CyKo at the Combine...Yikes!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...djio-severely-disappoints-in-combines-3rd-day
Offensive tackles are always a hot commodity in the
NFL draft, and the the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine features a handful of prospects who entered Indianapolis with first-round grades.
Well, at least one of those young men didn't do himself any favors.
Alabama's Cyrus Kouandjio was
Bleacher Report NFL National Lead Writer Matt Miller's 21st-ranked prospect entering the combine, a player Miller
wrote "comes with a ton of upside and raw potential."
Kouandjio was among the first group of offensive linemen to work out Saturday, and the 6'7", 322-pounder stood out for all the wrong reasons.
First Kouandjio struggled in the bench press, managing only 21 reps at 225 pounds. It's a painfully low number, especially given Kouandjio's size.
Then Kouandjio ran a woefully slow 40-yard dash time of 5.53 seconds,
according to NFL.com.
As Rotoworld's Josh Norris pointed out, Kouandjio's 10-yard split time (indicative of a lineman's burst) wasn't any better:
<iframe width="350" height="162" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-1" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> Bleacher Report's Ian Kenyon sees it as a concern, enough so to question Kouandjio's ability to play tackle in the NFL:
<iframe width="350" height="186" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-2" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> He wasn't alone.
<iframe width="350" height="186" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-3" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> Group 1 then moved on to blocking and agility drills.
Things did not improve.
<iframe width="350" height="186" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-4" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> Kouandjio was slow out of breaks, stiff when turning and hips, and lacked both power in his blocks and quickness in his movements.
Former NFL Player and Analyst Anthony Becht saw a player who showed up in Indy out of shape:
<iframe width="350" height="186" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-5" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> It was just an awful all-around performance, and one that had at least one draftnik questioning whether Kouandjio truly merits first-round consideration:
<iframe width="350" height="186" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-6" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> It's a fair question. Granted, Kouandjio has, as Miller put it, "incredible raw tools." However, Miller also thought pre-combine that "worst-case scenario, he's a d----d-good right tackle for a long time. Best-case scenario, he's your blindside protector for more than a decade."
[h=4]Is Cyrus Kouandjio a first-round talent?[/h]<form id="poll-vote-form" action="/polls/create" method="post"><label><input name="vote" type="radio" value="choice0"> Yes </label><label><input name="vote" type="radio" value="choice1"> No </label>Submit Vote vote to see results
<input name="article" type="hidden" value="1"> <input name="id" type="hidden" value="313059"> </form>
- [h=4]Is Cyrus Kouandjio a first-round talent?[/h]
- [h=4]Yes[/h]0.0%
- [h=4]No[/h]100.0%
<label id="total_votes">Total votes: 12</label>
Now, on a day where players like Taylor Lewan and Greg Robinson glided across the track, Kouandjio's lumbering performance certainly casts doubt over Kouandjio's ability to play left tackle at the professional level.
And maybe tackle at all.
Mind you, this isn't to say all is lost. After all, there's loads of tape of Kouandjio's successful 2013 season in Tuscaloosa for NFL teams to pore over.
As Scott Wright of Draft Countdown reminded us, one bad combine does not a player make:
<iframe width="350" height="210" title="Embedded Tweet" class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-7" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238) rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(187, 187, 187); margin: 7px auto; padding: 0px; border-radius: 5px; border-image: none; float: none; display: block; visibility: visible; position: static; min-width: 220px; max-width: 99%; box-shadow: 0px 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.15);" allowtransparency="true"></iframe> The problem is, after a dismal combine showing like the one Kouandjio had on Saturday, teams like the Arizona Cardinals, who have both a need at tackle and a pick in the second half of Round 1, will now be viewing that tape from a different perspective.
A much more critical one.
