Sports
NFL Combine 2020 Results: Isaiah Simmons Highlights Saturday’s Top Performers
Michael Hickey/Getty ImagesThe NFL Scouting Combine continued with Day 3 in Indianapolis as defensive linemen, edge-rushers and linebackers took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. Saturday featured plenty more standout performances from projected top picks and a few surprise showings from soon-to-be household names, and there’s only one day left for prospects in Indiana to make…
Michael Hickey/Getty Images
The NFL Scouting Combine continued with Day 3 in Indianapolis as defensive linemen, edge-rushers and linebackers took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Saturday featured plenty more standout performances from projected top picks and a few surprise showings from soon-to-be household names, and there's only one day left for prospects in Indiana to make a strong impression.
Here's the best from Saturday's action:
40-Yard Dash
Edge-Rushers
James Smith-Williams, NC State: 4.60 seconds
Jabari Zuniga, Florida: 4.64 seconds
Alton Robinson, Syracuse: 4.69 seconds
Bench Press
Defensive Line
DaVon Hamilton, Ohio State: 33 reps
Khalil Davis, Nebraska: 32 reps
Kenny Willekes, Michigan State: 32
Isaiah Simmons
The Clemson linebacker was already pegged by many as an early-first-round pick this April. Somehow he increased his draft stock with an absurd showing Saturday that left even those who scouted him all year stunned.
At 6'4″ and 238 pounds, Simmons ran the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds. That's not only tops in his position group, but it also matches the fastest time from the running backs who took the field Friday, putting him next to Wisconsin tailback Jonathan Taylor.
That alone would've been enough to stun scouts. It was only Simmons' warm-up. The linebacker had the fourth-best vertical among linebackers at 39 inches and the second-best broad jump at 132 inches.
NFL @NFL
ISAIAH. SIMMONS. 🔥
4.39u 40-yard dash for the 238-pound linebacker! @ClemsonFB @IsaiahSimmons25
📺: #NFLCombine on @NFLNetwork
📱: https://t.co/vDFxxNddNZ https://t.co/JxE6S23FWB
NFL Research @NFLResearch
Isaiah Simmons
2020 #NFLCombine– 6’3 5/8”
– 238 pounds
– 4.39 40-yard dash
– 39” verticalJulio Jones
2011 #NFLCombine– 6’2 3/4”
– 220 pounds
– 4.42 40-yard dash
– 38.5” vertical@ClemsonFB @isaiahsimmons25 https://t.co/V4F5CQAyMk
NFL @NFL
.@ClemsonFB LB Isaiah Simmons with the 11-foot broad jump!
@isaiahsimmons25 | #NFLCombine https://t.co/bFdUD3qa7H
Simmons' 40 time had Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock giggling up in his suite after he saw the numbers flash on the screen. The Raiders own the 12th and 19th picks. There's a chance Simmons will be long gone by that point.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller has Simmons as the sixth overall pick on his predraft big board.
NFL Research @NFLResearch
Shaquem Griffin is the only linebacker to run a faster 40-yard dash (4.38 in 2018) than Isaiah Simmons (4.39) at the #NFLCombine since official data was first tracked in 2003
@clemsonFB @isaiahsimmons25
Daniel Jeremiah @MoveTheSticks
Isaiah Simmons https://t.co/TVUFq6gYim
NFL Research @NFLResearch
Isaiah Simmons
2020 #NFLCombine• Taller than DK Metcalf
• Heavier than Roquan Smith
• Faster than Devin Hester
• Jumps higher than Julio Jones
• More explosive than Alvin Kamara
@ClemsonFB @isaiahsimmons25 https://t.co/NeotE79Ivg
Khalil Davis
Welcome to the NFL in 2020, where 300-pound linemen run faster than most quarterbacks.
Friday saw two offensive linemen over 300 pounds run a 40-yard dash in 5.1 seconds or under in Iowa's Tristan Wirfs and Louisville's Mekhi Becton. On Saturday, defensive lineman Khalil Davis of Nebraska (4.75), Neville Gallimore of Oklahoma (4.79) and Carlos Davis, Khalil's twin and fellow Cornhusker (4.82) all beat five seconds.
They're the first 300-pound defensive linemen to run under five seconds in eight years.
Still, the bulk of the attention will fall on Khalil Davis, who like Simmons, impressed in a variety of ways.
Nebraska Football @HuskerFBNation
.@khalildaish95 & @_KING_LOS__ steal the show with the two best 40-yard dash times from the defensive line group.
📺: @nflnetwork Feb 27 – March 1
#NFLCombine x #SpeedCity https://t.co/KTeikZFOP4
If being 6'1″ with agility like a running back isn't enough, Davis also managed 32 reps on the bench press, which was the second-best mark of his position group. It's no surprise that Davis was among the Big Ten's sack leaders with eight in 2019 after a combined five in his previous two seasons.
Miller has Davis pegged as the 23rd-best interior lineman in the draft, five spots behind his twin brother. On Saturday he proved he has the type of elite skill set that will make a general manager look like a genius for selecting him in the later rounds.
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