2019 NFL Combine: 10 players who showed out

By Joe Romano | Mar 5, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 03: NFL Network host Rich Eisen runs the 40-yard dash to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 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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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 03: Defensive lineman Montez Sweat of Mississippi State 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) /

Montez Sweat, EDGE, Mississippi State

Sticking in the state of Mississippi but going to the defensive side of the ball for this next player. Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat was a Senior Bowl participant who was considered a winner of the week in Mobile. He continued to rise up draft boards with his performance at the combine.

Sweat is a 6-foot-6, 260-pound pass rusher who can win with speed and power on tape. He features an array of pass rushing moves that led him to be one of the most feared quarterback hunters in the SEC during his tenure with the Bulldogs.

The 260-pound defensive lineman clocked in with a 4.41 40-yard dash, best among all defensive lineman there. To put that into perspective, he ran faster than Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham. He is the fastest defensive lineman at the combine since 2006.

He was not just a straight line speed athlete though like Metcalf. Sweat posted elite scores across the board. His spider chart that lists his combine results can be found here via MockDraftable. This shows that Sweat is an elite athlete at every phase of the combine. He finished better than the 80th percentile in every movement drill.

Where Sweat did not max out the spider graph is with the bench press. His 21 reps is respectable enough for a guy that wins with speed more than power and should not knock him. However with his near 36 inch arms, a low bench press total was to be expected.

Sweat is climbing draft boards as he continues to dominate the pre-draft news cycle. There were some coming out of the Senior Bowl saying he had “top-10 hype”. He did nothing but push that narrative more with his impressive performance in Indianapolis.

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