The unquestioned star of the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday was Maryland left tackle Bruce Campbell. That picture doesn’t show it, but Campbell showed up in Indianapolis how everyone expected. He’s a rock of an offensive tackle. He’s got Dwight Howard shoulders is probably the leanest offensive lineman in the draft.
Bruce Campbell’s combine showing impressive, worthless
The buzz around Campbell began when he weighed in. Coming in at 6-foot-6 with 36 1/4-inch arms, Campbell has a good of length as you’d want.
Then, he stepped onto the field. He ran an official 40-yard dash time of 4.85 seconds. Since 199, Football Outsiders notes that only Allen Barbre has run a faster time. He also put up 34 reps in the 225-pound bench press.
All of this caused people to go nuts. People on Twitter went bananas. Adam Schefter called him an Adonis. Agent Drew Rosenhaus said it was the fastest 40 ever for an offensive lineman and that he’d be a top 10 pick. Some random guy called him a “beast.”
But Ross Tucker of Sports Illustrated summed Campbell’s performance up best:
Bruce Campbell's 40 time is very impressive but it has no bearing on whether or not he can, ya know, block people.
Ding, ding!
Why anyone is impressed with Campbell’s performance, I’ll never know. Everyone expected this. But would people have thought less of Campbell’s performance if it wasn’t as impressive? Hopefully not.
In fact, the most telling part of Cambell’s performance came when he was interviewed by the NFL Network crew. They asked where he needs to improve and Campbell said his leverage and technique. He can run all the great 40-yard dash times, but if he doesn’t improve those two things, he won’t make it in the NFL.
Check out our scouting report on Campbell for more on what actually matters.
See More:
