Day one of the NFL combine took place on Thursday night and it was filled with lots of excitement along with some disappointing performances. We saw some players rise and some players take a slight fall in their draft stock.
Thursday, it was time for quarterbacks and wide receivers. Among the group of players that participated — QB Kenny Pickett, QB Malik Willis, QB Desmond Ridder, WR Treylon Burks, WR Chris Olave, and WR Jahan Dotson.
Skyy Moore, Wide Receiver, Western Michigan
Skyy Moore is one of the better stories in this year’s draft. Before the season, he was not expected to go into the draft this season. He has now brought himself all the way up into what seems to be around the second round.
Moore is a 5’10 195 LB receiver with great ball skills while also obtaining the ability to turn up the field at any time. He has fantastic awareness of where he is on the field and makes consistently makes the smart play.
40 Yard Dash – 4.41
Vertical Jump – 34.5”
Broad Jump – 125”
Desmond Ridder, Quarterback, Cincinnati
Desmond Ridder might have been the biggest winner of the first day.
Ridder was the quarterback at the University of Cincinnati, leading them to a college football playoff appearance. He was essentially the cornerstone of Cincinnati’s rise to dominance in the past few seasons.
Ridder has been projected anywhere from late first round to mid second round, though his performance on Thursday could’ve boosted his draft stock. His throwing portion of the session was great as he was connecting on lots of deep balls.
40 Yard Dash – 4.52
This was one of the quicker 40 yard dashes for quarterbacks history. Ridder boosted his stock here.
Vertical Jump: 36”
Broad Jump: 127”
Malik Willis, Quarterback, Liberty
Malik Willis has gained the label for the most potential in the quarterback class. Many scouts seem to believe that Willis can be a very good, Lamar Jackson type player, and that he is just two years away from reaching that level.
His combine was pretty good. Unfortunately though, Willis did not run a 40 yard dash — something many scouts were hoping for.
Willis’ throwing portion of the combine was phenomenal, though he had a bunch of incomplete passes. He showed off his crazy arm and unlimited potential to be a big-time quarterback.
The former Liberty QB is projected to be drafted in the first round and has been seen as high as 15th in the first round.
Bo Melton, Wide Receiver, Rutgers
Melton is more of an under the radar prospect. Coming from Rutgers, the 5’10 speedster showed off his quickness and twitchiness in Day 1.
Melton is currently being projected as a prospect that may fall into the fifth or sixth round, but his performance at the combine opened some eyes. The Rutgers alumni really showed that he is up at the top of the class in terms of wide receivers. He was up there in every category
In the on-field portion, Melton showed his ball skills and his ability to be a deep-threat in the NFL. Look out for Melton to be on the rise
40 Yard Dash – 4.34
Vertical Jump – 38”
Broad Jump – 121”
Now — day 2 of the combine — where Offensive Lineman, Special Teams Players, and Running Backs will showcase their skills.
