The NFL offseason is in full gear. The scouting combine wrapped up last weekend, free agency starts next week, and the draft will be here next month. There are plenty of rumors and news to keep our football-loving minds occupied. To help us understand more about the combine, we recently caught up with NFL Network analyst Marc Ross.
Ross, a former league front-office executive, is best known for his time with the New York Giants when they won two Super Bowls. He has spent almost three decades going to the combine in various roles. We asked Ross about some of his observations from last week in Indianapolis.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
Awful Announcing: Who was the biggest winner from the combine?
Marc Ross: “South Carolina safety (Nick Emmanwori). He just crushed everything that he did. The numbers were off the charts, so he’s probably the biggest winner. Missouri (offensive) tackle (Armand Membou), his numbers for such a big guy were off the charts. (LSU offensive tackle) Will Campbell, everything besides the arm length was incredible. Then everyone went, ‘Well, he’s got short arms.’ But overall, I think the impression was tremendous there.”
Who was a bit of a disappointment?
“(Oregon wide receiver) Tez Johnson. A little guy like that, you got to be lightning, and I think most thought when they watched the film on him that he was super quick and fast. They expected a fast 40 out of him. I think, in history, there had been no one as light as him or under whatever, 170, 180 pounds that ran as slow as him. So, it’s tough to overcome.”
Is Travis Hunter a cornerback who will occasionally play wide receiver or a wide receiver who will occasionally play cornerback?
“I think most teams have him as a corner, and in on some offensive plays. I think he’s a better receiver if he wanted to develop there, just because he could make more impact plays on that side than as a corner. Overall, I admire him for what he’s done. I think he’s a phenomenal athlete. But there’s no way in the NFL you could (play both positions) full-time. It’ll have to be one or the other. I think the first year, a team won’t even try to bother with it because it’s just such a difference between college and the NFL.”
Is there a clear-cut No.1 overall pick in this draft?
“The wild card is what the Titans are going to do. Abdul Carter is the best player. The Titans can take him. He could be a Pro Bowl player his rookie year, and they could have three wins. But if they take Cam Ward, and he turns out to be a phenomenal player, they’ll be set up for 15 years of success because he’s legit. So, you take Abdul Carter. He may be fantastic, and you’re sitting here next year picking in the top five again. … ‘I think Cam Ward is the only player that’s going to actually transform a franchise.”
What do you make of the rumors about Shedeur Sanders’ attitude at the combine?
“In a room of 20 people, one person may say something negative, and whoever is writing, reporting, or putting out these tweets can just take that one. As opposed to the 19, and now we have a whole firestorm about Shedeur Sanders. But overall, the way that I observed him and watched him, he handled himself with class…
“In this day and age, nobody’s going to be duped by bad reports. You’re not going to put something out on somebody and have the guy fall. Teams do so much work. They put in so much effort that they’re not going to take a random quote or a random report and say, ‘You know what? We’re going to pass on Shedeur because we heard that.’ They’ve done so much work and trust their scouting staff.”
What have you learned from your years of experience?
“I’ve always taken the combine for what it is. It just means that you have to check some boxes as far as the numbers, the medical (tests), and then the interviews with the players. When I was with teams, that was the biggest part of it for us, actually talking to the players. (For) a lot of the coaches, scouts, (it’s the) first time sitting and talking to them. See how they talk ball. See how they talk about any character concerns. The medical stuff is huge, but that’ll take care of itself. There’s no real wiggle room with that. Doctors do what they do, and then for the workouts, we always kept it in perspective. We’re not going to (overly praise) a player or crush a player based on their workout.”
Is there a team under the most pressure to nail the draft?
“Well, shoot, there’s a lot of teams that need to. Just look at all the teams picking at the top of the draft. The interesting thing is that if you look maybe at the two best drafting teams over the past couple years—let’s say the Eagles and the Rams—they’re not even (at the combine) the whole time. Their scouts aren’t there the whole time. Some of the scouts aren’t even there. I think more and more teams just have not wanted to step out. ‘This really isn’t worth it, the time and effort and money to go here. There’s better ways, more efficient and effective ways to do this.'”
What would you change about the combine?
“(Players) get there. They do all the medicals. They do all the interviews. They do the testing. And then, they go work out. So I think overall, if the schedule was reversed and made more player-friendly as far as getting their optimal results, you might see more people working out and better results as opposed to now ‘I’m going to wait for my pro day. I’m not going to do anything here because I’m getting quickly pulled so much, and I’m exhausted by the time the workout gets there.'”
What will you be doing on NFL Network leading up to the draft?
“Next week’s free agency, so we’ll knock those shows out. And then Path to the Draft will be the main show we have going on there leading up to it. …Overall, I don’t think it’s a very good (free-agent) class at all. I don’t see many impact players.”
Myles Garrett isn’t a free agent, but he has demanded a trade. What’s your best guess on where he winds up?
“Cleveland. I know (general manager Andrew) Berry. I know him very well. Some other GMs, I would not trust what they say: ‘I’m not going to trade this guy.’ But when he’s saying it, I fully believe that he is not going to trade him.”