Combine results are silly. The combine is good for evaluating prospects like Joe Flacco of Delaware who didn't get much exposure in his career because of what level he played at. The combine is otherwise nothing more than a place for scouts to drool over how many reps some guy can do in the weight room. I hate drafting players whose "stock shot up at the combine". Mario's from a big-time school that got plenty of exposure and he's got a whole library of game tapes. His entire body of work - big time catch against MSU, drops against
OSU, clutch touchdown catch against PSU, stats racked up in three seasons of play, route running on game tapes - that's the stuff he ought to be judged and drafted on, not a 40-yard dash in an insulated, over-controlled environment.
All those "rising at the combine" guys on the Scout article? Those are the guys I'd prefer the Lions (as a Lions fan) stay away from. Eddie Royal? For chrissake, Eddie Royal played at Virginia Tech, which was on national TV at least two out of every three weeks and played against some of the best competition in the country. If Eddie Royal hasn't done enough in three or four years of playing college football to prove he's first-round worthy, I sure hope scouts aren't going to cast that aside for a day or two of workouts. Ooooooooo, he did 24 reps of 225. Any GM who decides to draft Eddie Royal (who plays the one non-special teams position that least demands upper body strength) based on monster bench press numbers, is a certified dunce not worthy to run a football team. So naturally, Matt Millen is even as I type considering trading up to get him.