The Combine Cometh!

from the notebook of Clare “Clazzy Clare” Cooper

Firstly, I just want to give a big thank you to everyone who reads my work and supports Pats Propaganda. I have been writing for this fabulous site for over two years now, two years on Tuesday 7th March, and I am so blessed to be able to do so. So, a huge thank you to YOU who is reading this, as well as my awesome colleague (and buddy) Tom Shaw-Mellors, and the founder and chief Mike Dussault. I appreciate you all!

And so, another combine has wrapped up, pro days on the horizon, but many of us are still chewing over the tape, reading the statistics, and checking the interwebs for highlight reels in order to get our draft prospect fix. 

Now, I know many may say that the combine is just a media event and the teams have no real value to it, and whilst that may be somewhat true, there is still plenty to champion, especially as a fan for the event that is held near St Elmo’s with its fabulous shrimp cocktail (as I have been told, I am yet to sample personally). 

The interviews and medicals are something that I have heard have value for the teams, and this makes complete sense, and the interviews are what the sports media roll up to Indianapolis to indulge in. 

But, the 50 hours of “on field” coverage is what the fans get when they turn on their televisions, and whilst that’s a lot for a small brain like mine to contend with, it is great to be able to find the player classes that you are most interested in, and spend some time doing that eyeball testing. 

I fully appreciate that the combine is only a sample of what these players can do, but for someone who doesn’t watch much college football, and has never been shy in admitting that I don’t, mostly for access reasons, having the opportunity to see these players “in the flesh” is definitely of an advantage. 

You can make reasonable assessments from an individual’s performance, and you can also make those “gut feeling” choices that may come back and severely bite you in the behind when the guys absolutely sucks, but hey that’s half the fun… Right?

I am rarely shy in admitting my draft crush (I am shy generally, but not when it comes to that!) and if you are a regular reader or listener of my work, you will be able to confirm as such. To me, a draft crush is that “gut feeling” one, not necessarily the sensible one, or the one that fits your team the best, it’s the one that you’re just like “Oh I want that guy!!”. 

It will not surprise you that my draft crushes are pretty much always tight ends, what can I say folks, I like to live up to the nicknames I have been given. 

However, the Patriots have significant needs, and the two that most of Patriots Nation agree with are offensive tackle and cornerback. 

The only thing is… free agency happens before the draft, and there appear to be a few rather decent names suddenly potentially available. Does that mean that with the number one pick in the 2023 NFL draft the Patriots may not need to take a tackle? 

Whilst there is a potential for that, and I am so looking forward to bringing you a bit of free agency fun soon, lack of depth at that position really hindered the Patriots in 2022, and so, even if it isn’t number 14, I am pretty darn certain we will be hearing “and the Patriots pick *insert name and collage* offensive tackle”. 

But to that end, I thought I’d give you a sneaky peak at the names of some of the top offensive tackle draft prospects, and how they faired at the combine, should you so fancy.

First off is the one who seems to have plenty of controversy around him, because of… an inch. Yes folks, Peter Skoronski has 32 1/4 inch arms which is, reportedly, short for a tackle. However, he is an exceptional player who lined up as a left tackle for three years at Northwestern. Rashawn Slater, who plays left tackle for the LA Chargers, has been proving this size “requirement” wrong for a season. And with the wealth of experience Skoronski has, it does feel a little crazy to miss on a proven quality player because of, about this ___________ much. 

For the sake of stats, I can advise the NFL has Skoronski running a 5.16 seconds 40 yard dash, bench press of 30 reps, a 34.5 inch vertical jump and a 7.8 second three cone drill. And from the notebook of one Clare “Clazzy Clare” Cooper, I can confirm: nice strong base, big guy, nice footwork on the fold block, versatile, NICE.

The next two prospects are both much larger athletes, but are a lot lighter on experience than Skoronski. 

Paris Johnson Jr of Ohio State comes in at 2 inches taller and with arms almost 4 inches longer, but with only one year experience at left tackle. Johnson didn’t undertake many of the drills at the combine, bench pressing 29 reps is pretty much all that I can report. 

Broderick Jones from Georgia drops size wise in between Skoronski and Johnson with 34 3/4 inch arms. His NFL combine results were a 4.97 seconds 40 yard dash (!) and a 30 inch vertical jump. The “Clazzy Clare” note book can confirm: Wave drill: wide base, legs wide – athletic – nice!, good feet, good athleticism. And my personal favourite: DISPATCHED the coach wearing the pad in the screen drill, threw that guy outta the club!

So there you have it you lovely lot, a sneaky glance at the combine! Keep your eyes on us for more content, and also listen out for a special episode of A Clare Perspective, a Patriots podcast that delves into a few behind-the-scenes bits of the NFL combine, coming soon!