INDIANAPOLIS — Ten things from Thursday at the NFL scouting combine:
1. The Broncos were awarded the 2022 Best Draft Award during the 13th annual “Inside The League Combine Seminar.” The Broncos received 31% of the vote from league executives and scouts. Their 10 picks appeared in a combined 99 games (42 starts) and played nearly 3,500 offensive/defensive snaps. Cornerback Pat Surtain II, running back Javonte Williams, right guard Quinn Meinerz and inside linebacker Baron Browning finished the season as starters.
2. “Itap really cool for the scouts,” said general manager George Paton, who attended the ceremony. “They probably don’t get enough respect for what they do in the fall and in the draft prep but they’re doing all of the work.”
3. Because of the cancelled combine last year and no Pro Days, Paton didn’t meet many of the scouts until three months after he was hired. “They grabbed the bull by the horns,” he said. “They had a new GM coming in during a COVID scouting season and we met via Zoom so itap not like I was able to get close to them. But any changes I made, they grinded. Itap really their award. Itap not mine.”
4. Hand size alert! Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickettap hand measured in Thursday morning at 8 1/2 inches. If he is the first quarterback drafted, he would have the smallest hand size since Michael Vick in 2001 (8 1/2). The biggest over the last 20 years were Matthew Stafford and Andrew Luck (both 10). Also of note were Joe Burrow and Jared Goff (nine); both reached the Super Bowl. Big deal? Little deal? No deal? I’ll go with little deal because it could be a concern for Pickett when trying to throw in bad weather (rain or snow), but it shouldn’t deter a team.
5. Alabama left tackle Evan Neal isn’t going through drills at the combine. “I had a long season,” he said. “I wanted to give myself a little bit more time to prepare.” Neal started all 40 games of his Crimson Tide career — 13 at left guard (2019), 12 at right tackle (’20) and 15 at left tackle (’21). He is an option for Jacksonville with the top pick; incumbent left tackle Cam Robinson is a free agent. “They need the right pieces and the right linemen to (start a turnaround),” Neal said of the Jaguars.
6. A running back may not go in the first round and the Broncos, if they choose to let Melvin Gordon walk in free agency, should be in the market for his replacement on Day 3 (rounds 4-7). Iowa State’s Breece Hall knows who should be the first back chosen. “I just feel like over the last two years, no running back has been able to do what I’ve been able to do,” he said. “I really respect the other guys’ games. I just feel like I’m the best running back in this draft.”
7. Hall is a two-time first-team All-America selection. In 2020, he rushed for 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns in 12 games. Last year, he rushed for 1,472 yards and 20 touchdowns in 12 games. He finished his career with at least one touchdown run in an NCAA-record 24 consecutive games.
8. Southern Utah offensive tackle Braxton Jones was a first-team All-America at the FCS level and checked into the Senior Bowl in late January at 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds. I asked him if he followed Meinerz, who played at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater and was last year’s small-school star (third-round pick). “Trust me, I watched Quinn Meinerz all the way through and thatap a big deal, guys like him making it a big name for himself,” Jones said. “And he wasn’t a guy on the sideline.”
9. If the Broncos are content to sit at No. 9 for a quarterback, they may not have to worry about any team in front of them. The Jaguars (No. 1, Trevor Lawrence), New York Jets (No. 4, Zach Wilson), New York Giants (Nos. 5 and 8, Daniel Jones) and Atlanta (No. 8, Matt Ryan) don’t need to go quarterback or will wait until later in the draft or next year. That leaves Houston at No. 3 and Carolina at No. 6. The Texans may stick with Davis Mills and the buzz is the Panthers will go offensive tackle.
10. Washington State running back Max Borghi, a native of Arvada and alum of Pomona High, won’t run at the combine because of an ankle injury. He said he has been training in Arizona for the Cougars’ Pro Day. Borghi won The Denver Postap Golden Helmet Award in 2017 and said the trophy remains in his parents’ house.
