The Stanford Cardinal football team was represented by seven members of last year’s squad in the 2019 NFL Combine, taking place from Feb. 26 to Mar. 4.
Each Combine participates graded by the NFL scouts on how they will possibly acclimate to the next level. Both the Combine stats and the production built through each players college product build the grade for those attending the weekend festivities. The highest grade at the 2019 combine, according to NFL.com, was a 6.70. Here is how the boys from Northern California crowd faired.
Stanford Players & Combine Grades
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside - 5.78
Kaden Smith - 5.56
Bryce Love - 5.53
Nate Herbig - 5.45
Bobby Okereke - 5.42
Jake Bailey - 5.25
Alijah Holder - 5.00
Since this is a sports article, so allow me to overreact to these grades.
*clears throat *
Top Four Grievances
1 - Love’s average grade made plenty of sense here. After a puzzling disappearing act in 2018, following a run at the Heisman, the star running back tore his ACL. Teams will be skeptical about the biologist’s ability to hit his 2017 stride.
No, the most confusing grade came for cornerback Alijah Holder. Grading out the worst of all the Cardinal in attendance, the fifth-year senior posted one of the better 40-yard dash times and vertical jumps.
Going beyond the spandex-clad events, Holder was a fantastic utility corner. Not only did he play stout on the outside, but he was also frequently brought in to the opposition’s ground game and a big part of the blitz packages for Stanford.
Holder is a corner that NFL teams should love: he can be tossed all over the formation and is not afraid to play inside the hash marks.
2 - There should have been more excitement around Okereke. He is a linebacker in the same mold of a Jamie Collins for the Cleveland Browns, but with more discipline. The speed that makes him so dangerous in coverage makes him a notorious linebacker to block on stunts and blitzes.
The most valuable linebackers in the NFL must play sideline to sideline, while still giving the front seven teeth. In a season that watched the Cardinal rely heavily on their backers for a vast majority of the pass rush, Okereke proved a vital switchblade piece in the front seven. His speed also made him a solid coverage piece. He could sneak up to the line and then bailout or blitz, with the catch-up speed to cover up tight ends and slot receivers. One would think Okereke would look like an attractive piece.
3 - There is a bit of homer bitterness that Herbig graded out reasonably well when the better offensive lineman (center Jesse Burkett) failed to receive an invite. There were some real disastrous on the offensive line and some even worse games for the front five, but Burkett was an anchor for the rocky offensive line.
Burkett should have been another representative for the Cardinal over the weekend.
4 - Smith is going to be the next Tyler Eifert, hopefully, save for the injury bug. The grade says more about his combine performance or the stagnant offense trapping him. What should have him ranked is his raw potential, especially in the red zone.
The 6-foot-5 tight end is a massive target and uses his frame to box and bully defenders attempting to cover him. The middle of the field is his as well, consistently finding soft spots and creases in the middle of the defense. A massive catch radius and the crafty route running have paired well with a nose for scoring in the end zone.
Owning the dual-threat capabilities that playing for Stanford yields means that Smith is as valuable in the running game as he is in the passing attack. He will go under the radar until some team gladly benefits from the cheap pick.
Comments
Agree on Okereke for sure
Holder too, most likely, and Kaden Smith.
By worldblee on 03.12.19 9:00am
When did Bryce Love tear his ACL?
This is news to me.
By brandtjl1 on 03.12.19 11:40am
Can't Disagree Too Much With Rankings
Smith, JJ, Herbig, Okereke and Love rank as the #9, #10, #11, #12 and #12 prospects respectively at their positions. They are all talented, but (except for Love), fail to stand out athletically (based on combine measurables, it is hard for me to say the JJ is not athletic). I think they all get drafted though. I would put JJ and Smith at the front of the pack.
Bryce Love was a total enigma last year, and now adds a severe injury on top of that (for all I know, he may have been injured all last year with something). Stanford, unfortunately, has a record of generating running backs with high yardage totals (Gerhart, Gaffney, Taylor, etc.) that have failed to have a real impact at the next level. Obviously, Christian McCaffrey did and the world saw Bryce Love in that mold – absent pass catching. But pass catching has been critical to McCaffrey’s success in the NFL. However, Bryce only needs one team to fall in love with him.
Holder, in my view, has never been the same after his injury. He is slow at 4.60 as a CB (41st fastest CB time at the combine) but put up very good three cone numbers. It was painful to see him get burned last year at times, believing that before his injury he could have stopped these players and plays. Don’t think he gets drafted, and will have a tough time making a team. Just don’t think he is as good a football player as those in the group above (for their positions).
Jake Bailey is ranked at the #2 punter in the country. He is as good as they get.
By hoyaparanoia on 03.14.19 8:37am
Holder's health was problematic for his evals
It was Alijah Holder’s reputation that provided Paulson Adebo’s exposure and growth but Holder’s extensive injury time in his last season led to rustiness and slow return to form. He’s likely to be ready for primetime for whichever team signs him.
Can’t agree that there was much enigmatic about Bryce Love’s final season. I can’t recall when Stanford RBs were caught in the backfield so often as in 2018. Much of that was the TWU enigma and another part was KJ Costello’s lack of playbook grasp. I recall a linebacker setting up in the slot off of Costello’s right foot as KJ was under center. KJ either didn’t see him or didn’t know that his play call didn’t account for blocking that linebacker or his center, the line’s quarterback didn’t catch that, or all of the above…that linebacker got to Love as fast as Costello’s handoff. KJ’s game manager role should improve for next season…knock on Formica! Maybe he’ll even learn what to do when he has a chance to run?
It was that kind of playbook grasp that was taken for granted with Andrew Luck and Kevin Hogan under center. Apparently, Christian McCaffrey understood that despite stacked defenses, Hogan was maxing McCaffrey’s odds of getting through the line, although like Luck, Hogan could use his legs to hurt defenses with his own runs. When Hogan graduated, McCaffrey allegedly studied the playbook details for every position on the offense, which accounts for his lesser dropoff in 2016; he knew the plays better than the newbie QBs. Bryce Love didn’t seem to be able to help himself in the same way.
By Candid One on 03.15.19 11:41pm
Interesting Take
Not sure Bryce had it all that much easier in 2017. His stats were built on a series of -1 to 2 yard gains, supplemented by several breakaway runs per game. The breakaways were largely not there in 2018. Anyway, it is an enigma…………..not necessarily Bryce’s fault but raises questions. Particularly given Stanford’s strong passing game in 2018 which arguably should have kept opposing defenses from stacking the box so often.
Obviously hope the best for Bryce and Alijah………………just think there are a lot of questions about both given injuries and performance dropoffs (for whatever reason).
But thanks for the background on McCaffrey. Interesting stuff.
By hoyaparanoia on 03.16.19 7:16am