Day two of the NFL combine is now in the books, so it’s time to look back and recap the day’s biggest risers. Friday, February Third, was the cornerbacks and safeties workout day. Many players showed out and have begun to skyrocket up draft boards. To assess these prospects, looking at their player comparisons, athletic testing numbers, and NFL scouts’ buzz around them after their workouts is essential.
Cornerbacks
Christian Gonzalez
The most impressive workout of the day at the cornerback position was Gonzalez, out of Oregon. Since the offseason, he has been on the rise, but after his 4.38 40 and 41.5” vertical, he’s jumped up even more rankings. Gonzalez’s measurements were off the charts, with a near-perfect RAS score of 9.99. This RAS is up to par with the likes of Jalen Ramsey and Byron Jones.
There was talk of Gonzalez going around the 13-18th mark in the NFL draft, but now he seems like a top-ten lock. After the combine, Gonzalez is now the consensus 8th overall pick on NFL Mock Draft Database.
DJ Turner
Turner also had a phenomenal day with a combine-leading 4.26 40 time. Turner is on the smaller side, measuring in at 5’ 11’’ and 178 lbs. However, Turner tested well and ended up with a RAS of 9.56. This is similar to the likes of Marlon Humphrey and Nnamdi Asomugha athletic-wise. With that being said, Turner is the consensus 72nd overall pick, landing him in the third round, but after this performance, I expect him to go in the late second to the early third round.
Riley Moss
One of my biggest surprises was Riley Moss, who had one of the best all-around combines. Moss was consistently at the top at every drill, starting with the 40, where he ran a 4.45 at 6’ 1’’, 193 lbs. In addition, Moss finished with the third-highest RAS of all corners with a 9.89. This is most similar to Buccaneers corner Sean Murphy-Bunting.
Before the combine, Moss was a projected fourth-round pick, but after his incredible all-around combine in terms of his athleticism, hands, and footwork, I see him moving up to the mid to late third round.
Jakorian Bennett
To cap off the cornerbacks, one of the biggest risers of the group was Bennett, after he ran a 4.30 40. Bennett was a projected sixth-round pick, but he has received the most immediate movement from mock drafts as he’s already moved up a consensus 22 spots pushing him into the fifth round.
Bennett has a RAS of 9.84, similar to Antonio Cromartie’s 9.80. Even though Bennett has moved up people’s rankings a ton already, I expect the buzz around him to keep growing as we get closer to the NFL draft.
Safeties
Sydney Brown
The production at safety wasn’t nearly as exciting as the corners, but that was to be expected due to the nature of the position. Nevertheless, one guy that stood out to me was Brown, out of Illinois. Overall, Brown had a good combine and impressed scouts with his well-rounded game.
Brown ended up with a RAS of 9.47, similar from a testing perspective to Troy Polamalu and Bob Sanders. Before the combine, Brown was a consensus third-round pick with a ranking of 84th. However, Brown will likely go in the early third round at the bare minimum after the combine.
Daniel Scott
Scott jumped out at me from a testing standpoint as he finished with the second-best 40 time of all safeties and had a top-five RAS score on the day. Running a 4.45 40 combined with a 9.83 RAS created some buzz around Scott.
Scott had a very similar score to Taylor Mays, who scored 9.86. Scott is one of the biggest risers on this list because he was the consensus 215th overall prospect and a sixth-round pick. Even though Scott didn’t have an outstanding all-around combine, these testing numbers are enough to bump him into the early fifth and possibly late fourth round.
Get ready for your rookie draft with the DynastyGM!! Rankings, trade calculator, league analyzer, and much more. Just $4.99/month or, better yet, bundle with the Nerd Herd for just $6.99/month and get extra podcasts, the Dynasty Prospect Film Room, and more.
