Written by Chase Goodbread at NFL.com
As always, plenty of money is being made at the NFL Scouting Combine this week as so many NFL draft prospects parlay weeks of rigorous training into a refined peak that allows the good ones to look great, and the great ones to look even better. Some money was lost, however, and three of the draft’s biggest names — for very different reasons — might have left Lucas Oil Stadium having slipped in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Through no fault of his own, Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith could be facing a draft tumble thanks to the depth of concern NFL clubs have about his knee injury. Arguably the draft’s most talented player at his position, Smith will continue to rehabilitate his knee and hope subsequent medical re-checks shine a more favorable light on knee injury that is clearly quite serious.
Eastern Kentucky pass rusher Noah Spence didn’t exactly thrill NFL scouts either with his performance in drills Sunday (4.80 40-yard dash) or, according to NFL Media’s Kimberly Jones, in his interview sessions with multiple teams, either. As a result, one NFL source told Jones he hopes to have heard the end of talk that Spence is worthy of a first-round pick. Finally, Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche wasn’t at all disappointing in drills Sunday, running a 4.87 40-yard dash at 294 pounds with an explosive vertical jump of 35 inches. But NFL clubs already knew Nkemdiche was an elite athlete before he landed in Indianapolis. Where Nkemdiche needed to help himself most was in image repair, but in that respect, his efforts were an abject failure.
“Robert Nkemdiche, an interesting one. Physically impressive, I was told,” Jones said Sunday on NFL Network. “… One team told me ‘not interested, though’ because of the off-field situation.”
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