Despite having several early round talents decide to stay for their senior year, Auburn will be sending an impressive contingent to this weekend’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Among the six-man party of former Tigers are QB Jarrett Stidham, WR’s Darius Slayton and Ryan Davis, DT Dontavious Russell, LB Deshaun Davis, and CB Jamel Dean. None of these guys are expected to be early round picks, but the Combine is a chance for them to impress scouts and build some momentum with the Draft just two weeks away. The Combine, which can be seen on the NFL Network, groups players by positions. Today, running backs, offensive lineman, and special teams are being evaluated. Tomorrow (3/2) will showcase the quarterbacks and wide receivers, and tight ends. Sunday is for defensive lineman and linebackers, and Monday is only defensive backs. SATURDAY: Jarrett Stidham, QB, 6’2” 215 lbs - Of all of the Auburn players in the Combine, Stidham probably has the most to gain. It was only 6-7 months ago he was thought of as a first round shoo-in, but after a rough junior year behind a bad offensive line, Stidham is looking like a mid round guy right now. There’s never been any question of his arm talent (I’ve never seen prettier deep balls in JHS), but his decisions under pressure drew a lot of ill reviews last year. In a pristine situation like this, Stidham should be able to shine. Darius Slayton, WR, 6’2” 190 lbs - Size? Check. Speed? Big check. Hands? Eh, maybe not so much. Slayton was a monster for Auburn the last two years as a deep threat. Despite being overshadowed in the speed department by all-world sprinter Anthony Schwartz, make no mistake about it - Slayton can fly. He’s got the skill set so many scouts crave, and the Combine will be a chance to show off his speed. A sub 4.45 40-time could help him earn a nice paycheck come Draft day, but he will also have to show he’s become more reliable on intermediate routes to be any more than a mid-late round flyer. Ryan Davis, WR, 5’9” 185 lbs - The opposite of Slayton, Ryan Davis comes out of Auburn as a do-it-all slot receiver. He’s not going to beat anyone deep, and at his size, he’s going to have to rely on route running to get open. He has shown above average vision with the ball and solid hands, which will have to be a calling card for him in the League. If Davis can impress in the 3 cone drill with his agility, in might make a few scouts more comfortable with his athletic skill set, but Davis is has his work cut out for him in getting drafted. Sunday: Dontavious Russell, DT, 6’3” 320 lbs - The four year starter at defensive tackle has found himself in a tough position as he prepares for the Draft: how do you show off your NFL talent when your main job is to create opportunities for others? Russell is as big and strong as they come, which meant he was often the target of double teams in the middle of the line. He was never a stat sheet stuffer, and his highlights reel is pretty short if you’re the Sportscenter type. He might be the first Tiger picked come Draft day, though, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Russell play a long time in the NFL. Explosiveness has been a question mark for him, so a good score on the jumps would help his stock. Deshaun Davis, LB, 5’11”, 245 lbs - Probably the most important player on the defense last year, Davis’s presence will be sorely missed next year. Coming in under six feet, he already carries the “undersized” label. Despite that, Davis was as productive as any linebacker in the SEC throughout his career, and has shown time and time again that his awareness of the game helps him put himself in position to make plays he shouldn’t otherwise be able to make. Unfortunately, that doesn’t show up at the Combine (outside of the interviews, which are... bleh). Davis won’t be an early round selection, but a decent enough Combine might make him the first Auburn linebacker drafted in over a decade. Monday: Jamel Dean, CB, 6’2” 208 lbs - How’d those medical evaluations work out for ya, Ohio State? After being told by Ohio State he wouldn’t qualify due to medical reasons, Dean was a steadying force in the secondary for Auburn the last two seasons, first pairing with Carlton Davis then taking over for the now-Buccaneer this past season. Dean has the size to match up well with NFL receivers, but he’ll have to go to a team that wants him to play more of a press coverage.<doc-sep>The NFL Combine is one of those mental tests of patience for the few hundred players in Indianapolis this week. There are early wake-up calls, long lines at medical tests on top of the stress that comes with a public job interview. Former Auburn cornerback Jamel Dean, however, was loving it. “It’s a wild experience for me,” he said with wide eyes Sunday. “This is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid. Now I’m actually living it.” The age of televised NFL Combines lined up perfectly with Dean’s rise in the game. After opting to leave a season early for the big leagues, a date with Indianapolis was set. “Yeah, I grew up watching the Combine because I was always a fast guy,” Dean said, “and I wanted to see what a fast 40 looked like.” The target is a low 4.3 in the sprint he’s been mentally repping his whole life. With the national TV cameras and all 32 NFL teams watching every step, there’s some pressure involved. “I’m going to be nervous at first,” Dean said. “But once I start getting in my rhythm of my warm up routine, man, it will be like I’m just out here competing.” The 40 he remembers best was former LSU defensive back Patrick Peterson’s in 2011. The former Tiger clocked a 4.34 weighing 220 pounds. “I’m going to try and get it,” said the 206-pound Dean. It’s that speed that give him a shot at climbing the draft boards this week. With a good showing Monday in the drills, Dean said he can climb to the second or third round. CBS Sports ranks Dean No. 14 among cornerbacks in the draft “He could be a guy after workouts who moves up a little bit,” ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said last week on a conference call with reporters. “I think workouts, with him, could be something that elevates his draft rating.”<doc-sep>
Amid the hustle of the NFL Combine, Deshaun Davis sat in the interview room with a special new necklace. The gold chain sitting on his chest has a photo of his great grandmother, Mildred Moore, who passed away a few years ago. “I always keep her with me,” the former Auburn linebacker said. “She practically helped raise me. I’m just making sure she lives on through me.” It’s that motivation that helps the Prichard product through the taxing NFL draft process. At 5-foot-11, 234 pound, Davis knows he’s a prospect who “float under the radar” leading up to next month’s draft. A first-team All-SEC performer who made 116 tackles as a senior, Davis started three years at Auburn. “I had a lot of production in college,” Davis said. “I feel like I’m a pretty good player and I’m here to show I’m one of those top guys. I want to be one of the top guys in each and every category. That’s what I train to do and that’s I’m going to do.” His argument to NFL teams is simple. “It’s my production. Period,” Davis said. “Of course, game tape. I produced well. I know it’s a different type of level but it’s still football. I’m just going to be who I am.” Games against LSU (career-high 13 tackles) and Georgia (10 tackles) were games Davis hopes NFL teams watch closely. The on-field workouts come Sunday but Davis thinks the process behind closed doors is going well to this point. “I’ve been blowing away my interviews,” Davis said. “That’s one thing I’m not worried about.” Teams want to know about his IQ for the game and how he controlled the defense at Auburn. Scouts and coaches want to see how he diagrams plays on the board “and I’ve been dominating that,” he said. As far as draft stock goes, Davis is hearing a wide range. It spans from the third round to the sixth. It’s all about perspective there. “I tell people all the time, there are going to be some people who go undrafted that go to the Pro Bowl out of this class,” Davis said. “There are going to be some guys in this class who go in the first round who will be out of the league in the first two or three years. The NFL is an individual-based performance business. When you get in, you just have to handle your business. You do your thing, you can stay around as long as you want to.”