Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune is not so enthralled with this class of defensive backs. In wrapping up the combine, Pompei put together a list of how several DBs fared at the combine.
USC S Kevin Ellison. A 4.88 40-yard dash will not help his cause
Ouch. Quite a few defensive ends ran significantly quicker than that. Hell, 288 pound freak-of-nature Jarron Gilbert beat that by a hundredth of a second. Not every DB was a disappointment, however:
Notre Dame S David Bruton. He was easily the best testing safety with a 10.96 60-yard shuttle and an 11-foot broad jump (both tops at his position), a 41.5-inch vertical jump and a 6.60 three-cone drill (both of which tied for best among safeties) and a 4.46 40-yard dash. No one expected that from Bruton.
While many feel that Patrick Chung will be the choice, Bruton also performs admirably on the Ruskell-lic Test. He racked up 94 tackles and 4 picks last year, as well as 84 and 3 in 2007. He wore a C on his chest and did so at Notre Dame. One of the areas Bruton falls short in is team success, but the ND team is a trainwreck and the Hawks did draft John Carlson last year. Odds are he doesn't end up a Seahawk, but he's just another guy to follow as we drag slowly toward the draft.