Feldman: Ten takeaways from the NFL combine to keep in mind as the draft nears
Their numbers didn't disappoint. How will those stats translate into opinions of NFL evaluators who will be drafting in April?
theathletic.com
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I’ll be stunned if Jaxon Smith-Njigba doesn’t have a bunch of 100-catch seasons in the NFL, and I think he’ll go higher than I’ve seen him on some early mock drafts. Of all the wonderful Ohio State receivers that have come out of Brian Hartline’s room in the past few years, rival coaches I spoke to thought he was the best prospect to this point. (Marvin Harrison Jr. will surpass them all next year, but he’s not draft eligible yet.)
At 6-1, 196, Smith-Njigba is the closest thing to a sure thing in this year’s receiver crop. Last year, the Buckeyes produced two first-round wideouts in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, and both were 1,000-plus-yard receivers as NFL rookies. According to the coaches we’ve spoken to who faced all three of them, Smith-Njigba is much more physical and has better change of direction than Wilson and Olave.
There has been some skepticism about Smith-Njigba’s speed, but his quickness is elite, and he displayed that in Indy. His 20-yard shuttle time of 3.93 seconds was the fastest by a receiver at the combine since 2013, and his 3-cone drill time of 6.57 seconds was better than anyone at this year’s combine.
Hartline, a former NFL receiver himself, wasn’t surprised at all. “Jax has a great feel of the game within the game, start there,” Hartline told The Athletic on Monday. “He knows how to use his body and how to win at the end of the play with whatever the job description is. There’s kind of a knack for that. Some guys just get it. As coaches we can try to enhance that, but from Day One, he always had that knack. There’s just something a little different for what Jax does.
“His change of direction is definitely the best that I’ve had. Garrett was pretty explosive. They all have their own niches, but when he changes direction out of a break, he doesn’t slow down. This game is really all about change of direction, and his is different, and I think it’ll be really hard for anybody to keep up with him when he changes direction because he is that elite at it, and that literally is the common denominator for creating separation in football.
“He’s kind of unguardable. He’ll be über-productive in the NFL. I think he will be a guy that leads the league in receptions and receiving yards. No one’s gonna be shocked. That’s just who he is, and he’s only gotten better, Like C.J. (Stroud) said, he’s the quarterback’s best friend.”
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