After Jeff Okudah landed awkwardly and took a hit to the head/neck area during a position drill at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday, no one would have blamed him if he decided to call it a day.
Okudah wanted to make his mark on the combine, though, so while he was convinced to sit out the rest of the cornerback drills after the injury scare, he still went on to participate in the vertical and broad jumps – and he made that decision pay off.
The former Ohio State cornerback posted a 41-inch vertical jump and an 11-foot-3 broad jump, which were the best marks among all cornerbacks in both drills.
.@JeffOkudah has a 41" vertical
— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2020
: #NFLCombine on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/vELZN8eSCi
Okudah really didn't need to do anything at the combine to bolster his draft stock, as he was already considered to be the No. 1 cornerback in the 2020 NFL draft class and is projected by many to be a top-five overall pick. But after watching cornerbacks like Patrick Peterson and Jalen Ramsey – who were both No. 5 overall picks – put up huge numbers at their own combines, Okudah was motivated to do the same.
“I watched Jalen Ramsey's combine video, Patrick Peterson's combine video. I want someone down the road to say 'Let me turn on Jeff Okudah's combine video,'” Okudah said during his interview session at the combine on Friday.
Okudah’s jump numbers were nearly identical to those of Ramsey, who had a 41.5-inch vertical and 11-foot-3 broad at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine, and better than those of Peterson (38-inch vertical, 10-foot-6 broad).
Okudah didn’t run quite as fast as Peterson (4.34) and Ramsey (4.41) in the 40-yard dash, posting a time of 4.48 seconds that tied for the 12th-fastest time among 28 cornerbacks who ran on Sunday. That’s still a good-enough time for a 6-foot-1, 205-pound cornerback, though, and Okudah excelled in everything else – including position drills – where he showcased his fluid hips and quick feet before getting his bell rung.
Hips hands! @jeffokudah smoooooooth
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 1, 2020
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Had Okudah made the decision on his own, he likely would have continued participating in cornerback drills even after the awkward landing. But legendary NFL cornerback Deion Sanders, who was on the field as an analyst for NFL Network, convinced him to avoid risking further injury.
“I literally had to talk him out of continuing, and I did it for a purpose: He has nothing to gain at this point,” Sanders said on NFL Network. “He’s like, ‘Prime, I’m a dog’ … ‘Dude, you got a mild concussion over there, what if you just hit your durn head, man. You’re the No. 1 corner off the board. No one’s close.’ But he wanted to compete. I’m like, ‘Hey, come on man, think about business.’ But this guy is a dog. He really wanted to go back out there.”
Regardless, Okudah did more than enough to demonstrate why he’s one of the top prospects in this year’s NFL draft – and most importantly, he avoided significant injury, which was just about the only thing that would have really changed his draft stock on Sunday.
Were All Good Over Here! pic.twitter.com/CV5dRISNXg
— Jeff Okudah (@jeffokudah) March 1, 2020
Fellow former Ohio State defensive backs Damon Arnette and Jordan Fuller also worked out at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday. Both of them ran subpar 40 times for defensive backs; Arnette’s official time of 4.56 seconds ranked 22nd out of the 28 cornerbacks who ran on Sunday, while Fuller’s official time of 4.67 seconds was the third-slowest among all defensive backs who ran.
That said, both defensive backs were able to impress with their movement skills in defensive back drills – Fuller, in particular, looked smooth going through safety drills – while Fuller also posted a 35.5-inch vertical jump (tied for ninth among safeties), a 10-foot-2 broad jump (tied for 13th among safeties) and a 4.27-second 20-yard shuttle (fourth out of six safeties).
Changing his mentality. Changing the game @damon_arnette #GoBucks #DevelopedHere #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/AINZgCiwWX
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 1, 2020
That's our Renaissance Man @j_fuller4
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 1, 2020
Watch the #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork.#GoBucks #DevelopedHere #BIA pic.twitter.com/EVRgHpciH9
Sunday was the final day of the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine.
