Prince Amukamara squashed a lot of bogus assumptions about his ability by testing well at the NFL Combine. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
If you were listening to Fox Sports Radio today, it seemed that every top-of-the-hour sports news headlines had a mention of Prince Amukamara running a 4.37 second 40 yard dash this morning at the NFL Combine. That was an unofficial time, mind you, and later was officially set at 4.42. It didn't matter, as these times wiped out the main concern of NFL scouts: lack of speed. Scouts obsessing over a busted play on a flea-flicker by Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon could finally breath a sigh of relief, as Amukamara erased their doubts. Amukamara looks to go early on draft day, possibly as a Top Ten draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys or Houston Texans. The Detroit Lions would love to reunite him with Ndamukong Suh, but it doesn't look like he'll still be available for the Lions #13 draft pick.
I-back Roy Helu had similar doubts coming into the combine, and likewise impressed scouts by posting back to back times of 4.43 and 4.42 in the 40 yard dash, good for sixth among running backs. More impressively, Helu topped the running backs in the 20-yard shuttle drill and 60-yard shuttle, and performed well enough in the other drills to get a "riser" mention from Sports Illustrated. I get the impression he could move up into the middle rounds of the draft.
Niles Paul didn't wow the scouts with his 4.51 time in the 40 yard dash at the draft. I wonder if he had another bet with Amukamara as to who was going to be faster in Indy. He did impress scouts with the bench press with 24 lifts at 225 pounds.
Dejon Gomes also answered any questions about his speed by posting an unofficial 4.47 second time in the 40 yard dash. He likely helped his draft status today. Eric Hagg, on the other hand, only recorded a 4.64 second time. That won't help him, though Hagg reported looked better in some of the drills.
Keith Williams reportedly tested ok, with decent times in the 40 yard dash. Cramps affected his bench press, limiting him to 23. Ricky Henry did not test well at all, earning a "bad impression" rating from the Sporting News.
As you might expect, results for kickers aren't really publicized, so we don't know what the scouts were evaluating Alex Henery on. Pierre Allen didn't test at the combine due to a calf injury.
This post was sponsored by the NFL Network. Watch NFL Scouting Combine coverage Feb 24 - Mar 1


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