In the words of DJ Khaled, in the now most overplayed song in all sports venues….”All I do is win, win, win.” And it applies to these three NFL Draft prospects.
Bad news surrounds everything NFL these days. It appears a deal will not be reached any time soon. But they extended the negotiating deadline another week. And there’s always a bull market somewhere. And good news for all you home-gamers is…the NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the combine just concluded.
We updated out second round mock a couple days ago. And a new update for both rounds will be here by Monday.
In the meantime, this is the first of two lightning rounds of winners and two more of losers from Indy.
By Paul M. Banks
Martez Wilson, LB, Illinois Fighting Illini
As expected, Wilson knocked the combine out of the park. He only started full time for one season at Illinois, and that was really his only great year. His 2008 season alright I guess too. But his measurables are what will get NFL scouts attention. He’s a second-rounder for sure now, perhaps a late first-rounder. His 4.4 40 and 36″ vertical means he’ll be the first inside linebacker taken, ahead of Michigan State’s Greg Jones. It’ll be interesting to see if he can leap Texas A&M’s Von Miller.
J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin Badgers
Watt blew up like nitro this season, coming out of absolutely nowhere to be one of the most dominant defensive players in the nation. The combine continued that upward trend as he notched 34 bench press reps, and posted an impressive 40 yard dash and vertical leap. it looks like he could project as a tackle or end.
Marcus Cannon, G, TCU
A 5.2 4o yard dash doesn’t sound impressive…but when you’re 358 pounds! Cannon is 6-5 and the scouts were impressed by his reflexes and agility in the drill session.
Written by Paul M. Banks, President and CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, the Tribune’s blog network, Walter Football, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports
He does a weekly radio segment on Chicagoland Sports Radio.com and Cleveland.com
You can follow him on Twitter @thesportsbank