NFL Combine 2015: Results, highlights and live coverage from Indianapolis

The combine was the final opportunity for most of the prospects to showcase themselves to a national audience in addition to NFL scouts, coaches and executives. Though none of it was in an actual football game, it still was a great opportunity for players to boost their draft stock by performing well in the various drills and measurements.

Each player goes through a series of football-related drills for his specific position that helps him showcase his abilities. Though it’s done without football pads, it can provide a glimpse into a player’s abilities while also making NFL decision-makers comfortable with spending a draft pick on them.

Winston’s week started with something of a scare when reports surfaced that he had a weak throwing shoulder. He put that concern to rest during his throwing drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Whether they were questions about his shoulder or his character, he answered them and did it with a grin. No question seemed to faze the former Heisman Trophy winner. He left Indianapolis with a much firmer grasp on being the No. 1 pick in the draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Obviously it’s a little premature to lock Winston into the top pick, but it’s getting close.

The NFL Scouting Combine welcomed the skill position players on Saturday, as some of the biggest names in the draft -- including Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota -- went through drills and wrapped up their time in Indianapolis. They joined the offensive linemen, tight ends and specialists, who are also done with workouts.

While linemen garner headlines with big bench press numbers and defensive backs often run the fastest, the wide receivers, quarterbacks and running backs typically get the most attention at the combine. That was the case on Saturday when they participated in the 40-yard dash and went through position drills. Mariota and several wide receivers ran well. Winston didn’t have as much success in the 40, while Georgia WR Chris Conley may have been the most impressive player this year.

Trae Waynes of Michigan State was already considered one of the top cornerbacks coming into the Combine, and after putting up a 40 time of 4.31 seconds, he’s definitely solidified his spot. Justin Cox of Mississippi State was right behind him at 4.36 seconds, with the pair getting respectably close to the fastest time this year, a 4.28 set by wide receiver J.J. Nelson.

The top safety prospect, Landon Collins, ran a 40-yard dash of 4.53 seconds. Jalen Collins of LSU recorded a 40 time of 4.48, impressive given he’s one of the bigger cornerbacks in the draft class. Ronald Darby of Florida State put together one of the most complete performances with a 4.38 40-yard dash, a 10’9 broad jump and a huge 41.5” vertical leap.

Byron Jones wasn’t even going to work out at the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Connecticut cornerback tore his labrum in his shoulder the middle of August during the team’s preseason camp. He played through the injury until October, when his season was finished in the first half of an Oct. 23 game against East Carolina. Here’s Jones with the cringe-worthy details:

We’re required to remind you that these strong takes are SATIRE. Sorry, not sorry. All spelling errors are intentional, we think. -Ed.

Wellcome to the Monday Morning BM,, just a word of warning your probably not prepared to handle the strong football takes and barrelfire NFL truths that you never knew your Mondays were missing. This column is written for and by a REAL fan of the NFL. Its designed to be read on your Monday Morning commode break after a long Sunday eating bad-for-you food and drinking beers. If you care more about SPELLING then you do about TELLING theres the door because this columns not for you.

The defensive backs were the last group to participate in the 40-yard dash at the 2015 NFL Combine, wrapping up the performances in the Combine’s most popular drill Monday.

Highlighting the group of defensive backs were Washington’s Marcus Peters, Alabama’s Landon Collins and Michigan State’s Trae Waynes. But it was a different Collins who stole the show early in the morning.

Each year at the NFL Scouting Combine, hundreds of the top NFL Draft prospects from around the nation will converge on Indianapolis to run really fast, lift heavy things, jump a whole bunch and generally do athletic things that you and I cannot do, but will assess and comment on nonetheless. But if there’s anybody we can identify with in some way at the combine, it’s Rich Eisen of the NFL Network.

Eisen is not a particularly athletic man, but for the past 10 years, he’s been running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He’s been doing it since 2005, when Terrell Davis challenged Eisen to compete in the event. And while he’s not exactly competitive with any of the prospects, even the offensive linemen, Eisen has shown improvement over the years.

The corners and safeties are the final position group to work out at the combine. They’ll be asked to run drills that showcase their backpedal -- a vital technique for a cornerback -- as well as their ability to change direction. Prospects will start off the workout by heading backward for 5-10 yards. They will then have to pivot and run in whatever direction the coach sends them. A player’s ability to quickly respond to a new direction is considered a good test for how he will react in a real game situation.

This year, there are far more quality cornerbacks than safeties. That represents a significant departure from a year earlier, when four safeties came off the board in the first round alone. That number could be slashed by half or more in 2015. As for the cornerbacks, the group features several talented options but no standout.

All that remains is for the defensive backs to participate in their fourth and final day with drills and workouts. Each group had a day of orientation and registration, a day of measurements and medical examination, and a day of psychological testing, bench press and meetings, with all three of those days also including interviews. The fourth day is on-field workouts.

For defensive backs, most of their drills will deal with reacting quickly and agility tests. The most important skill is being able to swing the hips around quickly and maintain speed while running backwards. This is in addition to the 40-yard dash, shuttle run, three-cone drill, vertical jump and broad jump. All positions typically engage in those drills, and most players from each position will do them, barring injury.

The NFL Scouting Combine has just one more day left, as defensive linemen and linebackers wrapped up their on-field drills and workouts on Sunday. All that’s left is the on-field portion for defensive backs on Monday, and while that should be plenty exciting -- especially the 40-yard dash -- there’s plenty to talk about from Sunday’s linebackers.

First, the fastest time in the 40-yard dash went to LSU’s Kwon Alexander, who recorded a time of 4.55 seconds. That’s impressive, though it doesn’t compare to the fastest times at receiver and it falls just short of defensive lineman Vic Beasley (4.53 seconds). Mike Hull led all linebackers in the bench press, putting up 31 reps of 225 pounds. He also put a solid 4.68 40-yard dash on the board.

Each and every year, it seems like we’re talking about a big, nasty defensive lineman to potentially go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft. This year, it’s no different, with guys like Leonard Williams from USC and Dante Fowler of Florida dominating the discussion. Some of them will wind up being linebackers at the next level, but during the NFL Scouting Combine, the top players were definitely defensive linemen.

Vic Beasley of Clemson has always been in discussions as one of the top defenders, but always just out of the top three discussion. Beasley turned plenty of heads at the combine, though, running a blistering 4.53 40-yard dash on Sunday. That’s incredibly impressive for a man his size, especially given he also put up 225 pounds 35 times in the bench press.

As usual, you can expect plenty of offensive linemen to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft this year, as this class is every bit as good as it has been in recent years. The top prospects at all positions along the line have officially wrapped up their combine workouts, and there were plenty of highlights.

There were those highlights that ultimately mean little for a prospect’s draft status -- like Ali Marpet out of Hobart College posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.98 seconds, fastest among offensive line. There were also plenty of things that scouts are sure to take notice of, like Miami (FL) offensive lineman Ereck Flowers and his 37 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press.

The top tight ends from around the nation converged on Indianapolis to try and convince NFL teams they deserve a look in the 2015 NFL Draft. The tight end position is one where you typically only hear about the top one or two players coming out of college, with just a handful of guys going in the top two rounds.

But the tight end position is evolving in the NFL, as we’ve seen with players like Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski. NFL teams want to score a big guy who can catch the football and create matchup nightmares for shorter linebackers. There’s a few such players in this year’s draft, notably Maxx Williams of Minnesota and Clive Walford of Miami.

This year’s draft class isn’t as strong as last when it comes to the wide receiver position, but there are plenty of promising players and many of them were on full display at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. While there’s still some combine left for other positions, the receivers have been through all of their drills and workouts.

Multiple players made headlines with their skill in the workouts, including Georgia’s Chris Conley. He ran a 40-yard dash of 4.35 seconds, set the record for vertical leap at the position with 45 inches and put up a broad jump of 11 feet, 7 inches -- also a record for receivers. He is also the subject of multiple pooping memes, so in all, it was a pretty complete combine for the young prospect.

While this year’s class of running backs didn’t exactly come close to breaking Chris Johnson’s record for the fastest 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, it is one of the strongest overall classes in recent memory. For a position that has rapidly alternated between over- and under-valued during the past decade in the NFL, it’s impossible to tell whether there will even be a running back taken in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t players worthy of being taken in the first round, it’s just difficult to predict what an NFL team will do when it comes to the position. This year also features an exceptionally strong free agent class at the position.

Breaking down the differences between the top two quarterbacks in this upcoming draft class is simple. Florida State’s Jameis Winston and Oregon’s Marcus Mariota are two very different quarterbacks with different skill sets and, of course, different concerns. Given the nature of those concerns -- Winston’s off-the-field issues and Mariota’s lack of experience in a pro-style offense -- there wasn’t much that could actually be solved at the NFL Combine.

Winston had his private interviews with teams to address those question marks, but none of the on-field drills changed much, nor could they have to begin with. Still, the two took part in just about everything anyway, along with the other 13 quarterbacks invited to Indianapolis this year.

The 2015 NFL Scouting Combine is almost done, with the defensive backs set to participate in drills and on-field workouts to close the whole thing out on Monday. But first, defensive linemen and linebackers are doing their workouts while the defensive backs hit the weight room for the bench press.

The bench press, which is simply a test to see how many reps of 225 pounds a player can put up, is simply a measure of strength and stamina. It’s a test that’s most relevant to offensive and defensive linemen given how much of their game is centered around strength. For cornerbacks and safeties, Monday’s agility drills will be much, much more important.

The top defensive back prospects from around the nation were measured at the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, and overall it’s looking like a solid bunch. Typically, defensive backs are one of the few positions where height hasn’t traditionally been a huge factor in scouting considering shorter cornerbacks and safeties have flourished in the NFL over the years.

That said, we’ve seen a rise in bigger-bodied, successful cornerbacks in the league. Most notable, Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks has a lethal combination of size and speed that has scouts constantly on the lookout for bigger guys who can fill his shoes. Of course, there’s a lot more to Sherman than being big, but it’s worth noting that many of the top defensive back prospects this year are taller than usual.

While the top defensive linemen from around the nation generally put on an impressive showing in the weight room Saturday, the main event is seeing them take part in the 40-yard dash and other drills Sunday. As usual, the 40-yard dash dominates discussion, and for good reason -- it’s simply impressive watching some of these guys run.

Nobody was more impressive than Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley, though. Beasley, who put up 35 reps in the bench press Saturday, turned in the fastest 40-yard dash time of all defensive linemen. He ran a 4.66 in his first attempt, and in his second put up a blistering 4.53. For the record, Beasley has suggested that he typically runs in the 4.6-4.7 range in workouts, so he exceeded even his own expectations.

It doesn’t matter how many times you told your friends and followers that 40 times are just a media conspiracy and that the Combine just “doesn’t matter.” While you were grinding tape Sunday morning, defensive linemen were putting on a pretty impressive display of athleticism -- especially Vic Beasley.

The Clemson defensive end got started Saturday bench pressing 225 pounds 35 times and nobody else in his position group had more. Beasley produced a 4.66 on his first 40 attempt. On his second, he ran a 4.53 -- FOUR FIVE THREE.

Danny Shelton, DT from Washington, runs the 40-yard dash in a blistering 5.66 seconds:

And the best part? SLOW-MO:

The top linebacker prospects from around the nation took part in the bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine Saturday. Those same linebackers, along with defensive linemen, will take the field for drills and other workouts Sunday, and the combine as a whole will come to an end Monday when the defensive backs finally see the field.

But the linebackers are one of a couple of positions where the bench press holds more significance. The bench press drill at the combine is simple -- how many reps of 225 pounds can a player put up? It’s usually an offensive lineman or defensive lineman who comes away with the top spot, but linebackers can often make it close. Last year, the top linebackers were Khairi Fortt and Max Bullough with 30 reps. To compare, the top offensive and defensive linemen had 42 and 36 reps, respectively.

The first players to hit the weight room at the NFL Combine were the offensive linemen, and they had, as usual, a rather impressive showing. Ereck Flowers of Miami led the way with 37 reps, while the two guys behind him had 36 and 35 reps, respectively. These numbers dwarf those of any other position Thursday and Friday, though tight end Gerald Christian managed 28 reps.

On Saturday, defensive linemen assembled for the bench press, and there were plenty of high expectations. Usually, offensive linemen win out, but defensive linemen often give them a run for their money. That wasn’t the case last year, when offensive lineman Russell Bodine put up 42 reps for the offensive linemen and Kaleb Ramsey was tops among defensive linemen with 36 reps. With 37 being the number to beat this year, it was certainly an easier task for the defensive linemen this time around, but they fell just short of that.

INDIANAPOLIS -- J.J. Nelson has a chip on his shoulder. He’s one of dozens of players at the 2015 NFL Combine, and every other Combine before this one, who’s toting around extra baggage atop his clavicle. Everyone’s favorite cliche aside, the receiver from the University of Alabama-Birmingham really does have something to prove, something beyond the what every other twentysomething in sweatpants in downtown Indianapolis is trying to prove.

Update: Read our NFL Draft scouting reports 2015 for the top prospects.