NFL Combine: Does tape match hype for combine standouts?

After the NFL Combine, the two biggest risers at the Baltimore Ravens’ positions of need are wide receiver Will Fuller and edge defenders Emmanuel Ogbah. Ogbah and Fuller were both considered fringe first-rounders before the Combine. Where do they fall now, and does their tape match their athleticism in shorts? Let’s take a look.

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Will Fuller, WR Notre Dame

You may remember last year some scouts saying Breshad Perriman did not look as fast as he timed. While I think that was partially due to his long stride length, it was a legitimate criticism. The same criticism can NOT be made for Will Fuller, the speedster from Notre Dame. Observe as Fuller dusts the speedy Adoree’ Jackson of USC.

What I liked most about Fuller’s film wasn’t his speed, though, but rather his explosiveness in and out of cuts. Though not a creative route runner, Fuller has great start-and-stop ability, as evidenced by these two crisp routes. Here is Fuller (top of screen) running a very sharp comeback:

And here is an explosive deep out (top of screen).

Fuller has little trouble getting open, even if he’s mostly limited to single-cut routes at this point in his career. The issue, as is often the case with speed receivers, is drops, and unfortunately for Fuller, he has both technical and concentration issues.

His 21 drops through two seasons is abysmal, though he did do well during the gauntlet drill at the combine. Small hands could explain his tendency toward body catches.

Fuller’s speed and explosiveness will probably make him a first round pick, but the player Fuller most reminds me of in his tape is Chris Givens. The same Chris Givens who caught just 37 percent of his targets as a Raven.

Despite that horrible reception rate, Givens wasn’t a total flop in Baltimore. He regularly showed the ability to get open downfield: Givens just didn’t have a quarterback who could get him the ball, and that included Joe Flacco. None of the Ravens’ four quarterbacks clicked with Givens, and his numbers languished. Givens didn’t help matters by failing to make contested catches and struggling at times to track the ball.

Like Givens, Fuller gets open but does not make many contested catches. Thus, Fuller will need to be on a team with an extremely accurate deep ball passer to make the most of his talents. Flacco, despite his arm strength, is not that. Fuller is not a fit in Baltimore, but he might find success in the right situation.

 

Emmanuel Ogbah, DE/OLB Oklahoma State

Unlike Will Fuller, who was expected to blow up the combine, Emmanuel Ogbah was not well known for his athleticism. His physique looks the part, but his athleticism, fluidity and explosiveness were all question marks in college.

Then, Ogbah destroyed the combine, running a 4.63 40-yard dash and a 1.59 10-yard split, jumping 35.5″ in the vertical, and leaping 121″ in the broad jump. His 35.5″ arms were also impressive, showing that Ogbah is the prototypical athlete for an edge rusher.

That said, Ogbah didn’t look like it in college. He looked stiff and unexplosive, rarely getting off the line well and often playing too high.

That said, I didn’t see Ogbah get many chances to pin his ears back and rush the passer with abandon. He was usually thinking about the run or stunting, which kept him from demonstrating an elite speed rush.

Though he rarely flashed a great speed rush, Ogbah did impress with his sophisticated moveset. Check out his hand fighting on this sack.

Plays like that make Ogbah’s inconsistency all the more maddening. His motor ran hot and cold in college, and his pursuit was next to non-existent. Any team picking Ogbah will be banking on his combine numbers and occasional flashes of dominance. In a good environment, like Baltimore’s, Ogbah could be worth a second-round pick. That combine, along with the gaudy sack numbers, will push Ogbah into the first round, though, and I don’t see him worth that for the Ravens.