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Draft season technically kicks off when the all-star games come around (or when your favorite team is eliminated from playoff contention), but it kicks into high gear with the start of the NFL Scouting Combine. As the week progresses, we will take a look at players who may have made positive or negative impressions on teams by the end of each day. On Tuesday, offensive linemen, running backs, and special teamers were measured. We will run through each position group from day two of weigh-ins and discuss players who stood out in one way or another during measurements. Because of a scheduling change that has moved position drills to evenings, the daily stock reports will post one day after the actual events.
OFFENSIVE LINE
STOCK UP:
There were a handful of Offensive Tackles whose arm length measured above the 34-inch expectation for pass protectors on the edge, including Trey Adams from Washington, who is one of the better tackle prospects in the draft. Several prospects were measured with arms longer than 35 inches, including the two studs from Georgia, Andrew Thomas (36 1/8 inches) and Andrew Wilson (35 ½ inches), Matt Peart from Connecticut (36 5/8 inches), Tyre Phillips from Mississippi State (35 1/8 inches), and Alex Taylor from South Carolina State (36 1/8 inches, at 6'8 3/8" tall). The most impressive specimen of the day must have been Louisville's Mekhi Becton, who stood 6'7 3/8", weighed 364 pounds, and had 35 /58-inch arms and 10 3/4-inch hands.
Cesar Ruiz, from Michigan, is an athletic Center in a poor class for interior offensive lineman. He measured well yesterday at 6'2 3/4", 307 pounds, with 33 1/8-inch arms and 11-inch hands.
STOCK DOWN:
There were no big losers yesterday, but a few prospects who were praised for their versatility and may have been considered at both Tackle and Guard failed to measure up in arm length. John Molchon, from Boise State, had 31 1/8-inch arms, Calvin Throckmorton, from Oregon, had 32 1/1-inch arms, and Ball State's Danny Pinter had 31 7/8-inch arms. All three are likely to be viewed primarily as interior linemen.
RUNNING BACK
STOCK UP:
Jonathan Taylor, from Wisconsin, is expected to run a very fast 40-yard dash this week. Combining that speed with a weight of 226 pounds will get him a lot of hype through the week.
FSU's Cam Akers is another speedy back who weighed in well yesterday. At 217 pounds, he's more likely to be viewed as an every-down back, than as a back who would be used mostly on 3rd downs.
UCLA RB Joshua Kelly continued his momentum from a great Senior Bowl showing by measuring up at a sturdy 5'10 1/2" and 212 pounds.
STOCK DOWN:
Like the offensive line group, none of the Running Backs made a strong negative impression at weigh-ins. The modest negative observations relate mostly to prospects who did not quite meet expectations.
J.K. Dobbins, from Ohio State, is a prospect who scouts were excited to get a look at. His stock took a hit when he measured in at 209 pounds, 10 pounds below his listed playing weight.
Patrick Taylor, from Memphis, looked more like a Wide Receiver, measuring in at 6"1 1/2" and 217 pounds. That is not ideal for a downhill, between-the-tackles runner.
SPECIAL TEAMS
STOCK DOWN: It's tough for a Kicker, Punter, or Long Snapper to help or hurt his stock much, but I get nervous with Punters who have tiny hands. Assuming that Punters will get more work during games that feature ugly weather, the combination of small hands, a wet ball, and the velocity of a long snap inspire me to imagine a parade of muffed snaps, both on punts and while holding for place kicks. South Carolina's Joseph Charlton (8 1/2 inches) and Sterling Hofrichter (8 5/8 inches) had the smallest hands of the position group.
STOCK UP:
As much as I fear small hands on a punter, it was a plus to see Michael Turk, the Punter from Arizona State, measured with 9 7/8-inch hands.
Those are my impressions from Tuesday at the Combine. See you tomorrow for some quick analysis of measurements for Defensive Linemen and Linebackers!
Next: Day 3 of the NFL Scouting Combine
The San Francisco 49ers are leading through the first half on Thursday Night Football, holding a two-score lead at 17-6 heading into the second half.
The 49ers came into the game as overwhelming favorites, but started slow offensively with an early punt after an initial field goal drive. But, San Francisco rebounded with two touchdown drives to go into the half up 17-6 after the Giants finished the first half with a field goal.
Stock Up
DT Javon Hargrave
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave notched his second sack of the season, and has continued to
Two weeks into the NFL season, fans can finally look forward to the San Francisco 49ers' home opener under the national spotlight. What's on the menu this year? I had the chance to preview some of the upcoming bites at the Levi's Stadium Concessions Showcase.
I checked out Levi's Stadium food selection along with a couple of new local vendors for the upcoming season.
We were introduced to Levi's Stadium and Levy Restaurants' new Executive Chef, Alvin Kabiling, who takes the reign after working with former executive chef Jon Severson for the last several years. Kabiling recognizes that many local fans are "foodies"
The San Francisco 49ers fell just short of their Super Bowl aspirations yet again in 2022, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game after quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a torn UCL early in the first quarter.
Now fully healthy, Purdy is prepared for another potential Super Bowl run with a strong core around him, with the 49ers as motivated as ever, taking the process day by day.
"We have such a special group of guys, so much experience, the veterans on this team, and how everyone's professional in what they do," Purdy recently told Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. "There's not a lot of selfishness or anything, ego, none of that. And so we all have the same mindset: to win a Super Bowl and do everything we can to be our best every
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters via a conference call on Friday, the day after the team's 30-12 win over the New York Giants. Here is everything he had to say.
Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff.
Opening comments:
"[LB] Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles had an ankle. He's day-to-day. [LB Dre] Greenlaw ankle, day-to-day. Both of them are low. [WR] Deebo Samuel, his ribs checked out, no break. Pretty sore today, so it'll be day-to-day. And that's it from the game."
With the amount of blitzing that the New York Giants did, have you seen that before or was it expected? What was your game plan going in facing that?
"We knew it
