***Official Combine Thread***

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Lets hear it!

I'm really hoping for DeCastso in the first, ILB in the second, Soliai in FA.

Not quite sure where I want to find the RT yet though. Maybe give Richardson another year, since he does have the talent... Give Mims a shot, sign a free agent, or hope we get Carr tag and traded all though I'm not sure if they staff would want to start two rookies on the OL on top of Hudson and Asamoh as well.

GM Scott Pioli and the Kansas City Chiefs create their own reports on all the prospects in the 2012 NFL draft talking about their strengths, weaknesses and all that. When something doesn't add up, or looks a little off, they red flag it and say they need more information about that particular player.

That information often time comes from the NFL Combine when they have a chance to talk with these players. And one of the guys the Chiefs talked to at the Combine this week is Junior Hemingway, a receiver out of Michigan.

Physically, he looks like an NFL player. 6'1", 225 pounds. 4.5 40-yard dash. 21 reps on the bench press. 35 1/2 inch vertical leap. Those are some good numbers.

But the concern is that this guy wasn't overly productive at Michigan. His best season topped out at 699 yards. 34 receptions last year and 32 the year before. Career high of four touchdowns in one season. Where's the production? Hard to make it in the NFL if you can't dominate in the Big Ten.

Looking a little closer, you realize there's a reason for that. Denard Robinson was his quarterback and he takes a less than traditional approach to the position. Robinson is a runner first and a passer second, thus Hemingway didn't always have an Andrew Luck spiral coming at him.

So the Chiefs will take a closer look at guys like Hemingway but, at the end of the day, they're still basing some of this on guesswork. The guy has only played in an offense that looks drastically different than the Chiefs. You can do all the research you want but, at some point, you gotta throw somebody on the field to see how they do.

Osweiler comes from Arizona State and he comes in big -- just under 6'7" and weighing in at 242 pounds. Physically, he seems like he's in the right spot, which jives with what SB Nation's Mocking The Draft has said -- Osweiler has as much potential in this draft as anyone.

He's a tall, strong-armed athletic passer with a quick release and a lot of room to grow. What keeps Osweiler from being an elite-level quarterback prospect is a lack of experience and some accuracy issues. It's concerning that Osweiler didn't take a hold of Arizona State's quarterback job until the latter part of the 2010 season. Because of his lack of experience, he has some technical flaws and often works just the first read. With the right coaching and enough reps, though, Osweiler could develop into a very good NFL quarterback.

Just one season of starting experience is concerning. So is the fact he couldn't win the job until late in the 2010 season. And that he's leaving school early. All those are little red flags for me, especially the lack of experience. That's really the No. 1 thing I want to see -- how many games did a prospect play and how well did he do in those games? The rest of the stuff is important but the tape is what really matters at the end of the day and Osweiler doesn't have as much on tape as you'd like. NFL Network's Mike Mayock said this week that you really want at least 25 starts from a quarterback.

One thing is certain, though. Drafting Osweiler would give the Chiefs some of the best quarterback tattoos in the game (with a nod to Ricky Stanzi, of course).

Sounds like a bigger version of Cassel. If we are really moving on from Matt this isn't the way to go.

Sounds nothing like Cassel. Sounds to me like Joe Flacco.

FatThucker wrote:

Sounds nothing like Cassel. Sounds to me like Joe Flacco.

I was reffering to his lack of experience, not looking off the first read. Ala
Matt Cassel.

There really isnt anything out there at the QB position other than Manning that is allot better than Cassel.

I think Henne would be a better option than Cassel, but his injury problems make him not worth it. Orton also is better.

Chiefs interviewed 60 players. And we won't ever know all of the guys they interviewed, but we can figure out some. They talked to four quarterbacks -- Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler. They also talked with defensive tackle Jerel Worthy and receiver Junior Hemingway. We'll hear about more guys they interviewed as the draft process continues.

The quarterbacks. We know the Chiefs talked to the top two quarterbacks -- Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III -- but it's incredibly unlikely they'll have a shot at either of them. They also talked with Ryan Tannehill, who could be there at No. 11 (unless someone like the Washington Redskins get him), and Brock Osweiler. The best option, in my mind, is Tannehill being available at No. 11 and someone trading up for him. That's a possibility.

Dontari Poe lit it up. He's the Memphis defensive tackle that some people think is one of the best nose tackles available and he had a solid Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.98 seconds, which is probably faster than I could do it. Oh, and Poe stands 6'4" and weighs 346 pounds. Yeah, that's athletic. The Chiefs play a 3-4 defense and may not have the nose tackle of the future on the roster so he could figure into their plans, as high as the 11th pick.

Mike Adams didn't have a great Combine. 5.4 seconds on the 40-yard dash and just 19 reps on the bench press. Those aren't great numbers for a 6'7", 323 pound offensive tackle. I thought at one point he could be a reach-type of pick for the Chiefs at No. 11 but now I'm thinking that's probably not the case. You want a player in the first round with few questions and I think Adams has a lot of them.

Riley Reiff has short arms. Another offensive tackle the Chiefs could consider. He has short arms at just 33 1/4 inches. Yeah, the NFL Combine is weird. We're talking about arm length, butt size and hand size. But, for whatever it's worth, Reiff doesn't have long arms.

RustShack wrote:

I think Henne would be a better option than Cassel, but his injury problems make him not worth it. Orton also is better.

FOX Sports' Alex Marvez reports that free agent Chad Henne has "emerged" as the No. 3 target on the quarterback market among QB-needy teams.
No. 1 is Peyton Manning, and free agent Matt Flynn is No. 2. Citing multiple sources, Marvez reports that Henne is receiving strong attention as a "1A" quarterback who can "push a suspect starter ... but not command starter’s money." Henne is expected to command $4 million to $5 million annually. We've liked his chances of landing with old pal Tony Sparano and the Jets, and Marvez agrees that the Jets are a "strong contender" to sign Henne.

If Henne has passed Orton I think that says alot. I haven't been as high on Orton as you guys. But I would still take him over Henne.

SI's Don Banks suggests Arizona State ILB Vontaze Burfict will fall to day three of the draft after his Combine implosion.
Burfict's workouts (5.09 forty, 8-foot-8 broad jump) were pathetic, and worst of all he blamed college coaches for his poor 2011 performance. Burfict doesn't play well on the field, appears to have a cancerous personality, and isn't nearly as athletic as some believed. We wouldn't be shocked if he went undrafted.

OutlawChief wrote:

SI's Don Banks suggests Arizona State ILB Vontaze Burfict will fall to day three of the draft after his Combine implosion.
Burfict's workouts (5.09 forty, 8-foot-8 broad jump) were pathetic, and worst of all he blamed college coaches for his poor 2011 performance. Burfict doesn't play well on the field, appears to have a cancerous personality, and isn't nearly as athletic as some believed. We wouldn't be shocked if he went undrafted.

Fuck Don Banks! Doesn't play well on the field? Where the hell is that information coming from? There is no way he goes undrafted! Every year some players always fall due to measureables. Some fall a few spots and some fall a couple of rounds. Herm Edwards was famous for scouping up players with terrible measureables but had solid game film. By the end of his freshman year, he had collected 69 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and a pair of sacks, and was named a Freshman All-American by College Football News and Pac 10 Defensive freshman of the year. Burfict had a monster sophmore season in 2010 with 90 tackles, 8.5 for a loss, and two forced fumbles, 3 pass break ups. "The Sporting News selected him to their All-American team, as well as Pacific-10 Defensive MVP. Burfict is ASU's first 1st team All-American since Terrell Suggs." His sophmore season put him in consideration for the Rotary Lombardi award and the Bronco Nagurski Trophy. In 2011 his production slipped a little bit but was solid none the less. In 2011 he had 69 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 5 sacks, 1 Int, 1 forced fumble and 3 pass break ups. For the 2011 season he was again on the watchlist for the Lombardi, Walter Camp, Butkus, and Bronco Naguski awards. He didn't recieve any awards because ASU's team went to shit down the stretch. Nothing against Burfict other than the stupid penalties where he lost his temper, the team as a whole just didn't play well this year. I believe a change of scenery and good coaching will help Burficts temper problems and some team will get a hell of a deal on him as he is one of the nations best Linebackers. When I watch his film i dont see a 5 second 40 time. He goes sideline to sideline as well as any other I have seen this year. In his 3 years in college football all he did was produce. Dennis Erickson didn't compare him to Ray Lewis for shits and giggles! There is no way in hell that Burfict falls past the 3rd round. lol

Drafting solely off the combine gets you Vernon Gholston.

I would love for Burfict to fall like Houston, or even more like Powe. Major steal if we land him late, just like Powe still can be.

BigRatt wrote:

Drafting solely off the combine gets you Vernon Gholston.

Indeed. Falling in love with the combine can come back and bite you right in the ass. I would be all over Burfict by the third round. The one thing our defense really needs, more so than just a NT or ILB, is someone who physically strikes fear in opponents and is not afraid to get a lil dirty. I don't want Eric Berry to have to shoulder that load on running plays. Because he needs to be more of an Ed Reed (alongside Ray Lewis) than a Troy Polamalu (always injured without that dominate ILB)

After doing film study on Memphis NT Dontari Poe, Sporting News draft analyst Russ Lande compares him to former first-round draft busts Ryan Sims and Jimmy Kennedy.
Lande believes Poe is too much of a one-gap penetrator to be a classic 3-4 nose tackle. Sims and Kennedy also had massive bodies, but didn't play sound or attract double teams. Lande claims Poe "does not play like an elite talent" and "is much more of a big three-technique than a true nose." Poe has the makings of a high-ceiling NFL player, but he'll have to change his game in the pros.

If he is a gap shooting 3 tech than we should definitely stay away.