2017 Senior Bowl: Winners and losers from weigh-ins

How is it possible to win — or lose — weigh-ins?

Pretty easy, as it so happens.

When it comes to the NFL Draft, most teams have certain standards for every position. Exceed expectations on those standards and it can help your stock, while coming in below expectations can hurt it.

The most obvious one for the New York Giants is hands for wide receivers. If they Giants are going to draft a wideout, he is going to have big mitts. Hakeem Nicks and Odell Beckham Jr. both stand out with hand spans in excess of 10 inches. Ramses Bardens’ hands were even bigger, while even Sterling Shepard had 9³⁄₄ inch hands.

A prospects’ physical dimensions are hardly the be-all, end-all for prospects, otherwise it would have been Barden breaking Randy Moss’ records, not Beckham. However, rightly or wrongly, they do have an effect on draft stock. So let’s take a look at some of the biggest winners, and losers, from weigh-ins.

Winners

Julien Davenport (OT, Bucknell) - Not many knew who Davenport was coming in to today, but with 36-inch vines (er ... arms), and good-sized 10.5”-inch hands, scouts are paying attention now.

Dan Feeney (OG, Indiana) - Feeney seems locked in a battle with Forrest Lamp for the title of top guard in the draft, and in this first round he walks away the winner. Weighing in at 6-foot-4, 304 pounds, with 33 1/8-inch arms, and 10 ¹⁄₄-inch hands, he checked all the boxes.

Jeremy Sprinkle (TE, Arkansas) - Sprinkle will need to answer some serious questions from teams over the draft process, but he comes out a winner today. At 6-4 6/8 inches, 256 pounds, 34 1/8-inch arms, and 10 5/8-inch hands, he might have the best all-around measurements of the tight ends in attendance.

Michael Roberts (TE, Toledo) - Big hands? Roberts has got ‘em. His 11 5/8-inch mitts are just ginormous.

Tanoh Kpassagnon (DE, Villanova) - Kpassagnon checks all the boxes at defensive end. Measuring at 6-6 7/8-inches, 280 pounds, 34 7/8-inch arms, and with 10 7/8-inch hands, he will have scouts’ attention.

Haason Reddick (LB, Temple) - Reddick was considered small, perhaps in need of transitioning to strong safety. He showed up bigger than expected, measuring 6-1 1/2, 237 pounds, with 32 1/2-inch arms and 10 3/8-inch hands, he might be big enough for some teams to consider keeping as an edge rusher.

Losers

Antonio Garcia (OT, Troy) - Analysts had been expecting Garcia to measure longer than he did. At 298 pounds he is not only a bit light, but his 32 7/8-inch arms are disappointing. Though it needs to be noted that they are longer than future HOF OT Joe Thomas, and the same length as Jake Long’s, so the measurement is hardly disqualifying. Just disappointing.

Forrest Lamp (OG, Western Kentucky) - If there was any doubt that Lamp was going to be a guard at the next level, his 31 1/8-inch arms put that to rest. Lamp is a technician, but for many teams those arms will essentially rule him out of offensive tackle, however, he could be an excellent guard.

Gerald Everett (TE, Southern Alabama) - Coming in at just 6-2 6/8 inches, 227 pounds, and having just 8 ¹⁄₄ inch hands, Everett might start to be looked at as a wide receiver and not a tight end. He is going to have to show beyond a doubt that he is still able to block despite being the smallest TE on the property.

Donnel Pumphrey (RB, San Diego State) - There were serious questions regarding Pumphrey’s size coming in, and he did not answer them well. At just 5-8, 169 pounds and having 8 ¹⁄₄-inch hands, he might be off some teams’ boards. He is still one of the toughest runners you’re going to see, but he might just be too small.

Montravious Adams (DT, Auburn) - Short arms and small hands aren’t a good combination for a defender, and defensive tackle is no different. With 31 7/8-inch hands and 9 ¹⁄₄-inch hands, Adams’ measurements are disappointing.

Ben Boulware (ILB, Clemson) - Nobody thought Boulware would make waves as an athlete, but at 6-feet, 236 pounds, and just 30-inch arms, he is pretty undersized. He’s a great leader and always around the ball, however.

Corn Elder (CB, Miami) - More and more NFL defenses are looking for big, long corners to deal with bigger NFL receivers. That doesn’t bode well for Miami’s Corn Elder, who came in small at 5-10, 179 pounds, with 30 7/8-inch arms and 8 5/8-inch hands. Elder is a tough, physical corner, so he might have a home inside at slot.