The Jacksonville Jaguars have made no secret that they want to add to their cornerback room. New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen hinted at the need in his introductory press conference and general manager Trent Baalke was much less subtle when he said it’s “a group we need to address.”
Thus, there are plenty of cornerbacks — like Alabama’s Terrion Arnold, Clemson’s Nate Wiggins, and Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell — who could end up being the No. 17 overall pick in April. And all of those players were on display Friday at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
The Jaguars seem less inclined to add a tight end to their roster, but that position competed Friday as well. Here are six players who stood out in Day 2 at the combine:
Clemson CB Nate Wiggins
Oh my, Nate Wiggins. 4.29u. Wow.
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sgCVDjfADE— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2024
There’s never a shortage of speed when defensive backs hit the field at the combine, but any time someone runs the 40 in less than 4.3 seconds, eyebrows get raised. Wiggins wowed with a 4.28 before a hip flexor injury ended his day. Regardless, it was mission accomplished for the Clemson cornerback.
Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell
Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell "has another gear that not many people have," according to @MoveTheSticks.
Mitchell reached the two fastest speeds by any cornerback during the back pedal and transition 45 degree reaction drill (20.87 & 21.27 mph).#NFLCombine x @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/LH6OUl7q4Q
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 1, 2024
At this point, it seems like the Jaguars may not even have a chance to draft Mitchell if they sit back at No. 17 overall. The Toledo cornerback put up good numbers across the board in Indianapolis with a 4.33 40, a 38-inch vertical, and elite speed through positional drills.
Texas Tech S Tyler Owens
The second-best broad jump in Combine history.
12'2" for @TexasTechFB DB Tyler Owens. 🫢
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/3S5Zrdyyb3— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2024
Owens had people scratching their heads Thursday when he told reporters he doesn’t believe in space or “other planets.” But he quickly turned the conversation around by nearly jumping out of Earth’s atmosphere Friday. His broad jump was just an inch short of the NFL combine record (which is also an unofficial world record) set by Byron Jones nearly a decade ago. While a hamstring tweak kept him from running the 40, Owens showed off his explosiveness.
Texas CB Ryan Watts
With the help of player tracking data, it is possible to measure how well a player maintains their speed while tracking the ball.
The heaviest cornerback in this year's class, Ryan Watts, reached a top speed over a full mile per hour faster than the next closest CB (19.89 mph). pic.twitter.com/997Twv8bIM
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) March 1, 2024
Watts is not a small cornerback at 6’3, 208 pounds, but he still managed to record a 40.5-inch vertical jump. While his 4.53 40-yard dash wasn’t very special, he showed plenty of functional speed when he blazed through the gauntlet drill and was the only defensive back to top 19 miles per hour.
Rutgers CB Max Melton
.@RFootball DB Max Melton's day so far:
– 4.39u 40
– 11'4"u broad
– 40.5"u vertical📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/BE3b5TSLo4— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2024
Melton isn’t the biggest at 5’11, 187, but he put up great numbers in all the major drills Friday. His 40 time was sixth among cornerbacks, his vertical was fourth, and his broad jump was second among all players behind only the aforementioned Owens.
Penn State TE Theo Johnson
Theo Johnson is a TE prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored an unofficial 10.00 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 1105 TE from 1987 to 2024.
Splits projected, note that I don't expect this to stand as a new 10.00 after officialhttps://t.co/HuWxnxJn85 pic.twitter.com/IlSgFxSVYP
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 2, 2024
Johnson, a former teammate of Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange, put together an absurd combine. His 4.58 40 and 39.5-inch vertical may not jump off the page for many of the players who competed Friday, but those are ridiculous numbers when you consider that Johnson is 6’6, 259 pounds.
