For draft prospects, versatility key to viability
INDIANAPOLIS — In the club lounge where draft prospects met with the news media during the NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium, there was much talk of schemes and versatility.
Someone asked North Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples (6-5¾, 284 pounds) if he is best-suited to play on the edge of a 4-3 defense.
He pounced fast, like getting a sack before the quarterback could set his feet.
“No,” the top-rated end in the draft said. “I’m an either-or scheme.”
Similar sentiments were in ample supply, particularly among frontseven defenders evaluated for their ability to fit best in 4-3, 3-4 or hybrid defenses.
Said Penn State defensive tackle Devon Still: “I’m scheme-diverse. I don’t see 5-technique being much different than 3-technique.”
Ask coaches, such as Romeo Crennel of the Kansas City Chiefs, and they underscore the challenge in the draft process of projecting players for complex pro systems that are so unlike the college defenses.
“But there are more guys with versatility,” Crennel said, comparing today’s crop to prospects from the 1980s and 1990s.
Still, don’t expect players to even slightly hint that they couldn’t fit in any system that can be imagined — as unrealistic as it is.
That’s part of the charm of the combine, which is pretty much the NFL’S version of a national job fair.
“I like playing corner, but if the coach wants me to play safety, I’ll play that, too,” said Montana’s Trumaine Johnson, a big cornerback at 6-2, 205. “Anywhere on the field, I’ll play it.”
Johnson was a quarterback in high school, then recruited as a receiver.
When he says anywhere, is he talking quarterback and receiver?
“I mean water boy, wide receiver, quarterback, lineman,” Johnson said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’ll do it.”
NFL Network’s live coverage of combine workouts continues at 9 a.m. ET today (linebackers, defensive linemen) and Tuesday (defensive backs).