Bengals scouting Pro Days

[schweinhart]

Sportswriters from Pro Day sites and Gil Brandt are shedding light on which players the Bengals are looking at for draft.

So far it goes, by likely round.

1. Channing Crowder - LB coach Hunley

1. Roddy White -- Brat hisself

2. Jovan Haye -- unnamed DL coach

2. Attiayh Ellison, CJ Mosely -- Bresnahan hisself (players not specifically named)

3. Matt Jones TE/WR/QB extraordanaire -- unnamed Bengals coach works Jones as TE.

4. Tab Perry -- Hue Jackson

5. James Kinney -- Bresnahan again at Mizzou (Kinney not specifically named)

5. Khari Long -- Hunley again

No doubt many others are being looked at, but these are the players or players from schools who have been specifically named as Bengal targets.

It'd be nice to see Bengals.com or Cincy sportswriters to do a story about who the Bengals have scouted at pro days this year and revisit last year to see how many who were picked were scouted by Bengals at their pro days.

[bengalboomer7]

Where did you find that. Sounds like a good read :player:

[Vulture]

Found this in a Arkansas Newpaper about proday there:

Cincinnati Bengals tight end coach John Hays worked with Jones for about 20 minutes, allowing the 6-6, 242-pound Fort Smith native to show his moves and better yet his adaptability to other positions besides quarterback.

After recording times of 4.37 and 4.40 in the 40-yard dash and excellent numbers in the long jump and vertical jump at the NFL Combine, Jones was only timed in two or three drills that primarily judged his lateral movement.

The scouts seemed genuinely pleased with the results, even though Jones just about ran out of his shorts on one shuttle run.

"He’s an impressive athlete," said Hays. "Everyone likes Matt Jones."

This was on profootballtalk.com:

Jones (6-6 1/8, 241) stuck with his times and vertical from the combine (he did well). He ran a 4.11 short shuttle, an 11.07 long shuttle and a 6.65 three-cone drill. He worked out at tight end as well and looked good catching the ball.

[HoTbOy]

I think Mike Mayock on Playbook liked Roddy White to go to the Steelers, he really like him alot...

[schweinhart]

Where did you find that. Sounds like a good read :player:

Gil Brandt has got the Pro Day summaries at NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/draft/analysis/individual_workouts

The articles about Crowder, Perry, and Long are already in the forum some where. I'll try to find the links for here.

And the Vulture got the Jones story above.

[schweinhart]

Here's the Crowder article from a Fla paper.

Posted on Wed, Mar. 09, 2005

Fason, Crowder highlight 'down year' at Florida's combine

MARK LONG

Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Gators usually have several players worth evaluating before the NFL draft.

This year, they have just two - running back Ciatrick Fason and linebacker Channing Crowder.

"It's a down year definitely," Cincinnati Bengals linebackers coach Ricky Hunley said.

Fason and Crowder headed a list of 17 former Florida players who worked out for scouts, assistant coaches and general managers Wednesday in hopes of improving their draft status.

The players gave the league a firsthand look at their speed, strength and agility. They ran, jumped, caught passes, lifted weights, answered questions and did just about anything else asked of them.

Fason and Crowder were clearly the main attractions, more evidence that the Gators lacked talent under former coach Ron Zook. The players working out at Florida Field had such little depth that no NFL head coaches showed up.

"You have a fewer number of coaches and scouts than compared to past years, so it's a down year in terms of numbers," Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jim Bates said. "When you only have two or three draftable players from the University of Florida, that's uncommon for this school."

Nonetheless, Fason and Crowder expected to increase their draft stock.

Fason said he was timed in the 40-yard dash as fast as 4.46 seconds. But Miami Dolphins general manager Rick Spielman said the 6-foot, 209-pound back ran a 4.6.

Fason also dropped several passes during route-running drills. He said the drops were caused by some poor passes and some timing issues.

The weather may have played a role, too. The temperature was around 50 degrees and the field was damp from overnight rain.

"When you have ideal conditions to work out at the NFL combine (in Indianapolis) and then you have to come and work out in this Wisconsin weather, it affects them a little bit," Spielman said.

Still, Fason thought he showed more positives than negatives.

"Hopefully I opened up some eyes today," said Fason, who chose not to workout at the combine last month. "Hopefully it helped me out a lot and put me up in that mid-first round."

Fason doesn't expect to be one of the top three running backs taken in the draft. Cedric Benson of Texas and Auburn's sensational duo of Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams have those spots virtually locked up.

But Fason could be next. And even though he might slip into the second round, Fason believes he will be the steal of the draft.

"I can do everything those guys can do but a little bit better," Fason said. "I can break the big runs, I can run in-between the tackles and I can catch the ball. I put myself as the No. 1 back. I just don't get the hype as the other guys do."

Crowder also has received plenty of publicity. Some good, some bad.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker was Florida's best defensive player the last two seasons, but also was arrested twice in as many years and suspended one game each season.

That kind of baggage often causes players to fall in the draft.

"Visiting with the kid, he's a first-class kid," Spielman said. "People make mistakes in the past, and each team decides how much they will put up with."

Crowder also has injury issues. He has had several knee operations and missed three games last season with a sprained arch in his right foot.

He showed no problems Wednesday, measuring 10 feet in the broad jump and covering the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds.

"If he would have worked out at the combine, where you have perfect conditions, he probably would have done a lot better," Hunley said. "But for a guy who had five knee surgeries, he did pretty good. He had good agility, good quickness, good burst.

"You see a guy with that kind of size and quickness and power, but the biggest thing is what they do on tape. He's a productive football player. He fits the mold. He fits the bill for what you want in an inside linebacker."

[schweinhart]

Here's the Tab Perry article from LA

By Billy Witz

Staff Writer

UCLA receiver Tab Perry hasn't had much reason to flash his Pepsodent smile the past two seasons, which were marred by an academic suspension and declining productivity.

Now he can't help but grin -- and neither can NFL scouts.

Perry's stock, at the bottom of the index a few months ago, continued to rise Thursday after his workout in front of NFL scouts during UCLA's pro day.

Receiver Craig Bragg, safety Ben Emanuel, fullback Manuel White and offensive lineman Paul Mociler were among the others working out, but Perry seemed to garner the most interest.

Not long ago, Perry might have been expected to have to go the free-agent route to the NFL. Now, he may have a chance to go on the first day of the draft (rounds 1-3), which takes place April 23-24.

"I'm not here chasing free agents," said Cincinnati Bengals receiver coach Hue Jackson, who threw passes to Perry. "He has good flexibility and catches the ball in different areas. He's a big, physical receiver who runs well and there's not a lot of those guys."

One reason Jackson, along with scouts from the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers, among others, were working Perry out is that there's little recent film of him. He flunked out of school before the 2003 season and returned last season to catch just 22 passes in six starts.

"It's hard to keep a guy on the top of the list if he's not playing," Perry said. "After I got in trouble, a lot of people thought I disappeared."

Perry, who is 6-foot-3 and 229 pounds, participated in the East-West Shrine Game in early January, but began to get attention with his performance last month at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, where his 40-yard dash times were in the low-to-mid 4.4s (seconds).

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said he told Perry last season that, regardless of his numbers, if he continued to work hard he would put himself in good shape to continue his career.

"Tab has a lot of upside," said Dorrell, a former receivers coach with the Denver Broncos. "He's a physical player whose speed is getting refined. This could be a very fruitful ending for him." l=8s=8 Billy Witz, (818) 713-3621 billy.witz@dailynews.com

[HairOnFire]

Sportswriters from Pro Day sites and Gil Brandt are shedding light on which players the Bengals are looking at for draft.

So far it goes, by likely round.

1. Channing Crowder - LB coach Hunley

1. Roddy White -- Brat hisself

2. Jovan Haye -- unnamed DL coach

2. Attiayh Ellison, CJ Mosely -- Bresnahan hisself (players not specifically named)

3. Matt Jones TE/WR/QB extraordanaire -- unnamed Bengals coach works Jones as TE.

4. Tab Perry -- Hue Jackson

5. James Kinney -- Bresnahan again at Mizzou (Kinney not specifically named)

5. Khari Long -- Hunley again

No doubt many others are being looked at, but these are the players or players from schools who have been specifically named as Bengal targets.

It'd be nice to see Bengals.com or Cincy sportswriters to do a story about who the Bengals have scouted at pro days this year and revisit last year to see how many who were picked were scouted by Bengals at their pro days.

I'm pretty encouraged by any interest shown in Jovan Haye, but doesn't a 2nd round grade for Haye seem incredibly high?

[bengalboomer7]

I'm looking at one of those Mizzu DT's in later rounds, Or guys lie Castillo, babineaux, and the Utah DT. There will be hell to pay if they draft Travis Johnson. :player:

[schweinhart]

I'm pretty encouraged by any interest shown in Jovan Haye, but doesn't a 2nd round grade for Haye seem incredibly high?

Haye in the 2nd may not be "likely" but I'd say it's a whole lot less unlikely for reasons more than just those covered in this article:

http://tennessean.com/sports/vandy/archive...ent_ID=67107413

The article puts Haye's stock up from proly undrafted to the 3-5 rds based on his combine, where he looked really, really good.

The thing that bumps him up for me to the Eagles w/ the 2nd to last pick in 2nd is his combination of speed, power, and versatility as a 4-3 DE/DT or 3-4 DE.

AND

the DEs and DE/DTs I'm guessing who will be available in rds 3-5...Players such as Chris Canty, Mike Patterson, Bill Swancutt, Jim Davis.

IMO Haye catapults come draft time

[HairOnFire]

...DE/DTs I'm guessing who will be available in rds 3-5...Players such as Chris Canty, Mike Patterson, Bill Swancutt, Jim Davis.

Nice article. You don't have to sell me on Haye's upside....just figured teams would be put off by the production...or lack of it. Kinda hoped he was flying below the radar and could be drafted as late as the 4th and 5th rounds.

[schweinhart]

Production vs. potential.....Like to see players have both.

As far as flying under the radar goes, Jim Davis should be available in the 5th for Bengals. He might be the quickest DT off the snap in the draft and gets backfield penetration, which is something Bengals fans haven't seen much of from a DT in years.

[schweinhart]

Chris Spencer looks like the Bengals 2nd rd pick to me if he's still there at #48.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/analysis/individual_workouts

On the private workouts posted, Spencer has them with 4 teams including Bengals and link also has summary of Ole Miss Pro Day on March 22. The line drills were run by Bengals O-line coach (and assistant head coach) Paul Alexander. 21 teams were at this Pro Day, most of them undoubtedly for Spencer.

[Bobcat Bengal]

Ok, so let's see.

We need a poor man's Roy Williams in our division to stop the run.

We need a Center to be groomed behind Braham.

We need a speed reciever to make teams pay for double teaming Chad (but he's always open anyway).

We need some depth on the D-Line.

Anything else I miss/

[DuffMan]

Not that it means much but here's my ideal/possible mock for the bengals barring any trading down:

1) Thomas Davis SS/LB Georgia (sub 4.5 40s on his pro day make him a valuable weapon at SS or LB)

2) Alex Smith TE Stanford (fills a need and provides good value, one of the few balanced TEs this year and after him the TE class really drops off)

3) Jason Brown C UNC or Ben Wilkerson C LSU (center must be addressed at some point, preferably on the 1st day)

4) Anthony Bryant DT Alabama or Atiyyah Ellison DT Missouri (Bryant would provide a run stopping presense, Ellison would provide versatility. Even with the Robinson signing some depth could only help on the d-line)

5) James Kinney LB Missouri (even though linebacker might not be a pressing need Kinney is extremely gifted athletically and has good potential, if nothing else a speedy special teams addition)

6) Khari Long DE/OLB Baylor (the Hunley presense at Baylor's pro day is the only reason why Long specifically is here. Trent Cole, Jonathan Goddard, or Andre Frazier are all possible canidates. Any pass rushing presense would be a welcome addition, whether it be at DE or OLB. See the Kinney comment above and replace Kinney with Long)

7) Tony Brown WR Tennessee (speedy reciever with size and potential, RB could also be a possibility, along with every other postition in football cuse it's the 7th freaking round)

You may be questioning the fact that this mock could have the Bengals adding 3 new linebackers, but with the inuries to Webster and Abdullah, along with aging Hardy I wouldn't find that all too suprising/impractacle.

[schweinhart]

Ok, so let's see.

We need a poor man's Roy Williams in our division to stop the run.

We need a Center to be groomed behind Braham.

We need a speed reciever to make teams pay for double teaming Chad (but he's always open anyway).

We need some depth on the D-Line.

Anything else I miss/

Lot of folks say TE should be a priority. No doubt the Bengals TE problem is a mix of playcalling and personnel but if they solve greater problems on the D they boost their chances more IMO to become a playoff contender than if they opt for a WR or TE in Day 1.

[schweinhart]

2) Alex Smith TE Stanford (fills a need and provides good value, one of the few balanced TEs this year and after him the TE class really drops off)

Alex Smith in stripes would secure the Bengals TE situation for years to come.

If he's there at #48, I hope they take him even though that means pushing down some other fits at C and D-line.

[schweinhart]

Bengals checked out 260-pound RB Brandon Jacobs from Southern Illinois. This guy was knocking everybody backwards in the Shrine game.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news?slug=uw...uwire&type=lgns

[schweinhart]

Gill Brandt's got Nick Speegle, LB New Mexico getting a visit w/ Bengals.

Here's his Pro Day #s.

Nick Speegle LB Speegle (6-5, 242) ran his 40s in 4.56 and 4.50. (That's right: He posted a better time running against the wind.) He also ran the short shuttle in 4.40 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.16. He had a 38½-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot-3 broad jump and 18 bench presses. This is an up and coming player. Even though he wasn't at the combine he has scheduled visits with the Falcons, Browns, Bengals, Rams, and 49ers.

[schweinhart]

Jacobs would single-handedly replace both Tony Stewart and Jeremi Johnson (if he eats his way out of league). Plus, this is a power runner who would likely get the 3rd and short job done better than Rudi.

Checking his stats, he only had 8 receptions last year in college. So whether or not he can handle TE duties remains to be seen. But he do want to hit folks hard

SIU's Jacobs improves numbers at pro timing day

By Adam Soebbing, Daily Egyptian

March 24, 2005

(U-WIRE) CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Standing in nothing but his Joe Boxers and cleats, former Southern Illinois running back Brandon Jacobs toed McAndrew Stadium's 50-yard line in anticipation of another 40-yard dash.

Trudging on despite the 41-degree weather and the wet field conditions, and with a host of current and former Saluki players and coaches looking on, the chiseled 6-foot-4, 260-pound running back exploded downfield.

"I didn't get cold because I was full of heat," said Jacobs, stripped down as if he was weighing in for a boxing match. "I wanted to go out and run as fast as I could, and that's what I did."

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Jacobs said he ran times of 4.40 and 4.47, a significant improvement from his solid performance at February's NFL Combine. Jacobs also improved his bench press reps, 23, up from 19, his broad jump and every other drill he performed for the scouts on hand Wednesday, including representatives from the Bears, Colts, Jaguars and Bengals.

Jacobs, whose days have seemingly gone by 40 yards at a time in preparation for April's NFL draft, didn't have to run at Wednesday's pro timing day in Carbondale, Ill. But as is the motto of his agent, Justin Schulman of Athlete's First, "When healthy, perform the drills."

"Especially for Brandon coming from a small school," Schulman said. "Even though he had a year at Auburn, there's always going to be questions, 'Is it legit?' or 'Is it real?'"

According to Schulman, Jacobs is legit.

He said that Jacobs is considered a fourth to sixth round draft pick with the potential to sneak into the third round. Schulman said Jacobs has helped himself considerably since the close of the 2004 football season.

"He is one of those who has definitely improved his stock during the post-season process," Schulman said. "The way to move up is to do exactly what he did, which is to do exactly what is asked of you and do it well."

Schulman added, "One thing that you can't measure that he has in his favor is that he has a good head on his shoulders."

Wednesday's timing day marked the final time Jacobs will work out for scouts, though he has a visit set up with the Philadelphia Eagles April 4 to check out the facilities and to get to know team personnel.

Schulman, who said Jacobs could move up if a team really likes him and doesn't want anyone else to take him, also said that Minnesota has recently looked into spending time with Jacobs.

Jacobs is projected as a running back by most teams, although Cincinnati, Jacksonville and Denver are interested in him as a tight end. Jacobs worked extra with a Jaguar and a Bengal representative on pass routes Wednesday evening.

Performing along with Jacobs for the scouts Wednesday were former Salukis Terry Jackson, Alexis Moreland, Elmer McDaniel, Andrew Franklin, James Smith and junior Yemi Akisanya.

While those Salukis hold on to slim hopes of being drafted -- Jackson has the best chance of them all other than Jacobs -- SIU assistant coach Brian Anderson said they all performed well and should get invited to training camps or sign undrafted free agent contracts.

"They did a good job of helping all of themselves out. The conditions were not great, but they went out and did it," Anderson said. "They could have went indoors, but they went through it and did a good job. I think they'll all have an opportunity."

As for Jacobs, who certainly expects to be the first Saluki drafted since 1997 when Damon Jones was selected in the fifth round by the Jaguars, all he can do now is wait.

But he's not stressing over the next month of inactivity.

"Workout and wait. Workout and wait," Jacobs said of his routine for the next month. "I might go fishing on draft day."

[schweinhart]

1. Channing Crowder - LB coach Hunley

1. Roddy White -- Brat hisself

2. Jovan Haye -- unnamed DL coach

2. Attiayh Ellison, CJ Mosely -- Bresnahan hisself (players not specifically named)

3. Matt Jones TE/WR/QB extraordanaire -- unnamed Bengals coach works Jones as TE.

4. Tab Perry -- Hue Jackson

5. James Kinney -- Bresnahan again at Mizzou (Kinney not specifically named)

5. Khari Long -- Hunley again

To add to the list of workouts and visits by rd projections:

1. Thomas Davis

2. Odell Thurman

2. Chris Spencer

5. Leroy Hill

5. Brandon Jacobs

6. Nick Speegle

6. Matt McCoy

[Dadraftnick]

If you go to www.gbnreport.com and click on pre draft reports it tells who is working out who and what teams seem to be interested in which players.You have to do a lot of reading and reading between the lines. It looks like the haves like Dallas and Seattle and a handful of others are working out everybody and its hard to tell if the Bengals are either so cheap that they are only working out a handfull of players(mostly chumps) or if they aren't covering their(the Bengals) workouts like they are covering the big market teams.I am betting on the Bengals being cheap.I hope the work outs dont tell who they are drafting because I dont like much of the guys that are getting private workouts with them.