Some Thoughts From My Time At Alabama Pro Day:
- Before I headed to Alabama, I thought that guard Chance Warmack could have been the offensive linemen to slide in this draft with Joeckel, Fisher, Johnson, and Cooper all going in the top 15. After watching Warmack work out and talking to various scouts from around the league, there is a good chance that all those players are gone before Dallas selects at 18. There were things that the coaches that worked him out were able to get athletically in regard to movement to the outside but on the second level. The buzz I was hearing was that Tennessee despite signing Andy Levitre on Tuesday would still be in the mix for Warmack with their pick at 10. Long time NFL personnel man, Tim Ruskell was in the building for the Titans on Wednesday.
- Chance Warmack still hasn't done his bench press for NFL clubs while Jonathan Cooper has 35 reps on file. Offensive tackle DJ Fluker chose not to take part in any of the shuttle or three cone drills like he did at the Combine, nor did he try and improve on his 21 reps of 225 for scouts but worked out for offensive line coaches from San Diego, Minnesota, and Jacksonville. It's amazing how large Fluker is in person. His hands are huge and he did his best to try and break mine when I met him before the workout. He is such a long guy and it makes him look like he is moving slowly in the drills but what you really notice is how hard he competes. He was always trying to finish his blocks and this is a trait that you even see on tape. You can see that football is important to him in the way he carries himself. He is not the same athlete as Flozell Adams but you get the same feeling of him when you watch him work size wise. Adams did have a nasty side but you didn't see it as much as you see it with this player. I am not saying this will happen but keep an eye on Minnesota at the back end of this draft with two first round selections.
- Running back Eddie Lacy once again skipped the opportunity to work out for the scouts. At the Combine, it was his knee and a pectoral injury that kept him out that day but on Wednesday, it was a hamstring injury. Talking to several scouts there are questions about really how fast he is but when you watch the tape, you see a player that is fast enough. I would not put him in the class of Trent Richardson but someone is going to get a finisher when his number is called. Physically is a big kid at 229 and he plays that way. These Alabama coaches swear by him and they don't care what his 40 time might be because of what he is able to do during games and when you observe his tape, I tend to agree. Other than Warmack not bench pressing, Lacy not working out was the biggest disappointment for me. I really wanted to see what kind of athlete he was.
- When you go to these workouts you learn about players that you might not have known much about. Alabama has a tight end named Michael Williams that I need to go back and study some tape on because of his size. Michael Williams is 6-6, 278 but his speed is great at 5.21 and with some of his other measurements, it might keep him from getting drafted but as a priority free agent you are looking for traits in a player and he passes the eye ball test. This team is looking for someone to help on the edges in the running game and he might be that type of player but need to take a peek at him.
