It's NFL Draft time, bros!
Last year, I had lots of stuff to write about in my ongoing "NFL Drafka" coverage, as we saw three players get selected on the second day of the draft - Mike Kafka, Corey Wootton, and Sherrick McManis - all of 'em sticking with their NFL teams. This year, it's a little bit more tenuous: NU doesn't really have a prospect that stands out as a lock for the NFL, in fact, there's only two guys that are really getting any consideration.
One of those two is outside linebacker Quentin Davie. Despite what some might have seen as a shaky senior year, he's got some things which really stand out to pro scouts as a linebacker, that is, he's 6-foot-4 and speedy. However, Davie didn't earn an invite to the NFL Combine and is going to have to hope for everything to fall in his place on the third day of the draft to get a selection.
He also apparently got married this past weekend, so, you know, congrats, bro! But obviously, we're cold-hearted bastards that only care about football and taking interest in athletes as human beings, so until they find a way to quantify various marriage-related stats at wedding combines (ring size?), let's focus on his chances of getting picked this week.
Jump it!
QD's best aspects are some of his pure physical attributes: despite not getting a combine look, he impressed at Northwestern's pro day, according to Tony Pauline writing for SI.com.
Eyebrows were raised when Northwestern linebacker Quentin Davie did not receive an invitation to the combine; he showed Tuesday why someone made a mistake.
The 6-foot-4 Davie, who tipped the scales at 232 pounds, posted 40 times as fast as 4.68 seconds and a vertical jump of 35 inches. The 40 time was faster than all but six linebackers who ran at the combine while the vertical jump was surpassed by just five in Indianapolis. Davie, who can be used at a variety of linebacker positions, has likely secured a spot for himself in the late rounds.
However, that's a very optimistic view. I haven't found a draft site that doesn't list Quentin in the 7th round-undrafted category. Some of the aspects every scouting report says don't flal in his favor are his seeming inability to diagnose plays and his physical strength/tackling ability - those of us who saw NU play last season are aware of the defense-wide struggles in letting running backs get a few extra yards after the initial hit, and Davie wasn't innocent in that department.
But that doesn't mean he hasn't been getting concrete looks. He was a player on the "The Nation" side of things in the NFLPA's (if that organization still, you know, exists) Texas vs. the Nation game, and this past week, he had a workout with his hometown St. Louis Rams. That workout probably won't mean a huge deal - teams love looking at local guys before the draft, what up, C.J. Bacher's two weeks on the Chicago Bears - but it could be a great sign for Davie should he go undrafted. If the Rams are looking for extra bodies to keep on the roster/practice squad, I wouldn't be surprised if they looked to the hometown boy to fill up a spot and maybe he'll potentially squeeze his way onto the active roster.
So, overall, Davie isn't a lock to get drafted - far from it - but his size and speed guarantee that he'll at least get a look, hopefully somebody takes a flier on him in the draft's later rounds.