2014 NFL Scouting Combine: Wide Receiver Musings

Feb 22, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisiana State wide receiver Jarvis Landry speaks at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, there was a lot of momentum for Texas A&M defensive end and outside linebacker Damontre Moore to go in the first round and the early part of the first round.  Then the NFL Scouting Combine happened, where Moore was shockingly bad in a number of areas that proved to be problematic for his draft stock.  Moore ultimately went in the third round to the New York Giants.

This year, the player who could end up the closest to Moore if LSU wide receiver Jarvis Landry.  Like Moore, an impressive player on the field with a lot of talent and ability that is visible.  And while his chances of going in the first round were not as high as Moore, there were people who held him in that type of regard.

Unfortunately, like Moore, he had his own nightmare experience at the combine.  He ran a 4.77 electronic 40 and only had a 28.5″ vertical.  Landry will likely work out at LSU’s Pro Day and could prove that this was simply a bad day for him.  Nevertheless, teams will have to work out Landry privately and go back to the tape and see how problematic these numbers prove to be.

If Landry is unable to prove doubters wrong, he could end up going in the third or fourth round with a chance to go even lower.  In a packed draft class with a ton of depth overall as well as at the wide receiver position, it may not take a  huge dip for a significant jump or drop in rankings for a player.  So much of the combine is about finding outliers and who stands out both poorly as well as for doing better than expected.  In both cases, teams and scouts will investigate what caused it.  For Landry’s sake, the hope it was a bad day and he can bounce back at his Pro Day in Baton Rouge.