Cougars at the Combine: Who improved their stock?
By Brian Mace
Photo by BYU Photo/BYU Creative Design
As the 2014 NFL Combine closed Tuesday, several BYU players left Indianapolis wondering if their performance will lead to a dream career in the NFL. Some disappointed while others left a mark on team scouts and general managers. Here we take a look at which players increased their likelihood of being drafted.
Without a doubt you’ve got to start this off with Sorensen. He entered the Combine as a guy who in many minds (including my own) would have been very lucky to get a post draft free agent deal with a NFL team, to a guy who now has the potential of being the first BYU defensive back selected since Derwin Gray in 1993.
Sorensen posted a 6.47 in the three-cone drill, good enough to finish as the fifth best three-cone drill at the Combine since 2006. That, along with his fifth best shuttle time, Sorensen made the biggest impact amongst Cougars at this year’s Combine. If he can improve upon any of his Combine numbers at all during BYU’s Pro Day, I will be very comfortable in saying he will be drafted.
Draft Projection: 6th round
The other former Cougar who helped improve his draft stock the most was Eathyn Manumaleuna.
A big number of reps (29) in the bench press was big for Manumaleuna, who other than his age is a very interesting NFL prospect. No team is going to take a chance on Eathyn in the early rounds of the NFL Draft, but he was one of the few players at the Combine who has the combination of strength and size to play in the interior of a NFL defensive line.
Draft Projection: 7th round