INDIANAPOLIS — Fourteen things from the NFL scouting combine:
1. Idaho defensive tackle Noah Elliss, a native of Highlands Ranch who played at Valor, is here hoping to follow the path of his father, Luther, who grew up in Mancos, and finished his 10-year career with the Broncos in 2004. Noah overcame a torn ACL early in his career and had 46 tackles (6 1/2 for lost yardage) last year for the Vandals.
2. Noah Elliss was an early draft entry because, “I felt like I had done everything I could there and accomplished what I needed to.” Luther was his son’s defensive line coach. “(The relationship) was very close and very competitive because I wanted to prove to him that I’m a good football player, but also respect him as the coach,” Noah said.
3. After the season, Luther Elliss returned to his alma mater Utah as an assistant coach. Noah said he would have followed him to the Utes had he not declared for the draft.
4. Late Thursday night, the Pro Football Writers Association and NFL allowed media members to attend the quarterback workout inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Only six accepted the offer for the 9 p.m. session featuring Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Liberty’s Malik Willis, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, Brown’s E.J. Perry, Iowa State’s Brock Purdy, Nevada’s Carson Strong, Kansas State’s Skyler Thompson and Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe.
5. Pickett — Wow, did he look awkward in his five- and seven-step drop-backs. It appeared he was thinking so much about his technique, it slowed him down. … On a slant-and-go, he made a fine throw down the left side to Mississippi’s Braylon Sanders. … He later delivered a drop-in-the-bucket pass on a 50-yard route to Virginia Tech’s Tre Turner, but then underthrew the next attempt to North Dakota State’s Christian Watson. … Switching to right side routes, Pickett underthrew both of his “go” route attempts … He finished well with two well-placed red zone passes to the right pylons that showed good touch.
6. Ridder — He can spin it and with velocity. His first two passes were in-stride strikes on slant routes. … His first go-route pass was caught, but Cincinnati teammate Alec Pierce had to slightly pull up to catch it. … He was 1 of 3 on the final go route throws.
7. Willis — His first go route pass traveled 58 yards in the air and was caught by Miami’s Charleston Rambo. … On slant-and-go throws, he overthrew his first attempt and completed his second. … Like Ridder, there is definite zip on Willis’ throws and he appeared to have his feet under him in terms of moving backward.
8. Inside the stadium, each team is issued a luxury box to watch the workouts. The Broncos were sandwiched between Cleveland and Jacksonville. On the field, receivers coach Zach Azzanni was giving pointers to his group of players. Of note was how the players weren’t encouraging each other after good passes and catches and overall efforts. I guess itap an every-man-for-himself exercise.
9. The receivers ran the 40-yard dash and the top times were by Baylor’s Tyquan Thornton (4.28 seconds), Tennessee’s Velus Jones (4.31), Memphis’ Calvin Austin (4.32), SMU’s Danny Gray (4.33) and Rutgers’ Bo Melton (4.34).
10. Minnesota right tackle/behemoth Daniel Faalele was measured at 6-foot-8 and 384 pounds, making him the heaviest player at the event since 2003. “The biggest challenge is always pad level,” he said of his size. “Thatap something I’ve worked on throughout my career.” Faalele grew up in Australia and was discovered during a Michigan satellite camp run by Jim Harbaugh. He attended the IMG Academy in Florida and began practicing football in 2016.
11. How was football at first? “Oh, yeah, it was definitely bad,” Faalele said. “But just getting around some of my teammates and seeing how they practiced and played just inspired me to get better at my craft.” Faalele started 31 games over three years for the Gophers (he opted out in 2020), including the last 23 at right tackle.
12. Arkansas outside linebacker Tre Williams was Missouri teammates with current Broncos quarterback Drew Lock and tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. Did he ever have to cover Okwuegbunam in practice? “Albert O is my best friend,” Williams said. “I didn’t have to cover him that much … I got lucky.” Williams transferred to the Razorbacks program for his final season and had six sacks.
13. Colorado linebacker Nate Landman is working out this offseason at Landow Performance Center in Centennial. “I’ve had some teammates train there and I’m familiar with the Colorado area and I know those guys do a great job,” Landman said. “And Shannon Turley was my strength coach at CU so it was a bonus to be close to him if I need to run anything by him.”
14. Oregon pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux’s goal when he meets with clubs this week? “Just letting teams know this is the main thing. No matter what else I do off the field, football is my main focus and winning a Super Bowl, getting a (Pro Football Hall of Fame) yellow jacket, being Defensive Rookie of the year — (are) my goals.”
