Profiling OSU’s Five Combine Invitees

The NFL Combine gets cranking this week, with the majority of the action kicking off this weekend. Oklahoma State is sending five players this year, which is a significant increase in comparison to previous years.

Let’s take a look at what each player has to gain this week, in addition to where they stand in terms of pre-combine draft stock.  Oh yeah, and some player comps because who doesn’t love those?

Mason Rudolph

Summary: The combine sets up really well for Rudolph, like the Senior Bowl, skill assessment events like this tend to favor candidates such as Rudolph. He is a player who will interview well and should throw well in a structured environment.

Biggest things he needs to prove: Can he talk the talk in the interviews? We’ve all heard how Rudolph is a system QB, and it’s almost a certainty that NFL reps will put him through the gauntlet to test his knowledge on pro concepts. Although many scouts won’t put a huge emphasis on throwing drills against air, can Rudolph shake his reputation as a QB with an average arm? He needs to show consistency on throws that require velocity, specifically in the intermediate range.

Pro comparison: Andy Dalton. Rudolph is probably the hardest of the bunch to comp, I’ve heard Blaine Gabbert all the way to Phillip Rivers from people. Dalton is smaller than Rudolph, but neither have overwhelmingly strong arms, both came from spread offenses and are sneaky athletic. Dalton was the 35th pick overall in 2011, which is right in the meat of the range where Rudolph could be selected.

Draft stock pre-combine:  Pick 25-50

James Washington

Summary: Washington really showed out at the Senior Bowl, and proved some doubters wrong. There were knocks on his ability to beat press coverage, because he did not see it that often. (Although when he did see it, he had a ton of success). He was able to consistently beat press coverage in drills and alleviate some of those doubts. He still has a unique frame for a WR, which will turn some off.

Biggest things he needs to prove: He really needs to run in the 4.4s in the 40-yard dash. There were questions about his straight line speed (yes you read that correctly), and given the fact that he isn’t a super fluid athlete in terms of agility and is viewed as a deep threat, his 40 time will prove to be more critical than others. Washington also needs to display the ability to run more complex route trees, as this was limited in the OSU offense. Washington has the smallest window of opportunity here as he probably won’t gain or lose much this weekend. If he runs well Washington will have a successful weekend.

Pro comparison: Chris Chambers (Greg Jennings is close second). This is by far my favorite comp of the bunch. Chambers might test your memory, but he had a successful career with the Miami Dolphins in the 2000s. At 5 foot 11 and 210 pounds, he has the exact same frame as Washington. Chambers was a long strider with big play ability, sound familiar?

Draft stock pre-combine: Pick 20-40 (Carolina at No. 24 seems like a very logical fit)

Marcell Ateman

Summary: Ateman’s NFL stock has really sky rocketed since the beginning of his senior year. He has a massive catch radius, excellent hands and is a great blocker. He was able to display some of that at the Senior Bowl, although he did struggle in some one-on-one drills. Many people view Ateman as a low ceiling “Z” receiver, and more of a red zone target than complete WR.

Biggest things he needs to prove: Ateman has to show the ability to run crisp routes. The biggest knock on him will be his inability to separate in the NFL. Although Ateman had a pretty full route tree as the No. 2 wide receiver in OSU’s offense, he is still given the same label as Washington by association. So a combination of smooth transitions in/out of breaks, and running faster than expected (dipping in high 4.5s would be huge) would go a long way to helping his stock.

Pro comparison: Brandon Coleman. Coming out of Rutgers, Coleman was as a big target with good hands who could have success down the field and in the red zone. With good size at 6-5 and a lack of elite acceleration, he fits Ateman’s mold well.

Draft stock pre-combine: Pick 50-75

Chris Lacy

Summary: Lacy was the forgotten man in the OSU offense in 2017. Paired with Marcell Ateman returning from injury, and Lacy missing a few games from injury himself, production fell off. However, Lacy is a nice prospect, albeit somewhat of an unknown in the NFL circles. He is a guy who has nice size, good athleticism, can high point balls well, and the best blocking WR on the team. It’s a pretty huge sign of respect to Lacy’s game and the Oklahoma State program that he received an invite.

Biggest things he needs to prove: Everything. Based off my analysis of the NFL draft media, Lacy is not on the radar.  Oklahoma State fans know he can play, I know he can play, but he needs to prove that on a bigger stage. If Lacy can run well and show out, the momentum will continue to flow into his pro day and potential private workouts for scouts who weren’t aware of him.

Pro comparison: Brice Butler. Any Dallas Cowboys fans out there? Hopefully you’re screaming for Butler to start over Terence Williams. Butler not only has similar size and athleticism but was in a similar situation as Lacy with his limited production in college. Although Butler’s was due to the fact that he transferred from USC to San Diego State his senior year.  Even with only 347 yards his senior year, Butler impressed in workouts and ended up being a 7th round pick. Lacy has that same opportunity this spring.

Draft stock pre-combine: 6th round – Undrafted

Tre Flowers

Summary: Flowers was a production machine while at OSU, although he never quite reached the potential I thought he would. Teams are going to fall in love with his rangy size, and it will be difficult to look past his tackle numbers. Given the fact that he was asked to work in space a lot in Glenn Spencer’s system, there is definitely plenty of relevant experience that will translate.

Biggest things he needs to prove: Strength, although teams will like his ranginess, there are questions about his physicality and decisiveness. I also think showing a certain level of fluidity in the DB drills will be important, as most likely teams will ask him to play free safety. Flowers won’t fit all schemes, so he will need to make sure and pair up with teams that don’t require enforcers in their secondary.

Pro comparison: Jeff Heath. This is not a perfect comp, but Flowers is probably the most unique prospect of the bunch. Both put up monster production in college. Heath is shorter and stockier but he is rangy in coverage due to upper echelon athleticism. Also Heath has been a solid coverage free safety, but has been somewhat of a liability in run support. When Heath is beat in coverage, it’s because he is out of position and not due to lack of ability similar to Flowers. Both project as better players in deep coverage.

Draft stock pre-combine: 5th – 7th round.  As it stands, I would say Flowers is probably a 6th round prospect, but he has the ability to move up into the 4th with rock solid performance at the combine and, like I mentioned above, if he can find the right scheme fit that will increase his value.