NFL Combine Friday Notepad: Starting QBs discuss their visit with the Raiders

Indianapolis, Indiana — During Friday’s NFL Combine session, the quarterbacks addressed the media from a podium as the defensive backs and tight ends worked out on the field. Given that the majority of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s NFL Draft class have visited with the Raiders, it should come as no surprise that the Raiders are researching the quarterback class carefully.

A few observations and the day’s highlights are listed here.

quarterbacks
Caleb Williams, the quarterback for USC, is approaching his medical evaluation for the draft in a different way. Only the teams Williams is meeting with throughout this process will have access to his medical records, rather than taking a physical in Indianapolis that will be accessible to all teams.

“I will be handling the medical matters; I’m just not going to be in Indianapolis. “I will be executing it during the team interviews,” declared the 2022 Heisman Trophy victor. “You know, I’m not draftable by 32 teams. Me, alone among the others. Therefore, the medical [information] will be available to the teams I visit, and that’s all.

Williams is thought to be the only player in the history of the combine to choose not to have their medicals taken, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. He didn’t really respond to questions about why he wasn’t attending as many events as possible during the event, other than to say that his team and family had made that decision.

In the videos below, Williams also discusses meeting with teams, his size, and a few other subjects.

Jayden Daniels took the podium as well and discussed his encounter with the Silver and Black. He already has a relationship with Antonio Pierce, as has been widely reported, since the two were roommates at Arizona State. Daniels talked about getting back in touch with Pierce and gave some insight into his running quarterback playbook.

It appears that the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner would like to collaborate with his former coach in Las Vegas once more.

J.J. McCarthy disclosed a relationship with the Raiders coaching staff during his discussion of his meeting with them. At Virginia Wesleyan in 2009, Kirk Campbell, the current offensive coordinator at Michigan and the team’s quarterback coach from the previous season, collaborated with the new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. That provided a point of agreement between Getsy and McCarthy and may aid in Las Vegas’ assessment of the quarterback because Campbell has seen him perform every day.

Thursday’s NFL Combine notebook: Terrion Arnold makes eye contact with Antonio Pierce
The National Championship champion also stated that he will throw during Saturday’s sessions, but because of a tight hamstring, he will not be participating in the speed and agility tests or the jumps.

As per the Friday notebook’s theme, Michael Penix Jr. also met with Las Vegas. When asked how his talks with the team went, the Washington quarterback expressed his admiration for Pierce, something that many other players have also said.

Penix Jr. also stated he will throw on Saturday, but he isn’t sure if he would take part in the other drills or not. He also shared some thoughts on how he processes information mentally and what it was like to play with a lot of NFL talent the previous two seasons.

Drake Maye also visited with Las Vegas, and Maye had nothing but positive things to say about Pierce. Marcus Johnson of Silver and Black Pride went into further detail in the piece that follows.

LINKED

Raiders 2024 scouting combine: Las Vegas completing QB class assignment
At the platform, the North Carolina product demonstrated a high level of maturity by discussing his experiences as a rookie and playing for a club that was rebuilding.

Unfortunately, I was unable to spend much time at Bo Nix’s news conference because Daniels, McCarthy, and Nix were all speaking at the same time. I arrived at his podium precisely at the end of the question period, but following is a summary of some other people’s favorite moments from the former Duck’s media appearances.

Drawbacks
As I wrote on Thursday, the press conferences for starting cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Kool-Aid McKinstry were postponed. This happened after the players’ physical examinations. It was disclosed that McKinstry has a Jones fracture in his foot, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. He will test at Alabama’s pro day instead of working out on Friday night in order to get his foot healed. Mitchell hasn’t been heard from yet, but he did take part in the combine workout.

Quinyon Mitchell continues to improve his draft value during the workouts following a successful Senior Bowl. With a 40-yard timing of 4.33 seconds, he was the second-fastest cornerback among the group. In the untimed drills, he had remarkable hip fluidity and direction-changing abilities… Mitchell consistently stood out and made the proceedings seem simple, solidifying his place among the best corners in this draft class.

Max Melton of Rutgers was an unsung hero cornerback who had a great workout. With a 40.5-inch vertical and an 11’4” wide leap out of the building, he scored a 4.39 40-time, placing him in the top 10 at the position. Those numbers were tied for first place. Melton is currently predicted as a third-round pick, so pay attention to him during this process.

With a time of 4.50 seconds for a bigger corner, Cam Hart didn’t exactly wow the crowd. In addition, he had excellent measurements and a few solid jumps to post a

In regards to a number of guys I recently profiled, Nate Wiggins ran the position group’s quickest 40-time (4.29), but he withdrew due to an injury and was unable to continue running for the remainder of the day. Terrion Arnold looked good and fluid in the position-specific exercises, but he wasn’t very spectacular in the measured events.