2012 NFL Scouting Combine Biggest Winner and Biggest Loser

The 2012 Scouting Combine is finally over, which means now we get to see a bunch of pro days and the like before we get into the offseason on March 13th, which begins the free agency frenzy.

As you may know from my writing last year, I don’t put a ton of stock into the Combine, but it does help out some guys who may have gone overlooked. For instance, when you see a kid make a ton of plays on the field and he backs it up with a great showing at the combine athletically, I tend to push that player up the board.

The player that impressed me the most was Pac 12 defensive player of the year Mychal Kendricks, the linebacker who played in 51 games and started 29 over his college career. Kendricks had over 100 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss last year, including 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.

At the Combine, Kendricks checked in at just 5’11” 239 pounds but ran a blazing 4.41 second 40 yard dash, the same time as Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III. He also had a 39.5 inch vertical and 24 reps of 225 on the bench. I think he may have solidified himself as a second or third round pick with those times after projecting as a 4th or 5th round guy prior to.

The biggest loser, in my humble opinion, was Vontaze Burfict. Burfict is a good player, and I think eventually he will be an above average starter, but he had a little bit of Brandon Spikes in him at the Combine, running in the 4.9 range and not showing good athletic ability for a player who was once expected to be a lock first round pick. Burfict showed up at 6’1″ 248 pounds, so he might be strictly a 3-4 inside linebacker moving forward. He has another chance to impress at his pro day, but this was a bad showing for Burfict, who may now still be on the board going into the third round come April.