Gimme Five!

We love the NFL Scouting Combine for two reasons: It's a great chance to see guys you don't see alot of during the regular season (I'm talking about you Lawrence Sidbury of Richmond), and it also helps you make up your mind when rating extremely similar players. Case in point - Brian Orakpo really separated himself from those pesky "tweeners" at DE that project as OLB's in the pros - including Penn State's Aaron Maybin and FSU's Everette Brown. Now that the combine is finished, we've completed our intial ratings and posted our top five at each position on the right side of your screen. Feel free to chime in on any discrepancies and injustices. We're game to argue, er, state our case. The ratings are a bit fluid as we continue watching tape of the hundreds of pro prospects, but usually the end result is pretty close to what's there now.

See Spot Run

The offensive players have run the 40 yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, and Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey gets the early nod as fastest available player with a 4.30 time. There were a few unofficial sub-4.3 times, but according to the NFL's official measurments, 4.3 was the fastest. An interesting note - one of the knocks on Heyward-Bey wsa his ability to separate. For now that 4.30 time should put some naysayers to rest. By the way - we here at Draft IQ think 40 times are completely overrated. Players don't run them in pads for one - and the list of top NFL guys with poor 40 times is a long one. Anquan Boldin ran in the 4.7 range. Brandon Marshall a 4.6. Jerry Rice - also in the 4.7's. It is entertaining to see five NFL Network analysts break down 40 yard dashes for hours on end. Welcome to the combine!