NFL’s Top 10 Combine Casualties (Part I)

The NFL Combine starts tomorrow and the list of “Workout Warriors” that have left scouts drooling in Indianapolis has been done ad nauseam – Tony Mandarich, Mike Mamula, Adam Archuleta, etc. But how about those that starred on the field but had scouts running for the hills in Indy with red flags that, in some cases, have followed the players’ entire pro careers? Here’s the Top 10 Combine Casualties since it began in 1982:

10. Ricky Williams (Texas)
The only person afraid of small hands more than NFL scouts is Austin Powers. When word got out that Ricky Williams had the smallest mitts of anyone at the combine, people freaked out about fumbling concerns. And after the Colts drafted Edgerrin James one spot ahead of Williams, the media feasted on this nugget and pin-pointed it as the reason for the drop. Williams went one pick later to the Saints and each turned out to be a star, although Williams fumbling problems have plagued Williams and his rep for small hands has loomed over him since.

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9. Peter Warrick (Florida State)
Warrick already had his detractors after his Dillard’s encounter at “Free Shoes University.” The combine only heightened those fears after running a 4.58 40 and measuring at just 5-11. He plummeted on everyone’s draft boards. Everyone except the Bengals – who else? – who picked him 4th overall in 2000. Warrick never panned out and has been out of the league since 2005. Scouts constantly use him as proof that there’s a method to their madness. Warrick now plays for the Indoor Football League’s Bloomington Extreme.

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8. Adarius Bowman (Oklahoma State)
You think Warrick had a bad combine? Going into his senior season at Oklahoma State, Bowman was projected as a 2008 first round pick by Mel Kiper and had others comparing him to David Boston. His final season didn’t live up to expectations and things really went south at the combine, when he ran a 4.74 40-yard dash – .01 faster than Virginia DE Chris Long. Said one scout: “He’s a good player, but he just can’t run.” Apparently that’s a problem in the NFL. Combined with an April arrest, he went undrafted and his now with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

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7. Ron Dayne (Wisconsin)
With question marks everywhere about the Heisman winner’s weight, Dayne rocked the scale at 260 pounds and had scouts chirping that he looked “real flabby.” Dayne then refused to work out in Indy, saying he just started getting into shape a week and a half before. Nice excuse. He dropped to 11th in the 2000 draft to form “Thunder and Lightning” with Tiki Barber on the Giants. A huge flop, Dayne has been out of the league since 2007 and now resides in Waunakee, WI.

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6. Warren Sapp (Miami)
Completely unblockable in college, Sapp was expected to be a top three pick in the 1995 draft before failing a drug test at the combine for marijuana. That’s when things got ugly: Word came out that Sapp had failed up to four drug tests at The U, and suddenly he was portrayed as a drug lord. He dropped behind D-linemen Kevin Carter, Mike Mamula and Derrick Alexander before the Buccaneers snatched him at the 12 spot. Seven Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl ring later, it looks like a pretty good gamble.

Part II: #5-1

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