Draft Profiles Out for Five Combine Pokes, Including Washington and Rudolph

Oklahoma State is sending five different players to this year’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Mason Rudolph, James Washington, Tre Flowers, Marcell Ateman and Chris Lacy will all be in attendance at the beginning of March.

Along with the invites, NFL.com has put out its grades, strengths, weaknesses and quotes from anonymous sources about a lot of these players. I find this stuff fascinating so I grabbed some of the stuff on OSU’s guys for your consumption.

First, a primer. The grade chart from NFL.com.

You can view their full profiles here, but here are some snippets from what I found.

Mason Rudolph

Rating: 5.6
Projected round: 2-3
Comp: Christian Ponder

Strengths: Great size and stands tall in the pocket giving him his true height as a passer. Does a good job of letting routes develop and wide receivers clear traffic.

Weaknesses: Over-strides at times. Rarely drives lower body through the throw causing ball to sail and float. May not generate enough velocity to beat ball-hawking corners who strangle passing windows. Field-side outs will be a challenge.

Chatter: “If you spoke with ten different scouts you would get at least four different opinions about him. I’ve just seen too many of those system quarterbacks struggle to make it in the league so I’m hesitant to buy in. He has gotten better this year” — NFC team regional scout

James Washington

Rating: 5.76
Projected round: 2-3
Comp: Corey Coleman

Strengths: Escapes press with good initial quickness. Vertical talent averaging just over 20 yards per catch over last three years. Awkward early steps into route develop into powerful, driving strides eight yards in. Surprises cornerbacks with build up speed and consistently gets by them. Accelerates from stems on post routes and creates open deep looks for quarterbacks.

Weaknesses: Rarely challenged by press coverage in Big 12. Exposure to the route tree is limited. Gives away comeback route with more deliberate vertical push in his route. High cut with body type like a running back. Top-heavy frame causes him to roll into breaks rather than sink sharply into them. Footwork inside routes feels clunky and lack of timing.

Chatter: “He doesn’t look a receiver and he doesn’t run routes like a receiver but then you see him get open deep and make all those explosive plays and you know exactly what he does for an offense.” — Big 12 assistant coach

Marcell Ateman

Rating: 5.52
Projected round: 4
Comp: Brandon Coleman

Strengths: Very good size. Puts in the extra work to come back better than ever after missing 2016 with foot injury. Has ability to run entire route tree. Sinks into breaks and comes out with decent separation. Ball skills come naturally. Plays with natural hands. Knows when to secure with his body in the middle of the field and when to pluck it with his hands.

Weaknesses: Needs to adjust routes rather than slamming into speed bumps. Not an upper-echelon athlete. Leggy and takes time getting off press. Doesn’t always play to his size. Allows cornerbacks to crowd the top of his routes. Needs to learn to use his size to create space and keep defenders on his hip.

Tre Flowers

Rating: 5.15
Projected round: 5-6

Strengths: Productive and extremely long. Has arm length and range for extended tackle radius and to challenge passes that other safeties won’t get to. Good straight line speed. Plays with desired football intelligence.

Weaknesses: High cut with gangly basketball frame. Doesn’t look like an NFL safety. Play strength is lacking. Could struggle to handle box duties. Can be jostled at the break point by physical tight ends and receivers. Hips are tight and movement in space is fragmented.

Chatter: “Some scouts are high on him because he’s in on a lot of plays but he’s close to being a reject for us because of his body type. He’s really linear and he is slow to open his hips and run. I don’t think he can be trusted as an NFL tackler either.” — NFC team regional scout

Chris Lacy

No data.