High school teammates Gordon, Waynes help each other through draft process

Melvin Gordon and Trae Waynes have been friends for a long time. They were both born in Kenosha, Wis., and attended Mary D. Bradford High School together from 2007-11. While Gordon stayed in-state and attended the University of Wisconsin, Waynes decided to be competition for the Badgers by playing for Michigan State.

Rivals on the field the past few years, Gordon and Waynes stayed close friends throughout college. Now they're going through the NFL Draft process simultaneously and even ran into one another during the testing phases of the scouting combine.

"We're still close," Waynes said of his relationship with Gordon. "We talk to each other pretty much every day. Even when we were training he would call me with pre-draft questions and stuff like that; (questions) that we might potentially get asked by coaches. He would just start questioning me at all hours of the night, just to try to get prepared for this."

These aren't just two players hoping to be drafted, either. They're each the top-rated prospect at their respective position and are both very likely to be first-round picks.

At cornerback, Waynes edged out Washington's Marcus Peters for the top spot on the latest big board by FOX Sports' Joel Klatt. At running back, Gordon remains No. 1 at his position on Klatt's pre-draft rankings.

Pressure like that could be overwhelming for someone in their early 20s (Gordon is 21, Waynes is 22), but these two have each other and can talk it all through.

"I think it's really good that we're both being able to go through it together, because instead of just pushing each other we're also helping each other, as well," Waynes said.

Naturally for competitors like Gordon and Waynes, there's going to be a bit of one-upmanship going on. One of them is going to be drafted before the other, and with that comes bragging rights that one friend can hold over the other's head.

"There's always going to be competition," Waynes said. "Who runs the fastest 40? Who benches the most? Stuff like that. But at the same time, we both want each other to succeed."

Well, the answer to which of them ran the faster 40-yard dash was Waynes. With a time of 4.31 seconds, Waynes didn't just ran faster than Gordon, he ran faster than all but one other player at the combine (wide receiver J.J. Nelson ran a 4.28). Waynes and Gordon tied each other in bench-press repetitions with 19. Waynes' vertical jump of 38 inches was three more inches than Gordon, but Gordon's broad jump of 126 inches was better than Waynes' (and was the third-best broad jump among all running backs).

Cornerbacks are drafted in the first round every year. So, when Waynes hears his name called on April 30 it'll be a great moment for him, but it won't be anything particularly notable from a league-wide perspective.

However, if Gordon is selected on Day 1 of the draft, he'll be the first running back picked in the first round since Trent Richardson went No. 3 overall in 2012. Considering the train wreck that has been Richardson's first three NFL seasons, it's somewhat understandable that teams have since been apprehensive to invest their top picks in running backs.

"It's a passing game," Gordon said at the combine. "It's hard to say if we're a devalued position. Teams are just going with the picks they actually need. I don't know the thoughts that are going through their head. Maybe they didn't feel the running backs the last couple of years were first-round talent, I don't know. Le'Veon Bell and Gio (Bernard) were pretty good. I can't answer that.

"We just have to change that this year and show people that (running backs) are capable of going in the first round."

After Richardson in 2012, there were two other running backs selected in the first round that year: Doug Martin and David Wilson. A year earlier, Mark Ingram was the only running back taken in Round 1. In 2010, C.J. Spiller, Ryan Matthews and Jahvid Best all went in the first round.

But after a two-year drought of running backs not going in the first round, Gordon is the type of talent to end that.

Gordon offers NFL teams typo-looking college rushing statistics from this past season of 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns. He's a running back who excels in the open field and whose skillset should translate to many long touchdown runs at the next level. If anyone has what it takes to make running backs worthy of being first-round picks again, it's Gordon.

The decision to return to Wisconsin for his redshirt junior season might prove to be the main reason that Gordon is a first-round-caliber running back.

"I came back because I wanted to be more of a complete running back," he said. "I wanted to be a better football player and I think I achieved that. I showed people that I don't need James (White) or Montee (Ball) to go out there to pass-protect. I wasn't perfect. Not everyone is. You make some mistakes, but they can count on me. That's what I wanted to show in the passing game, the running game and pass protection."

There's only so much more that Gordon and Waynes can do over the next two months to improve their draft stock. As they wait to find out where their football careers take them, their daily phone calls with each other might help the anxiety-producing next nine weeks be a bit easier to handle.

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