A Combine warning with Herbert, and a Miami Dolphins starter awaits clarity from the team
A six-pack of Miami Dolphins notes on a Friday:
▪ Considering Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert’s physical gifts, it was perhaps inevitable that he would ace his NFL Combine workout Thursday.
He was outstanding in throwing drills, especially on deep passes, ran a strong 40-yard dash (4.68) and finished second among QBs in the vertical jump and third in the broad jump.
“Herbert making himself some money,” former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt tweeted.
But here’s a cautionary warning about quarterback performances at the Combine. They often don’t translate to regular-season NFL game performance. Let’s take a quick look at recent years:
At the 2015 Combine, Mike Mayock — then an NFL Network analyst and now general manager of the Raiders — couldn’t stop raving about Bryce Petty’s performance: “Natural, beautiful thrower. Right away, you can tell this guy has legit arm strength. You see the ball just jump out of Bryce Petty’s hands.”
Petty’s career stats: 4 touchdowns, 10 picks and a 57.7 rating.
SB Nation that year called Marcus Mariota the biggest winner of the Combine, while Mayock raved that Jameis Winston and Mariota “were oustanding” at the Combine.
Winston has been a turnover machine (while also throwing a lot of TDs) and Mariota lost his job to Ryan Tannehill.
At the 2016 Combine, NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks — a former NFL scout — called Jared Goff the biggest winner, noting “the polished pocket passer put on a strong showing to cement his status as the top quarterback in the 2016 class. Goff showed exceptional footwork and mechanics making throws in passing drills.”
Goff was very good in 2018 but regressed last season (22 TDs, 16 picks, 86.5 rating).
In 2017, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah rated Mitch Tribusky’s Combine performance second among all QBs — behind Deshaun Watson but ahead of Pat Mahomes, who is infinitely better than Trubisky as an NFL quarterback.
In 2018, Brooks called Lamar Jackson one of the losers of the Combine, noting he was “unable to string together pinpoint passes for most of the day.”
It’s not that the evaluations that day were off. It’s that what we see from quarterbacks at the Combine doesn’t consistently translate to pro performance. Sometimes it does; Watson and Josh Allen were among those who excelled at the Combine in recent years, and that translated.
But there enough recent examples where it doesn’t translate.
In the past, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier has indicated he doesn’t place overriding emphasis in Combine performance. And that’s a good thing, because anyone who had concerns about Herbert’s uneven accuracy at Oregon shouldn’t suddenly be won over by his Combine performance.
Utah State quarterback Jordan Love also looked good at The Combine, and it was reiterated to us on Friday that the Dolphins very much like the skill set, though the fifth pick would seem too high.
▪ With the Dolphins poking around on potential center upgrades over Daniel Kilgore, Jesse Davis remains the one Dolphins offensive lineman with a good chance of remaining a 2020 starter.
But Davis told me Thursday the Dolphins have given him no indication whether he will play right tackle, left tackle or guard. He played primarily right tackle last season.
“It would be nice to know, but I don’t think they would come out and say it before the draft,” Davis said from Stephen Ross’ Business Combine at Hard Rock Stadium. “We’ll see what happens during the draft.”
He said he would like to know what he’s playing by late April from a weight standpoint.
“If I play tackle, I would like to be down a few more pounds. As long as I can maintain my strength, I’ll be OK.”
Davis, the ultimate team player, said he has no preference where he plays.
“Last year, I said guard,” he said. “This year, I’m going to say tackle. That’s what fresh in my mind and fresh in my movements. Hopefully they put me in one spot and not move me right before the season opener, which is how it happened last year, which sucked.
“The week of Baltimore, that first week is when they told me you will play left tackle [which was a short-lived experiment]. In my mind, I was like, ‘I haven’t been on the left side in a year and half so that’s not going to be fun.’”
But, he said, “whatever they need me to play, I’ll play.”
▪ The NFL announced Friday that Arizona will be the home team for the NFL’s regular-season game in Mexico City in 2020 (opponent undetermined), meaning the Dolphins’ 2020 international game will be in London — date and opponent to be determined. Miami is giving up a home game in 2020 to play an international game.
▪ Linebacker Vince Biegel, an impending restricted free agent, said his agent was scheduled to meet with the Dolphins on Thursday to potentially negotiate a multiyear deal.
“I want to stay with this organization for a long time,” he said Thursday, adding that he doesn’t envision a “whole lot of new stuff” being changed with the defense in the coordinator transition from Patrick Graham and Josh Boyer.
▪ Quick stuff: Dolphins unrestricted free agent defensive tackle John Jenkins said Miami still has given him no indication if it wants him back…
Linebacker Sam Eguavoen said in his exit meeting with the team, the Dolphins made clear: “They want to see my Year 1 to Year 2 jump. Not saying my Year 1 was bad, but they want to see what I can put forward in Year 2. I want to double everything I did, ball out and just be the best player on the team.”...
Most draftniks have UF’s CJ Henderson as the only cornerback in Miami’s range at 18, but Brooks mocks Alabama cornerback Trevon Diggs to Miami at that spot, noting “Brian Flores could use another long, rangy athlete to match up with big-bodied No. 1 receivers around the league.”
▪ Kudos to Dolphins owner Ross for holding an annual five-day Dolphins Business Combine to teach players about real estate, business leadership, corporate finance, marketing, enterpreneurship and more.
This week’s Combine included speeches by Maverick Carter (founded the Digital Media Company Uninterrupted with LeBron James), former NFL player Justin Forsett, Ross and many others.
Biegel marveled how 38 Dolphins players “showed up to the business combine on their own dime to re-invest in themselves. [Just] 19 showed up to the whole NFL business combine in Michigan. I’ve learned a ton of stuff. [Ross] is going to invest in us on and off the field. He not just cares about Vince as a football player, but Vince has a business person, as a husband.”
The Combine ended with players presenting pitches on new products to several judges on Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium, in a scene similar to ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
Guard Shaq Calhoun, receiver Trevor Davis and three teammates made the winning pitch — for a chewing gum, Hydrochew, which replaces potassium and sodium in the body after sweating. Their prize? An exclusive tour of Hudson Yards, Ross $25 billion real estate development project in Manhattan.
Here was part 1 of my Dolphins-flavored NFL free agency series this week, on offensive linemen.
Here was part 2 of my series, on front seven defenders.
Here was part 3, on cornerback, running back and other positions.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 1:34 PM.
