Arizona Cardinals: Running Back Evaluation At The Combine
By Scott Allen
Nov 23, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Georgia Southern Eagles quarterback/running back Jerick McKinnon (1) runs the ball in for the game winning touchdown against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Georgia Southern Eagles defeated the Florida Gators 26-20. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Cardinals don’t know exactly what their running back core will look like in 2014 quite yet. They know a couple of the pieces in Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor. After that, they aren’t sure. Could there be anyone in this draft that makes the Cards think about re-signing Rashard Mendenhall or keeping Ryan Williams?
The winner of the 40-yard dash times for running backs at the combine was Dri Archer from Kent State at 4.26. Jerick McKinnon from Georgia Southern had a time of 4.41 and Henry Josey from Missouri had a time of 4.43. Impressive given Josey’s past injury issues. Bigger names such as George Atkinson from Notre Dame had just a 4.48 and Oregon’s De’Anthony Thomas had a time of 4.50.
McKinnon had 32 bench reps to lead all running backs. The next closest was Bishop Sankey from Washington with 26 reps. It drops a bit from there. Thomas only had 8 reps. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. McKinnon had the second-best vertical jump at 40.5 inches and second in the broad jump at 132.0 inches. He was third-best in the 3 Cone Drill at 6.83 seconds. Overall I’d say he did a fine job. Now does that translate to an NFL field? It’s for the evaluators to decide that but I like what I see. Someone to put in the back of your mind.