NFL Combine 2022 Drills: DB Winners And Losers

WINNERS

Tariq Woolen, UTSA

At 6-foot-4, clocking in with a 4.26 in the 40 is just outstanding—herculean, really, considering his size. One of the most gifted athletes in the entire draft class, we expected Tariq Woolen to showcase well after a standout performance in Mobile at the Senior Bowl—one in which he was clocked as the fastest athlete to ever come through the all-star event. Considering his cover skills and athletic profile, we won’t see him last long on day two.

Sauce Garder, Cincinnati

We knew he was fluid and would show out in drills, but the question remained just how fast would Sauce Gardner run in the 40? After recording a 4.52 in his first run, Gardner cut over a 10th of a second off his time in his second attempt, finishing with a top time of 4.41. CB1 of the class, wherever Gardner lands on draft night he will immediately become a gamechanger on the backend with a tireless hunger to be the best in the game.

JT Woods, Baylor

A standout at the Senior Bowl, JT Woods flashed his athleticism all afternoon long for talent evaluators in attendance. A physical, downhill safety, if Woods is able to continue to diversify his game as a defender with the potential to play single-high or carry wideouts in man, he’ll earn himself plenty of snaps for an NFL team. At 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds with 32 ⅜ inch arms, Woods checks a ton of boxes.

LOSERS

Jermaine Waller, Virginia Tech

Of all defensive backs to participate in combine testing on Sunday, Jermaine Waller was the slowest. His 4.68 40 time was the slowest of all safeties and cornerbacks, and he was slower than every receiver that ran earlier this week. He didn’t give himself a chance to overcome a slow time with any impressive numbers elsewhere since he didn’t participate in the bench press, vertical leap, or broad jump. Waller’s physical measurements weren’t anything eye-popping either. Though he did look solid in positional drills, having a 40 time like that at his position is going to be hard for many scouts to overlook.

Derek Stingley Jr., LSU

Derek Stingley Jr. was a loser on Sunday because he didn’t participate in combine testing. So many other top corners—Ahmad Gardner, Tariq Woolen, Kaiir Elam—had fantastic days, with all three of those guys running 4.41 or better in the 40-yard dash. Stingley’s inability to participate in testing with his Lisfranc injury sets him back for a few reasons. One, he can’t prove his value in front of scouts among the other highly touted cornerbacks in his class. And two, it raises some concerns about his injury history. Though Stingley Jr. said his rehab was “ahead of schedule,” he’s coming up on the back end of the 4-6 months that his recovery was projected to take. The fact he hasn’t been able to prove his athletic value in Indianapolis will not help out his draft stock.