heisman Trophy winner is not participating in workouts, the news of his new and improved throwing motion has been the talk of Indianapolis.

Tebow has received a lot of praise over the past few days. You will hear the applause over his willingness to change and improve, but Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren has not been overcome by Tebowmania. In fact, Holmgren seemed to be a bit more realistic about the difficult task Tebow has undertaken.

“That’s the most difficult thing to change in any quarterback. . . . It’s hard to do, particularly in pressure situations,” said Holmgren when asked about Tebow’s new throwing motion.

Tebow, however, seems to downplay the changes.

“I am holding the ball higher and not dropping [my elbow]. My release point of where I’m throwing the ball is not different at all,” Tebow said. “It’s how I got to that [point] that you would see the change.

Tebow is more of a project passer, so if he falls into the right situation for him he should have another year or two to refine his technique. One thing that Tebow said today that deserves attention was he is willing to help a team at any position if things don’t work out for him at quarterback.

Whether Tebow will be a successful passer in the NFL remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure — Tebowmania is running wild and the people can not get enough.

Bradford is viewed as one of the top two quarterbacks in this year’s class and he is being considered with the number one overall pick that belongs to the St. Louis Rams.

Jimmy Clausen of Notre Dame is the other quarterback that could be selected in the top ten. Clausen measured 6-foot-2 and a half inch and hit the scales with a weight of 222.

Some other top quarterbacks that weighed in today were Florida’s Tim Tebow (6-foot-2 3/4, 236), Texas’ Colt McCoy (6-foot-1 1/8, 216) and Jevan Snead of Ole Miss (6-foot-3, 219).

The quarterbacks will take the field on Sunday along with receivers and running backs, however, most of the top signal-callers will wait until their Pro Day’s to go through throwing drills.

The coin tosses took place this morning at the NFL Scouting Combine and the “winners” were Jacksonville, Tennessee and Atlanta. Here is the complete first-round order:

The offensive skill positions — QB, WR, RB — will take the field on Sunday and one running back is looking to make a big statement.

LSU running back Trindon Holliday is looking to break the record of 4.24 seconds in the 40-yard dash that was set by current Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson.

Holliday is a 5-foot-5 track star with blazing speed who has run the 100-meter dash in 10 seconds flat, and he also says that he’s been clocked at 4.21 seconds in the 40.

“My goal is to run a 4.23,” Holliday said today at the combine.

While Holliday is looking to break the record, he doesn’t view his time as a competition. He just wants to put the best version of himself on display for the NFL scouts.

“It’s not really a competition,” Holliday said. “I just want to come out and run as fast as I can. But I am going to try to.”

Johnson’s 40 time took him from a high second-rounder to the 24th overall selection in 2008. Holliday will not break the first-round, but a head turning 40-yard dash time could get him some looks in the mid-rounds instead of being a late round prospect.

With those trade talks heating up, a new team has thrown their first-rounder on the trading block. The Detroit Lions are said to be in discussions to move their pick — second overall.

Jason La Canfora of NFL.com said today that the Lions are “shopping the second-overall pick, already in contact with several other teams.”

This could be a good move for the Lions who are believed to be interested in an offensive tackle like Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung to become their franchise left tackle and protect last year’s first-overall pick Matthew Stafford for many years to com. Okung would be considered a reach at No. 2, but if they move out of that slot with a team like the Bills, Redskins or Seahawks — who could look at one of the top two QB’s — Detroit would be in better position to get value with their selection of Okung.

Be sure to stay tuned to NFLMocks.com for the latest draft rumors.