Written by Eric Edholm at YahooSports.com
Quarterbacks took center stage at the NFL scouting combine on Saturday, as the annual overreaction to prospects throwing in shorts against “air” defenses got underway.
The 2016 draft could end up being a showdown between Cal’s Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, as both had very good days throwing the ball. Memphis’ Paxton Lynch, believed to be in the first-round picture as well, displayed a strong arm but was scattershot on some passes and likely didn’t boost his stock significantly.
If there’s a fourth first-round possibility, it could be Michigan State’s Connor Cook. Although he had a long first step on his drops from center during the combine throwing session, he showed good throwing ability on a variety of routes — even with some possible lingering aftereffects of a shoulder injury that plagued him down the stretch of the season.
After that, it was a bit of a mixed bag among the other quarterbacks.
First, on Goff: After spending the week facing a litany of questions about his small hands — and even getting a bit testy with the media over it at one point — he delivered a smooth, fluid, rhythmic throwing session with good footwork, quick release, nice touch and the kind of accuracy teams are seeking. It might not have hurt that Goff was throwing to, among others, familiar targets in Cal receivers Kenny Lawler and Trevor Davis, but Goff looked good throughout.
Wentz first turned in an impressive athletic performance by running a 4.77-second 40-yard dash (second among the 17 QBs to Louisiana Tech’s Jeff Driskel at 4.56) and broad jumping nine feet, 10 inches (second among quarterbacks who tested). It was all the more impressive considering his 6-5, 244-pound frame. He threw the football with zip and confidence, connecting on a few nice deep balls that hit his receivers in stride.
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