Every week in “4-Down Territory,” Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar and Luke Easterling of Bucs Wire and Draft Wire go over the things you need to know about, and the things you need to watch, in the NFL right now. It’s all about draft prospects with the scouting combine getting started this week, so Doug and Luke get into a bunch of questions about all the draft prospects looking to raise their games in Indianapolis — both on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, and in private interviews with NFL teams.
Which relatively unknown draft prospects will be household names after their performances at the scouting combine?
Doug: Pitt defensive lineman Calijah Kancey, who excelled in college at 6-foot-0 and 280 pounds (unofficial). The Pitt connection and the fact that he’s undersized have people comparing him to Aaron Donald, and I’m not willing to go that far, he reminds me a ton of Grady Jarrett, which isn’t bad, either. Kancey is a defender with an assassin’s mentality, which makes me think he’s going to be really violent in the bag drills, and I think he’s quick and agile enough to ace the 40 (specifically the 10- and 20-yard splits), and all the movement exercises, as well. I don’t know if anything will push him into the first round, because some teams will have no idea what to do with him at that size, but as they say, all it takes is one team to make that a reality.
Luke: Man, I’ve gotta cheat here. There are a few guys I think fall into this category, and I’m excited to watch them all. Kansas State CB Julius Brents is a legit 6-3, 200-plus, with length for days. If he runs fast and looks good in the cone drills, he could fly up the board. Arkansas LB Drew Sanders was a 5-star recruit to Alabama, and has a great blend of size, length, athleticism and versatility that teams should fall in love with in Indy. Georgia Tech’s Keion White is the last guy, again because of size, athleticism, and versatility. All of these guys should be household names after the combine.
