There’s no hiding when it comes to the NFL Draft. If you’ve been struggling with talent evaluation and acquisition, the Draft will expose you. If you’re recruiting guys with subpar measurables, the Combine will expose them. It’s an unforgiving and unsentimental process.
The Miami Hurricanes had a rough time at last weekend’s combine, with Leonard Taylor, James Williams and Kam Kinchens all performing below expectations. Javion Cohen elected not to run his forty and faced questions about his departure from Alabama. Matt Lee had a tremendous workout, but has long-term durability concerns.
All told, it’s possible that no Hurricane goes on Days 1 and 2. This is what Mario Cristobal was brought in to fix. Here’s the good news: as many as six players signed by Mario Cristobal could go in the Top 100: OC Jackson Powers-Johnson, WR Troy Franklin, OT Kingsley Suamataia, DL Brandon Dorlus, RB Trey Benson and CB DJ James. Two of those players left Oregon after Mario came to Miami, and another left to BYU when he got homesick. But all were evaluated, recruited and signed by Mario Cristobal.
I joined Peter Ariz to talk about this and other Hurricane-related draft topics on the CanesInSight Daily Podcast. First, we broke down the combine numbers for each set of players. It quickly became clear that Cristobal was recruiting a higher level of measurables than Miami from 2019-2021:
- Kam Kinchens: 5’11, 203, 4.65, 35-inch vert, 9’2 broad
- James Williams: 6’4, 231, 4.65, 30-inch vert, 9’9 broad
- Leonard Taylor: 6’3, 303, 5.12 (1.76 split), 30-inch vert, 9’1 broad, 7.81 3 cone
- Javion Cohen: 6’4, 324, 26’5-inch vert, 8’8 broad
- Matt Lee: 6’4, 301, 5.03 forty (1.76 split) 31-inch vert, 9’3 broad
- Jackson Powers-Johnson: 6’3, 328, 32-inch vert, 8’8 broad, 30 bench reps
- Troy Franklin: 6’2, 174, 4.41, 39-inch vert, 10’4 broad jump
- Kingsley Suamataia: 6’5, 326, 5.04 forty (1.74), 28-inch vert, 9’2 broad, 31 bench reps
- Brandon Dorlus: 6’3, 283, 4.85 (1.68 split), 30.5-inch vert, 9’3 broad
- Trey Benson: 6’0, 216, 4.39, 33.5-inch vert, 10’2 broad
- DJ James: 6’0, 175, 4.41
Will Cristobal be able to recreate his success as an evaluator at Oregon in Miami? That remains to be seen. But the NFL Draft will tell us a lot, and there are some encouraging signs this year.
Later in the Podcast, Peter Ariz polled some of his NFL scouting sources to get a feel for the draft range of Miami’s top prospects. Here is what he found:
Kam Kinchens: “Second to third round range was always more likely because there was an understanding that the physical testing may not be his strong suit. Obviously, he didn't put up good numbers at all. But scouts know that he went out there and ran on an ankle that was not 100%. Most of the time guys are looking for any excuse not to run. A lot of the feedback I've gotten is that it confirms who Kam is character-wise and as a football player. So I think third round is probably where Kam goes off the board. He blew the interview process out of the water and has another opportunity to to test at Pro Day. Hopefully, he’s 100%.”
James Williams: “By the numbers in his safety group, he did not stack up well testing-wise. But you understand his NFL role is going to be as more of a linebacker. Here’s the question for the scouts: they want to project him at linebacker because his skill set could be really, really dangerous there. But they haven't seen that on film. They haven't seen the consistent physicality, the consistency as a tackler or as a striker. So the film needs to match what they want him to be. I think probably fifth to seventh round, someone will take a chance on his skill set. It's going to take a scheme-specific team that takes him and really thinks they can put him in a role.”
Javion Cohen: “He’s a very interesting one. Went to the Senior Bowl and had a good week. Did not run at the combine but did a field workout, and I’m told he did a good job there. I think the question is, he's at Alabama and was All-Conference. Why do you leave Alabama to go to Miami? Team are digging into his background.”
Leonard Taylor: “Leonard Taylor did not have a productive year on the field. Before the season, I talked to people who told me he does stuff as an interior pass rusher and he has ability as an interior pass rusher that is hard to find. Does he give it a hundred percent every play? Does he have that motor? Those are the questions these scouts have tried to figure out. He did not test well. And that was something he was supposed to have in his back pocket because the production was not there. Someone will take him fifth, sixth, seventh round. Probably closer to six or seventh round for him.”
Matt Lee: “Awesome day of testing for him. He has a couple things going against him: number 1, being a center, there's only 32 starting centers in the league. A lot of times these backups now are hybrid guys who can play some guard as well as center. Matt Lee is pretty much only a center. He's not going to be able to play guard at the next level. And then the medical side. There might be some concerns that he's not going to be able to stay completely healthy for more than a few years. But that's not to say he can't get drafted late, get an opportunity in a camp. He has all the ability to play there. If the medical was clean, he'd be a mid-round guy. No doubt about it. But if he can get into a camp, stay healthy, teams won't have any objection to giving him a multi-year deal. I think probably late round to undrafted for him, a priority free agent. If that's the case, he'll have plenty of suitors because he can play for sure.”
