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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Cody Manning

5 takeaways from Day 4 of the NFL Combine

NFL Tanor Bortolini Amarius Mims NFL Combine (Organization) Mason McCormick Chris Ballard Charles Robinson the NFL Combine Colts Blake Freeland

The NFL Scouting Combine concluded with the offensive linemen taking the field in Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

The importance of the combine is more for the medicals and team interviews but the testing does help confirm what you see on tape or it may force you to go back to take a look because a prospect performed better than expected or fell short of expectations.

The Indianapolis Colts have their starting five offensive linemen but can use depth across the board and keep an eye on center prospects with Ryan Kelly entering the final year of his contract.

Here, we are looking at the five biggest takeaways from Day 4 of the NFL combine. You can check out our takeaways from the previous days below:

1
Garret Greenfield breaks vertical jump record

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Colts offensive tackle Blake Freeland broke the vertical jump record (37 inches) last year at the combine and it only lasted a year. Greenfield not only broke Freeland’s record, but he topped it by an inch-and-a-half with a 38.5-inch jump.

It becomes even more impressive considering he’s a six-foot-five, 311-pound tackle prospect.

His RAS score ranks 237th among offensive tackles since 1987.

For the Colts, if Chris Ballard passes on signing a veteran tackle to compete with Blake Freeland for the swing tackle role, Greenfield is an option that he can consider via the draft.

2
Tanor Bortolini showcases athleticism

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

A center prospect that put his athleticism on display was Wisconsin’s Tanor Bortolini. Before diving into his great testing numbers, here is where he came in with his measurables.

Bortolini kicked things up with his testing on his second 40-yard run when he ran an official 4.94 time.

His day continued when he ran the fastest 3-cone time ever for a center at the combine.

During the drills, Bortolini hit 16.22 MPH during the pull drill fold block, leading all linemen in his group.

According to Next Gen Stats, Bortolini was one of two players to get the best athleticism score and is just the fifth interior offensive lineman to get a 99 score since 2003 and the first since 2012. He also joins Jason Kelce as the only interior offensive lineman to have the highest athleticism score in their class.

His RAS score ranks sixth among guards since 1987.

For the Colts, Bortolini makes sense as a prospect for Chris Ballard to target. He has experience playing center and guard so his versatility can help provide depth and they can groom him to be the center of the future once Ryan Kelly’s playing days are over.

3
Amarius Mims is an alien

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Sometimes you wonder how these NFL players are real people and Amarius Mims is one of them. His measurables came in out of this world.

Mims started to show his athleticism for a man his size with a 9’3″ broad jump.

It didn’t stop there for Mims, he also ran a 5.07 40-yard dash with a 1.78 10-yard split.

Unfortunately for Mims, his day came to an end with a hamstring strain that sidelined him after his first run.

For the Colts, Mims likely won’t be bringing his monstrous size to Indianapolis with him being a likely first-round prospect. I just don’t see Chris Ballard taking an offensive lineman with his first pick since the starting five is set.

4
Mason McCormick impresses

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Garret Greenfield wasn’t the only South Dakota State offensive lineman that shined on Sunday. His teammate Mason McCormick also impressed with his athletic abilities.

Here is where he came in with his measurables.

When it came to his testing, he tied for the fourth-best broad jump among interior offensive linemen since 2000.

His RAS score ranks 18th among offensive guards since 1987.

For the Colts, McCormick is a versatile prospect who can play guard and center. He’s another player for Chris Ballard to have on his radar to add some depth to the interior of his offensive line.

5
Short shuttle standouts

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For offensive linemen at the combine, the testing numbers don’t make or break a prospect, as we have seen when Orlando Brown Jr. ran a slow 40-yard time but turned out fine despite a poor combine performance.

But there is one test that has shown that players who perform well in it can lead to quality great offensive linemen at the next level. The short shuttle.

This year we have six linemen that met or beat the 4.47 mark. Here are those prospects:

  • Tanor Bortolini (Wisconsin): 4.28
  • Dylan McMahon (N.C. State): 4.33
  • Dominick Puni (Kansas): 4.40
  • Mason McCormick (South Dakota State): 4.45
  • Jarrett Kingston (USC): 4.47
  • Brady Latham (Arkansas): 4.47

Knowing the success of players from the past that reached this mark should have these six prospects on Chris Ballard’s radar in the lead-up to the NFL draft.

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