National Football League

NFL Scouting Combine preview

Published Feb. 17, 2015 11:52 a.m. ET

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The NFL Scouting Combine was made for athletes like Michigan's Devin Funchess.

If you don't believe it, watch this recent video of him showing off his leaping ability.

The Combine is all about 40-yard dash times and vertical jumps, the so-called Underwear Olympics for draft-eligible players coming out of college.

Funchess, listed at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, will take the field Saturday with the other receivers. His combination of size and athleticism will no doubt leave a favorable impression with all of the league's talent evaluators.

"He's not even 21 years old yet," Mike Mayock, the NFL Network's lead analyst for the Combine, said of Funchess. "He's going to continue to grow. I think he's got better movement skills than Kelvin Benjamin, who went 28th last year to Carolina. I think Funchess will be almost as big, run faster and have better movement skills (than Benjamin). Will he gain 15 pounds in the next couple years, will he be more Jimmy Graham (a tight end for New Orleans)?

"I think you have to look at him as a mismatch and evaluate him that way."

Funchess opted to enter the NFL Draft after a junior year with the Wolverines in which he made 62 catches for 733 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games.

In his first mock draft, NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah penciled in Funchess as a late first-round pick, going 26th overall to Baltimore.

The debate will be whether he's a tight end, which he played when he first got to Michigan, or a receiver, where he played last season.

Jeremiah likes Funchess as a receiver, "on the outside where he can use his size/strength to overpower defenders."

Funchess is one of more than 300 of the top NFL Draft prospects who have been invited this week to Indianapolis for this massive job interview.

Michigan State's Trae Waynes will be there, too, working out with the rest of the defensive backs on Monday, the final day of Combine.

Waynes is ranked by Mayock as the top cornerback for this draft, ahead of Washington's Marcus Peters and LSU's Jalen Collins.

Jeremiah has Waynes projected as the No. 10 pick overall to St. Louis in his early mock draft.

"I know when you get a Michigan State kid coming off that defense, he's a tough kid that will tackle, that's been well-coached," Mayock said. "That appeals to me first and foremost.

"His length, his competitiveness and the fact that he can play press (coverage) and will tackle. I trust that he'll come in and compete day one. That's kind of a difference-maker for me."

One of Funchess' former teammates, defensive end Frank Clark, will have to be at his best not only in the workouts but even more so during interview sessions with any teams potentially interested in him.

Clark was dismissed from the Michigan team in November following an arrest for a domestic-assault incident.

It's a particularly sensitive issue for the league in the wake of the Ray Rice controversy.

"I think it's going to affect Frank Clark to the point where he doesn't get drafted," Mayock said.

"Unfortunately, in our world, the more talent you have physically, the more rope we give you. I think if he was a first-round prospect, people would try to keep him alive longer.

"But he's a mid- to late-(round) prospect. I think most teams are going, 'Let's not even deal with it.'"

For the Detroit Lions, the Combine is an opportunity to take a closer look at possible replacements for their defensive line.

That could be a major need if they don't re-sign some of their free agents, especially All-Pro tackle Ndamukong Suh.

"I see eight defensive tackles that I think are high-level players," Mayock said of his pre-Combine draft evaluations.

That group includes USC's Leonard Williams and Washington's Danny Shelton, who are projected as top-10 picks.

More likely candidates for the Lions, whose first pick is at No 23 overall, are Texas' Malcolm Brown, Oregon's Arik Armstead, Oklahoma's Jordan Phillips, Florida State's Eddie Goldman, Iowa's Carl Davis (Sterling Heights, Mich., Stevenson High) and Ohio State's Mike Bennett.

The Lions' other points of emphasis should be the offensive line and cornerbacks, and also possibly running back and a backup quarterback.

EXTRA POINTS

--- Devin Gardner, who played quarterback and receiver at Michigan, wasn't even invited to the Combine, a slap in the face for him.

--- A total of six Michigan State players are expected to participate, including running back Jeremy Langford, receivers Keith Mumphrey and Tony Lippett, linebacker Taiwan Jones and safety Kurtis Drummond.

--- Central Michigan has three invitees with running back Thomas Rawls, receiver Titus Davis and defensive tackle L.T. Walton.

--- Other local players expected to take part include Michigan linebacker Jake Ryan and Western Michigan cornerback D.C. Celiscar.