Melvin Ingram, South Carolina: Ingram continues to impress NFL teams, and his combine workout will push him further north on draft boards. He ran under 4.7 seconds on his first attempt in the 40, which included a quick 10-yard split of 1.65 seconds. Ingram was near flawless in position drills. He displayed great lateral movement skills, lost almost no momentum changing direction and was always on balance. His hands violently struck the bags in defensive line drills and Ingram looked incredibly athletic during linebacker drills. Don't be surprised if Ingram breaks into the draft's first 12 picks.
Nick Perry, USC: Perry turned in a workout for the ages. He was fast, posting 40 times in the low 4.6-second range at 271 pounds. He was strong, completing 35 repetitions on the bench press. Perry was also explosive and touched 38.5 inches in the vertical jump. He later looked incredibly athletic in all position drills. Perry solidified himself as a first round pick. The question is how early will he be selected during the first 32 choices?
Whitney Mercilus, Illinois: Mercilus was fast, timing his 40s between 4.65 and 4.68 seconds. He looked very athletic in drills, displaying a lot of quickness and the ability to swiftly move in any direction of the field. Mercilus showed a terrific burst of speed and the ability to turn it on in one quick step, which has scouts thinking he can line up at defensive end or stand up over tackle as a rush linebacker.
Andre Branch, Clemson: Branch averaged 4.7 seconds on his 40 times to start off the day, including one of the quickest 10-yard splits of 1.61 seconds. He practiced to that speed during drills, displaying the ability to immediately change direction and quickly move laterally in bag drills. Branch also looked athletic when run through a battery of linebacker drills. He got depth on pass drops and showed the ability to run fast laterally as well as in a straight line.
Ingram appears to be out of reach for the Chargers, as many seem to believe he'll be selected at least six spots ahead of the 18th overall pick San Diego possesses. Mercilus and Perry look as though they'll be there at #18, however, and Branch is considered a second-round prospect.
Between Mercilus and Perry, I favor Perry because he proved himself against some of the better pass-protectors in the country, most notably Stanford left tackle Jonathan Martin. Mercilus put up great numbers last season, but he's considered a one-year wonder, since he recorded just two sacks prior to the 2011 season. Sports Illustrated's Don Banks said Mercilus may turn out to be this draft class's Jason Pierre-Paul, who had little production in college yet has now already developed into a top-five pass-rusher in the NFL. I don't see it, as Pierre-Paul dominated his competition as the junior college level before transferring to South Florida in 2009. Pierre-Paul is also a rare athletic freak that Mercilus is nowhere close to being.
Meanwhile, Pauline points out that Marshall's Vinny Curry ran very slow in the 40-yard dash:
Curry, one of the best pass rushers in the nation the past two years, struggled to run faster than 5.0 seconds in the 40.
This is also good news for the Chargers, because if they select an offensive lineman in the first round, Curry could very well still be there for them in the second round or beyond.
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