As expected Sam Bradford did not participate and is expected to hold a private workout later in the month after completing rehab on his injured shoulder.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and tight end Jermaine Gresham were weighed and measured and participated in position drills but stood on their scores from the combine as it pertains to the timed and measured drills.

Tackle Trent Williams boosted his 20-yard shuttle time from 4.63 to 4.4 seconds and posted a 7.40 time in the 3-cone drill which would have tied him for first among lineman at the combine.

Corner back Dominique Franks helped solidify his spot as a third round prospect by knocking out the 40 in 4.47 seconds.  That puts him in the mix amongst the fastest at the position in this year’s draft class.  Franks is still lacking as it relates to his cover skills but his measurables will keep him in the top half of the draft.

Running back Chris Brown declined to participate in any of the timed events which does not help him any given the lingering questions about his speed and agility.

Linebacker Keenan Clayton helped himself out immensely by boosting his 4.66 40 time at the combine to 4.57 on Tuesday.  That could be good enough to get him into the draft.

Sam Bradford

Sam Bradford will not work out Tuesday at Oklahoma’s Pro Day.  Instead he will remain in Florida to continue his rehab workouts.  Bradford will work out for scouts in Norman on March 25th.  He did say that none of the physicals he has taken for teams have turned up any red flags.

Colt McCoy

Colt McCoy says his shoulder received a clean bill of health from doctors and he will fully participate in Texas’ pro day on March 29th.  McCoy says he has resumed a throwing and is working out with USC receiver Damian Williams in Mission Viejo, California.

Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant will not workout for teams this week at Oklahoma State’s pro day.  Bryant bowed out at the combine and continues to nurse a hamstring injury.  Bryant is saying he will work out for teams at the end of the month in his home town of Lufkin, Texas.

Perrish Cox

Cox will not be allowed to work out at Oklahoma State’s pro day as a result of a suspension stemming from an incident at the Cotton Bowl.  There is no word as to when or where Cox may perform again for scouts.

Utah

There is not a lot to report out of the Utah pro day.  Defensive back R. J. Stanford may have helped himself out a bit by turning in times of 4.44 and 4.45 in the 40 which would have put him at the top of the list for corner backs at the combine.

Defensive end Koa Misi reportedly looked good in his position drills and will run again for scouts at the end of the month.

Receiver David Reed solidified his spot as solid third round prospect.

Guard Zane Beadles did nothing to drop his status as a strong third round prospect.

Tulsa

Nothing terribly noteworthy coming out of Tulsa either.  Corner back John Destin reportedly had the best day of the seven players who worked out.  He posted a pair of 4.5 40 times meaning he could sneak his way into the draft.  He also did fairly well in the agility drills.

Receiver Slick Shelley has good size and caught the ball well during the passing drills, however, his times in the speed and agility drills are not worth noting.

Now, it is a foregone conclusion that Tebow is going to be drafted somewhere by someone.  The huge question is when and where Tebow ends up going in the draft.  There are those who think Tebow may have to make a position change at the next level while others think he will develop into a starting quarterback.

It is interesting to note that he already has workouts lined up with teams looking for potential long term solutions at the position.  The Seahawks are still committed to Matt Hasselbeck as their starting quarterback for the time being.  But given his age and the number of games he has missed due to injury the past few seasons his days playing days are clearly coming to an end.

If the Seahawks were to take a quarterback in this year’s draft it would likely be someone they envision as the starter two or three years down the road when Hasselbeck can no longer handle the job on a full time basis.  The team is not necessarily in a hurry to find someone who will come in and start right away.  What will be interesting is to see whether the Seahawks would be willing to spend one of their two first round picks on Tebow.  They currently hold the 6th pick and one would think they would make a run at Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen first and foremost.

The Bills on the other hand have little to no direction at the quarterback position.  It has long been speculated that they would try and make a run at Bradford and/or Clausen in the first round of the draft.    The team is growing weary of waiting for Trent Edwards to develop into anything more than a serviceable NFL quarterback and Ryan Fitzpatrick is not a long term solution for anyone.  Neither player stepped up to claim the starting job outright last season and with a new coaching staff taking over this winter one has to think the starting job will be up for grabs this spring.

Again the question remains as to whether the Bills would be willing to spend the 9th pick on a guy like Tebow who has tons of question marks about whether he will be able to play the position in the NFL.   The Bills have a more immediate need at the QB position than the ‘Hawks do and it seems they would make a run at one of the more sure fire bets at the position than a guy who everyone believes will need a couple of years to develop.

Another interesting thing of note is the Jaguars have not scheduled any one-on-one time with Tebow.  They have reportedly been the team most enamored with the idea of drafting Tebow with the owner, Wayne Weaver even going on record stating he would consider spending his first round pick on the Florida QB.

Missouri

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon solidified his status as a late first round prospect at Mizzou’s pro day last week.  He improved his bench press score by doing one more (35) rep than he did at the combine.  He also improved markedly on his 40 time by posting 4.53 and 4.52 times which is significantly better than his best time of 4.69 at the combine.  Weatherspoon’s work out was the only notable one to come out of Columbia last week.

The Eagles, Cardinals, and Saints could all have in interest in Weatherspoon at the back end of the first round.

Buffalo

Running back James Starks chose not to work out and stood on his combine numbers from a week ago.  At 6′ 1 7/8″/214 Starks has the size to play in the NFL. He posted a pair of sub 4.5 times in the 40 so he has good straight line speed as well.  Starks plays on the basketball team and does a good job catching the ball out of the backfield.  The biggest downside to Starks is he missed the season due to injury.  Given his measurables Starks could be a 5th or 6th round pick by someone taking a flyer on a back.

Baylor

David Gettis solidified himself as a mid-round selection by posting times of 4.46 and 4.39 in the 40 at Baylor’s pro day.  His speed combined with his size (6′ 3  1/8″/216) will make him attractive to teams looking for a #3 or #4 receiver to fill out the roster.

If the Broncos decline to match the Seahawks offer they will receive Seattle’s first round, sixth overall pick, and third round pick in the upcoming draft.  Marshall would be a major acquisition for the Seahawks, but one wonders if he would be a good fit for Seattle.

They just signed T. J. Houshmandzadeh last spring and both receivers are similar players.  They are big, strong wide outs who do not possess elite speed to stretch the field.  Both players are adept at picking up yards after the catch, but, neither guy is known for their ability to get open deep down field.  The Seahawks really need a speed receiver who can open things up over the middle in the passing game.

Given all the off field baggage Marshall brings with him it will be interesting to see if the ‘Hawks are willing to give him the amount of money he wants in addition to giving up the 6th pick in the draft for him.  One also wonders how shrewd this is given Matt Hasselbeck’s age and no established quarterback of the future behind him.  They could potentially land Hasselbeck’s successor with the 6th pick in the draft.

A potential move to land Marshall sends the message that Seattle is looking to load up on talent in an effort to make one last ditch effort make a Super Bowl run before Hasselbeck’s career comes to an end.

Peppers is an immense talent and is one of the league’s best defensive players when he wants to be.  One wonders whether he is worth the type of money he is reportedly getting from Chicago given some of the questions about his motivation level at times.  Peppers simply is not a self motivator and constantly needs prodding from coaches and teammates to keep him going throughout the year.  Former teammates have even gone as far as to say that they do not think his heart is truly invested in playing football.

For now it is a good move for the Bears.  The Bears needed to improve a pass rush that had fallen off in the past couple of years.  What will be interesting about this is to see how he reacts the first time the fans and media of Chicago start to call him out for not giving it his all in a game.  Chicago fans and sports writers are not nearly as passive as the ones in Charlotte are.

It is also interesting to note that Peppers is neither going to a team considered to be a real threat to contend for the Super Bowl next season nor are they a team who runs a 3-4 defensive scheme.

At the very least the Bears pass rush will be better, but, for how long and how much better it gets remains to be seen.

To be honest this seems like a rather underwhelming acquisition for the Lions.  Vanden Bosch is 31 years old and has been overwhelmingly mediocre the past two seasons.  He had a nice run from 2005 through 2007 when he had 200 tackles, 31 sacks, and 9 forced fumbles, but in the two seasons since then he has just 68 tackles and 7.5 sacks and has missed six games due to injury.

The situation was attractive for Vanden Bosch because he played under Jim Schwartz when he was the defensive coordinator in Tennessee.  Schwartz wants him because he is familiar with the coach’s defensive scheme.  One just has to wonder whether the Lions money would have been better spent on obtaining younger talent rather than an aging veteran who is probably not going to help them win that many more ball games.

It seems to be a bit of a puzzling move.  Taylor had expressed an interest in signing with a team that would give him an opportunity to compete for a starting job, but, one has to wonder how much of a chance he stands with Matt Forte already there.  He would probably get a chance given how underwhelming Forte was last season.

One also has to wonder how good of an addition Taylor really is for the Bears.  He is a similar runner to Forte and some of Forte’s struggles last season came as a result of running behind a so-so offensive line.  It just seems as though the Bears should be focusing on finding better talent for Jay Cutler to throw the ball to and upgrading the offensive line rather than adding depth to the running game.

Burleson is a nice addition to a Lions team that has struggled to find a suitable receiver opposite Calvin Johnson ever since Mike Furrey and Roy Williams left town.  Burleson is coming off a year in which he caught 63 balls for the Seattle Seahawks.

He has been an interesting case over the years.  As a 3rd round pick out of Nevada-Reno Burleson established himself as a big play guy averaging 15 yards per catch and scoring 11 touchdowns on 97 catches his first two years in the league.  Since then he has struggled at times with injuries and has failed to duplicate the season he had during his second year in the league in 2004 when he caught 68 passes for 1,006 yards and 9 touchdowns for the Vikings.

If healthy Burleson should give the Lions a guy who can give them 60 catches opposite Johnson next season.  However, one wonders if Burleson is worth that kind of an investment.

Andy Reid can now put a check next to one of the things at the top of his off season to-do list.  Retaining Weaver is essential to the team’s continuity on offense.  He played a much bigger role in the offense than anyone thought he would last season scoring four times on 85 touches on offense including a 59-yard touchdown catch and a 41-yard touchdown run.

In addition to being named to the Pro Bowl last year Weaver was also named as a first team All Pro selection at fullback and is arguably the best in the game at his position.

It comes as no real surprise that Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen would purge the team of a group of aging veterans who had a hand in the team finishing a dismal 4-12 last season.  I have thought all along that Shanahan and Allen would look to rebuild the team with younger, fresher talent.

Randle El never managed to live up to the big contract he got in 2006 when he bolted Pittsburgh as a free agent.  He never caught more than 53 passes or scored more than 4 touchdowns as a member of the ‘Skins.

Betts is coming off of a major injury and will be 31 by the time the 2010 season kicks off.

Thomas just turned 34 and missed most of last season due to a triceps injury, he could possibly catch on with another team as a potential backup.

The mercurial Smoot turns 31 in April and never quite lived up to the hype he had coming out of college.  He is still a good corner and should catch on somewhere this spring.

Griffin and Collins are at the point where the Redskins were just as well off replacing them with younger talent.

Marcus Mason, Eddie Williams, and J. D. Skolnitsky were also released by the ‘Skins.

Interestingly enough Clinton Portis, whom Shanahan once traded for Champ Bailey in Denver, was spared the axe yesterday.  It is somewhat surprising given he missed the last half of the season due to injury and was not a terribly effective runner when he did play.

The Redskins also re-signed veteran center Casey Rabach to a three-year deal reportedly worth $12.3 million.

The release of Williams is not a huge surprise as it had been speculated that the 33-year old Williams could be on the chopping block after missing 15 games with a knee injury last season.

The tender on Sproles is somewhat surprising however.  One of the main reasons the team was willing to let Sproles go is he is not worth the $7.29 million he will make with San Diego next season.  Sproles is still a restricted free agent, but, it seems highly unlikely that any team is going to be willing to give up the first and third round pick it will take to land him.   Sproles is a nice play-maker, but, he is only worth a third round pick let alone a first rounder.

Apparently, with the release of LaDanian Tomlinson, the Chargers did not want to risk going into the off season with Michael Bennett and Jacob Hester as the only hold overs in the back field.  It is widely assumed that the Chargers are looking at either signing a veteran back or drafting one in April.

What seems to be a bit of a head scratcher to me is why the Chargers simply did not ask for Thomas Jones back in the deal for Cromartie if the Jets were going to release him anyway.

The problem the Chargers now face is Sproles is not an every down back.  They tried to make him one last season and he simply did not get the job done.  He is more of a Reggie Bush type of back who excels when he gets into the open field but struggles when asked to run behind the line.

Even though Delhomme is coming off of an extremely poor season following one of the worst performances in playoff history one got the sense the last couple of months that Delhomme was going to be around this year.  John Fox had been very non committal about simply handing the team over to the relatively unproven Moore.

It was being largely assumed around Charlotte that Moore was the favorite to be the starting quarterback next season, but, that Fox had every intention of giving Delhomme a shot to win the starting job back this summer.

Moore did close the season on a high note winning four of the five games he started down the stretch throwing 8 touchdowns and turning the ball over only one time.  Delhomme, on the other hand, turned the ball over last season as if he had an incentive clause in his contract that paid him $100,000 for every turnover he committed.

With the team letting Julius Peppers go via free agency and the release of Delhomme and veteran defensive tackle Damione Lewis and rumors of more to come it looks as though the Panthers may be cleaning house and starting over to a degree.  With the lack of a first round pick it will be interesting to see if the Panthers try to deal one of their big three in DeAngelo Williams, Steve Smith, or Johnathan Stewart for a first round pick.

The release of Lewis is somewhat surprising given the revolving door the Panthers had at defensive tackle last season.  Lewis was one of the holdovers at the position from the previous year who did not end up on IR.

As for Delhomme there is no word on where he may end up.  A lot may depend on which teams are looking at spending a first or second round pick on a quarterback in April.  Teams like the Bills, Browns, Rams, or Jags who are rumored to be looking hard at making a change at quarterback this year may take Delhomme as a stop gap to give a prospect like Jimmy Clausen or Sam Bradford a year to adapt to the pro game.

Whatever the case one would not expect Delhomme to get any kind of a significant deal this year.  One could see him getting a two year deal but nothing more than that.

Ultimately, dumping Delhomme is probably the best thing for the franchise to do.  It became clear that the team was responding more favorably to Moore than they did to Delhomme during the season.  At times it almost looked as though Smith and Muhsin Muhammad were dogging it when Delhomme was in the midst of his early season funk.

The fans had also had enough of Delhomme and were pretty upset when he got the big contract extension after the fiasco of a game he had against Arizona in the playoffs.  Unfortunately he will be remembered more for how he left Charlotte than for leading the franchise to its only Super Bowl appearance.

This is a deal that could be a stroke of genius or blow up in Rex Ryan’s face.  When healthy and motivated Cromartie is as good a cover man as there is in the league.  However, he has also had more than his share of off the field issues.

He has been involved in several paternity suits and at last check has reportedly sired seven different children with several different women.  Cromartie was also accused of whacking a patron in the head with a champagne bottle following a post game celebration at a local bar in San Diego.  If he cannot keep it together in San Diego one shutters to think what kind of debauchery he will entangle himself in in New York.

On paper the Jets now arguably have the best pair of corners in the game when paired with Darrelle Revie, however, that is largely contingent on Cromartie getting his act together and buying into what Ryan is selling in New York.  This is potentially a huge acquisition for the Jets or it will be a major disaster.

To make room for Cromartie the Jets released veteran corner Lito Sheppard earlier on Thursday.

Sam Bradford (Oklahoma, 6′ 4″/236) – Bradford showed up to the combine weighing about 20 pounds more than when we last saw him on the playing field.  The biggest concern on Bradford was whether he was stout enough to take a hit in the NFL.  Bradford has added roughly 20 pounds of muscle over the past few months and, by all reports, looks more like a man than a kid these days.  The only other knock on Bradford is his release which is more three-quarters than over the top and the offense he played in at Oklahoma.  It will take some time for him to adapt to a pro style offense but he seems to have all the other skills to excel at the next level.

Bottom Line: The consensus is that Bradford is the top QB prospect in this draft and is a virtual lock to go in the top 10.  Last year at this time it was believed that he would have been the top pick ahead of Matthew Stafford had he chosen to come out in the draft.  Washington is believed to have a strong interest in Bradford and there is growing speculation that, despite Ndamakong Suh and Gerald McCoy being rated as the better prospects, the Rams will take Bradford with the top pick as quarterback is a big need and there is a school of thought that you do not invest #1 pick money in a DT.  There is little to no chance he lasts past Buffalo at #9.

Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame, 6′ 3″/222) – Clausen weighed in slightly heavier than anticipated but there was nothing reported that suggests he looked overweight or out of shape.  Clausen is still recovering from toe surgery and will work out for scouts at Notre Dame’s pro day.  Clausen reportedly interviewed well and excelled in the chalk board sessions with coaches at the combine.  There are some minor leadership and character questions on Clausen.  He may have some maturing and growing up to do before it all comes together for him in the NFL.  The biggest knocks on Clausen are that he lacks elite arm strength, it is strong enough to get the job done, and a low release point.  He shows good fire and competitiveness in the heat of the game and improved every year he was at Notre Dame despite not having great teams to play with.

Bottom Line: Clausen will probably end up going a little higher than he is being rated overall as a prospect given the nature of playing quarterback.  Where he ends up will depend a lot on where Bradford goes.  If Bradford ends up in St. Louis he could go as high as 4th to the Redskin.  With Seattle, Cleveland, Buffalo and Jacksonville all potentially in the market for quarterbacks in this draft he his a good bet to go in the top ten.  It is hard to imagine him falling past the Forty Niners at 13.

After Bradford and Clausen the field starts to get a bit muddled as to who the next best QB prospects are and where they end up may depend largely on the offensive scheme a team is deploying.  Here are the best of the rest.

Colt McCoy (Texas, 6′ 1″/216) – McCoy is still recovering from the shoulder injury suffered in the BCS Championship game and will workout for scouts at Texas’ pro day.  All reports had the shoulder checking out fine when he took his physical at the combine though.  McCoy measured almost two full inches shorter than what he was listed as while at Texas.  His height will scare some teams off, but, keep in mind Drew Brees is only 6′ 0″ tall and has emerged as one of the league’s elite passers.  McCoy is here because he was a 4-year starter at Texas and showed a real propensity for picking himself up and dusting himself off after taking some big hits.  McCoy is a high character, high intangibles guy.

As a passer, with exception to throwing the deep ball, he does everything well but does not really excel in any one area.  The biggest question mark on McCoy is whether or not he will be able to throw the ball down field consistently.  He also worked primarily out of the shotgun in college which raises some concerns about whether he will be able to adapt to a pro style offense.  He will need to show that he can throw in rhythm while taking three, five, and seven step drops when he throws for scouts.

Bottom Line: If McCoy throws well for scouts at the UT pro day he should solidify himself as a second round pick.  He could go as high as 38 to the Browns if the opt not to take Bradford or Clausen.  Seattle and Buffalo could also be possible destinations in the second round.  Denver or Carolina could potentially spend a second round pick on him as well.

Dan LeFevour (Central Michigan, 6′ 3″/230) – LeFevour was incredibly productive as a 4-year starter at Central Michigan.  He has good speed and a nice arm.  The only knock on him is a lack of accuracy at times.  He does not always make some throws that one would expect a 4-year starter to make.  He loses points due to playing in a spread offense and for playing against lesser competition in the MAC.  He also lost some favor points with teams by agreeing to only participate in some of the throwing drills at the combine.

Bottom Line: LeFevour is seen by most as a third round prospect who could move into the second if he works out well.  Like the other spread quarterbacks he needs to show he can throw the ball after taking snaps from under center.  Teams like Carolina, Tennessee, or San Francisco who have quarterbacks they are not quite ready to give up on may look to a guy like LeFevour as a potential starter two or three years from now if their current starters flame out in the next year or two.

Tony Pike (Cincinnati, 6′ 6″/223) – Pike was actually a Heisman front-runner prior to getting hurt last season and loses points for durability concerns.  He missed significant playing time each of the last two seasons due to injury.  There really is not a huge difference between Pike and LeFevour and where they end up will depend a lot on which teams prefer which player.

Tony has added about 11 pounds since Senior Bowl week and could probably stand to add another 15 to 20 pounds by the time training camp opens if he wants to make a team next summer.  He also loses points due to playing in the spread offense in college.  He will need to show that he can throw when taking snaps from under center.  Pike does most things adequately, however, there are questions as to whether he has the arm strength to make the tough throws in the NFL, namely the out patterns along the sidelines.

Bottom Line: Pike is seen as a solid third round prospect, however, if he throws well for scouts he could slip into the second round.  Given that he played in the spread though, most teams will see him as a project player who will take two or three years to develop into a NFL QB.  Like LeFevour, Pike will likely end up on a team that is looking for a potential starter two or three years down the road.

Tim Tebow (Florida, 6′ 3″/236) – Tebow is the real wild card of this year’s quarterback class.  There is some speculation he could go as high as #10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Taking the Jags out of the equation he is likely a third round pick.  Teams love his intangibles and he reportedly wowed a lot of teams during the interview process.  He also tested well in most of the position drills at the combine.

Where he ultimately ends up depends on how well he throws at the UF pro day.  He has reportedly hired a coach to work with him on re-vamping his throwing motion and teaching him how to drop back and throw the ball down field.  If Tebow shows improved mechanics and an ability to consistently get the ball down field in a timely manner he could move up into the second round of the draft.

Bottom Line: The Jags want Tebow because they think he can sell some tickets in Jacksonville.  It is hard to see him as the 10th pick in the draft unless you are willing to install an offense similar to the one he ran at Florida.  Like the aforementioned LeFevour and Pike, Tebow is likely to end up on a team that is looking to draft a quarterback of the future and not necessarily someone who will start next season.

On the surface it does not makes sense for the Bears to move their best player in the passing game (60 catches/8 TDs), but, Martz’ offensive schemes tend to ignore the tight end in the pass attack.  He prefers to spread the field with three and four receiver sets and likes to utilize the TE more as a blocker than a pass catcher.  It is more than a coincidence that San Francisco’s Vernon Davis went from 52 catches the year before Martz was there to 31 during his year there to 78 the year after he left the team as offensive coordinator.

Hiring Martz has put them in a bit of a pickle here.  There is no doubt Martz is an offensive whiz and gets a lot out of his offenses.  The problem is Olsen is their only established, legit pass catching threat in the offense.  He was quarterback Jay Cutler’s favorite target last season.  There is some talent at receiver in Chicago, but guys like Devin Hester, Earl Bennett, and Johnny Knox have yet to prove that they are going to be anything more than complimentary receivers in the league.  The only team that may have a weaker corps of receiving talent is the Dolphins.

The biggest problem the Bears are going to face is not a lot of teams have tight end high enough on the priority list that they would be willing to part with a first or second round pick for a guy like Olsen.  Sure he is young enough to give a team another good 5 to 7 years in the league, but, is he better than anyone a team could get in this year’s draft?

While this year’s pool of TE talent is nothing to get excited about there are probably two or three players that have comparable talent to that of Olsen.  The one advantage Olsen has is he has established himself as a guy who can produce 60 catches and 8 touchdowns in the right offense.  I suspect that if the Bears put Olsen out there they are going to find a rather luke warm market for him.

Kansas City and New England both have multiple second round picks.  The Chiefs are still in search of a long term replacement for Tony Gonzalez as KC tight ends produced just 45 catches, 436 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

Ben Watson has long been rumored to be on the chopping block in New England and Belichick could have an interest in Olsen as Watson’s successor.

A third team that could be interested is the Bengals who got little to nothing out of their tight ends and rookie Chase Coffman struggled to earn playing time last year.

Winners

USC defensive end Everson Griffen ran the second fastest 40 for ends at 4.66, did 32 reps on the bench press, and at 6′ 3″/273 he will not need to add any significant weight to play at the next level.  Griffen may have solidified himself as a first round prospect after being seen as a second rounder when he declared for the draft in December.

Alabama corner Kareem Jackson posted a 4.48 40 time which was better than expected solidifying him as a fringe first round prospect and a definite second rounder.

Virignia’s Chris Cook (CB) should see his stock being to rise after this week.  He ran the second fastest 40 time amongst corner backs at 4.46 and has the size (6′ 2″/212) to play safety in the NFL.  Some of his off field transgressions, namely sitting out 2008 due to being academically ineligible, could hold his draft position down a bit.

Wake’s Brandon Ghee posted the fastest 40 time amongst corner backs and should see his stock rise a bit, but, he still has some technique issues that will keep him from rising too high though.

While Terence Cody ran the slowest 40 time amongst all defensive tackles he still comes out a winner simply because he showed up some 20 pounds lighter than what was being anticipated.  Some post-season reports had Cody ballooning up to as much as 375 pounds, so the fact that he weighed in at 354 pounds showed he has some discipline and is at least taking some of the process seriously.  The slow 40 time will have little bearing on where he is drafted as Cody is seen as an anchor at nose tackle in a 3-4 defense.  He is seen as one of those Grady Jackson types of players who will occupy blockers and anchor against the run and is unlikely to see the field on passing downs.

TCU’s Jerry Hughes posted a 4.69 in the 40 and showed scouts the athleticism they were looking for to be able to potentially make the switch to OLB in the NFL.

Missouri’s Sean Weatherspoon reportedly stood out in the skills tests amongst all of the linebackers.

Losers

Joe Haden may come out as one of the biggest losers from this year’s combine after running 4.57 and 4.58 in the 40 yard dash.  Coming into the weekend Haden was considered a lock to go in the top 10, a lot of draft sites have him going to Cleveland at #7.  Haden could end up like Malcolm Jenkins.  Jenkins was considered the top corner in last year’s draft and a lock to go in the top ten only to fall to the New Orleans Saints at 14 after posting similar times in the 40.  Haden will still go in the first round and will likely be the first corner to come off the board simply based on what he has shown on tape.  The question will be whether a team is willing to spend a top 10 pick on a corner who does not demonstrate elite speed.

Penn State’s Navarro Bowman checked in at 242 pounds, roughly 10 more pounds than anticipated, and ran a pedestrian 4.74 40.  He simply did not perform well in the position drills and coupled with some character issues this could cause him to plummet well into the second round.  Bowman was once seen as a potential late first rounder and his stock continues to creep downwards as we get closer to the draft.

Florida’s Brandon Spikes did not run the 40 and did not work out terribly well reinforcing some of the concerns scouts have about his ability to make plays at the next level.  He may need to kill it at UF’s pro day if he wants to stay in the first round.

Carlos Dunlap (Florida) ran well and looked to be in good shape, but, he reportedly looked stiff and somewhat un-athletic in some of the position drills.  He really needed to dominate the position drills to off set all of the off-field baggage he is carrying around with him right now.  Don’t be surprised if Griffen leap frogs Dunlap on a lot of team’s draft boards.

Click Here to See Some of the Winners & Losers on Offense

The 22-year old right fielder is coming off a season that saw him post a .300 average and crank out 26 home runs in just 138 games.  The biggest knock on Upton right now is his plate discipline and his defense as he struck out 137 times last year and committed 23 errors over the last two seasons in the outfield.

This is a good move for the D-Backs as Upton clearly has the tools to be an elite player in the years to come and should eventually develop into a premiere hitter in the #3 spot once he develops some more plate discipline and learns how to bail himself out when he falls behind in the count.  As it is right now he tends to strike out when he falls behind in the count.  He also does not hit particularly well with runners in scoring position.

Nobody knows what the illness is or in what kind of shape his daughter is in.  The move is not unexpected as Iverson was bringing nothing to the team past a bump in ticket sales and was not willing to come off the bench.

While it is kind of sad that AI will not get to go out on his own terms with a proper send off the team, specifically the younger players, are better off without him.  Now Eddie Jordan can focus on starting Jrue Holiday and Lou Williams and giving them the minutes they deserve and need to play to continue developing into quality guards.  The AI sideshow and his insistence on starting detracted a bit from that.  The Sixers can now move on with their lives and focus on the future rather than coddling an aging superstar whose ego had not come to grips with the idea that he is no longer a star in the league.

This news comes as a surprise to many who swore the Eagles would not pay him the bonus nor would they be willing to pay him the escalated salary he is signed for next season.  What these folks forgot to take into consideration was the fact that there will be no salary cap next season and the Eagles have plenty of cash to spend.

Philadelphia is one of the big money teams in the league and can pretty much afford to do what they want to do in terms of salary.  They also been very shrewd in managing money in the past so as to avoid over-extending themselves with deferred bonus money and the like.  With an uncapped year they do not have to worry about taking a cap hit for carrying Vick’s contract next season.

If there were going to be a salary cap next season then one can be rest assured that Vick either would have been dealt or released by the end of this week.  But without cap considerations to worry about the Eagles have the luxury of carrying three quarterbacks like McNabb, Kolb, and Vick.

The Eagles, of course, are going to play this close to the vest and insist that McNabb is their quarterback and that they intend on keeping Vick for the balance of the season.  What this essentially does is it bumps up Vick’s trade value.  A lot of teams were only making token offers or simply waiting for the end of the week when Vick was expected to be cut loose rather than receive his roster bonus.  Now if teams want Vick they are going to have to come up on their offer or wait until next spring to have a crack at him.

What this also does is leads to speculation as to whether Kolb or McNabb are going to be around come the opening of training camp.  The Eagles insist they are not interested in trading any of their quarterbacks, but, one has to think they will entertain the idea for the right package of draft picks.

I have always been of the opinion that Vick’s fate with the team could signal what the Eagles are thinking in terms of their quarterback next season.  Andy Reid would never think of going into next season with Kevin Kolb as the only experienced quarterback in his offense.  If Vick stays that means the Eagles are considering moving on with Kolb as the starter.  If Vick were to leave it would ensure that McNabb would be the starter next season.  With Vick staying in Philadelphia it could signal that the Eagles are seriously considering moving their franchise quarterback while they can still get a first round pick for him.

This could be the start of what could be a very wild off season in Philadelphia with speculation as to who will be the starting quarterback and which free agents they are going to spend cash on.