Winners and Losers from the NFL Combine

Winner – Matt Judon

In an extremely deep and wildly talented group of defensive lineman, it can quite difficult for a player without that kind of hype from a Division-II school to stand out at the Combine. Among a group that includes a stunning 19 players graded as first or second-round talent, defensive end Matt Judon from Grand Valley State put on a good showing in front of scouts and coaches.

In 79 years of the NFL Draft, Grand Valley State has seen just seven players selected in the NFL Draft, but Judon is making a great case to be the eighth Laker player to hear his name called on draft day. The college numbers are ridiculous for Judon. In five years (he redshirted in 2010 as a freshman, and in 2013 after suffering a knee injury in the first game), he piled up 34 sacks and 51 tackles for loss, including leading the NCAA with 20 sacks in 2015, along with 23.5 TFL, three forced fumbles, and three recoveries. Those numbers do have to be taken with a great of salt, as they always do with Division-II players.

Judon backed up the on-field numbers with a strong showing at the Combine. Competing in the same group as Ohio State’s Joey Bosa and Oregon’s DeForest Bucker, two potential top-five picks, the 6’3″ and 275-pound Judon was able to stand out a bit as a player whose name isn’t well-known, but the talent should be. He’s got the size and the long arms (33.875 inches) that teams look for in a defensive end, and his drills were just as impressive.

In the bench press, he put up 225 pounds 30 times, and ran a 4.73 40-yard dash, both fifth-best among all defensive lineman. More importantly in the speed department for a defensive lineman, Judon showed good explosion off the line, posting 1.66 and 1.68 second 10-yard splits during the 40, two of the top-18 numbers out of the 114 runners. His vertical leap of 35 inches was tied for the fourth-best in the group.

Judon also presented himself well in the interviews, as a hard-working and level-headed young man determined to keep his football career alive, and showed good athleticism and awareness in the position drills. He isn’t going to be the most recognizable name, as a lot of his peers are on another level entirely, but his name should be heard come draft time.

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