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2019 NFL Combine: 10 players who bombed

By Joe Romano

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 03: Defensive lineman Jachai Polite of Florida runs the 40-yard dash during day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 03: Defensive lineman Jachai Polite of Florida runs the 40-yard dash during day four of the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 3, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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GAINESVILLE, FL – NOVEMBER 10: Florida Gators defensive lineman Jachai Polite (99) sheds a block during the game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Florida Gators on November 10, 2018 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field in Gainesville, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL – NOVEMBER 10: Florida Gators defensive lineman Jachai Polite (99) sheds a block during the game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Florida Gators on November 10, 2018 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field in Gainesville, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Jachai Polite, EDGE, Florida

Coming into NFL Combine weekend, Jachai Polite was getting hype as the top of the second tier of edge rushers. He was considered an elite pass rusher who was going to end up a first round pick in April’s draft. This was all despite some poor film from 2017. Scouts saw the improvement to 2018 and pegged Polite as a player on the rise with his best football ahead of him. This weekend’s performance did not undo all of that but it certainly has scouts rethinking if 2018 was more of a fluke than they thought.

One of the big reasons Polite’s combine was so bad was that on tape he looks like a very good athlete with an elite first step and unnatural bend to dip under offensive tackles. That did not translate on the field though. Polite had the third worst 40 time of any edge rusher, despite being one of the lightest of the bunch at 258 pounds. The only other drill Polite performed was the vertical jump where his 32 inches was the fifth worst for the edge group.

Now Polite did pull himself from other drill stating he had been dealing with a hamstring injury for the last ten days or so. Scouts will get another look at him on the field at Florida’s pro day where he should improve on those numbers.

In the end though scouts would look past those terrible numbers for most players. What really has the NFL abuzz about Polite is his interviews. He was quoted saying that most teams “bashed” him during those interviews. While that may be true, it is odd to hear a prospect speak like that about the teams interviewing him. Normally it is cookie cutter answers as to not ruffle feathers. There have been rumblings that Polite has a poor attitude/work ethic and this weekend only highlighted that.

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