2022 NFL Scouting Combine: Safety Notes
The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine is on the final day. We’re lucky we even got one but luckily the NFL decided to cancel on their stupid bubble idea. We’re here. I’m tired and need sleep.
One final group to talk about. It’s the safeties. Let’s take a look at the notes!
Good
I just think it’s time to do this. Why don’t we just acknowledge that Georgia has all the good players? Have you seen the recruiting boards? With the NIL deals, it’s only going to get more drastic. Lewis Cine was a slightly higher recruit than Kyle Hamilton and looked way better.
Wasn’t a perfect work out. Had a couple stumbles going too fast. Overall… fantastic. 4.38 on the 40 is dirty. Really quick. Great natural back pedal. Very smooth. Not necessarily super duper twitched up. Has some pop. Wish he was maybe tad more in control but the guy flys. Just glides different. His gauntlet if it means anything was by far the best. Easy hands. Stays on the line. Good play speed. He’s the best safety here.
Verone McKinley probably had the best on field workout. Quick but also explosive. Serious pop. Twitchy but not crazy amount. Serious hips. Fast but no 40. Best pure mover. Out there grooving. One slip but overall very good.
Bad
Markquese Bell the Florida A&M guy had a rough go of it. Way too high. Total body turner. Terrible knee bend. No pop.
Dane Belton bad day. Too high. Really tight hipped. No pivot. Not an athlete.
The entire media is blowing Kyle Hamilton. I probably need to watch him more myself, but I don’t currently get it. I’m sure he’s smart since he went to Notre Dame. I’m also not sure we know what he is.
There’s a chance he screams Aaron Curry. There’s a chance he screams Kam Chancellor. There is no chance he’s Ed Reed or Troy Polamalu. None. I’ve seen what I need to.
His workout was not good. You can say that it was because he hosts a podcast and gives access to media. If that’s why you’re propping him up, feel free to keep doing so. There’s no chance anyone saw that workout and went “Wow. That’s Ed Reed”. Nobody.
Shitty drop back. High. Narros base. Bad hips. Not twitchy at all. Can move. Good jump numbers. Looks like he can high point. Not natural deep centerfielder hands. Too tall sometimes. High stepper. Drifter during the gauntlet. Tries to keep his feet moving even if you can spot that he’s not a five star gifted athlete. Stiff legged when changing direction. Too slow sometimes. Tied for slowest 40 at the position.
That’s the truth ^. You can not like it. At least someone has a different narrative. Guess what? My eyes don’t usually lie. That’s how I learned hockey in two hours.
Don’t think Daxton Hill had a terrible workout. Just a really odd one. Really high. Bad play speed. Terrible knee bend. Can open up. Does look rangy. Tracks ball well. Don’t like his feet. Not two left feet. More so heavy footed. Bit tight. Can high point. Did fall once because of his footwork. Do like him as a player.
Don’t love this Quentin Lake. Can’t open up. Lot of guessing. Can catch. Feet were in quick sand.
Smoke Monday looked, reeked, and smelled special teamer. That was awful. Quick but way too high. Didn’t cover ground. Bad back bender. Can catch. Way too high. Quick sand guy. Arms not tied to his body. Really, really bad.
Juanyeh Thomas. Gross not in a good way. Drifter. No burst. Lacks explosion. Not tracking ball. Bad hands. Slow. Bad eyes.
Delarrin Turner-Yell was worse. Face planter. Tight. Faster than quick. Bad feet. On his heels. Out of control. Back bender. Can’t explode. Not good.
Leon O’Neal. Bad. Shaky feet. Tazz but not high end juice. Out of control. Super stiff. Bad knees. Slow. Body catcher. Strong safety all day but probably lacks juice to even make it.
Baylor
JT Woods ran fast but maybe had the worst workout of the group. All these Baylor guys have looked the same. Fast but more track guy with zero football ability. I mean this was awful. Drifter. Terrible short area footwork. Slow in and out. No ground. Stone feet. Rusty hips. 4.36 but bad play speed. Can’t bend. Can’t catch.
Jalen Pitre. Looks small. Not fast enough to be that small. Decent feet. Bad knee bend. Not twitchy. Not an efficient mover. Stumbler. Balance out of wack.
Other
No drills for Bubba Bolden and run a middle tier 40 time. He’s a thumper and probably wouldn’t have looked good in the drills.
No on field for Jaquan Brisker either but he did everything else. Apparently tweaked something in the bench press but still ran.
Vendetta’s Top 5 Safeties:
1. Lewis Cine (Georgia)
2. Jaquan Brisker (Penn State)
3. Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame)
4. Daxton Hill (Michigan)
5. Verone McKinley (Oregon)
