NFL combine: Orlando Brown’s historically bad day

The opportunity to draft Oklahoma tackle Orlando Brown arguably didn’t exist for the Seattle Seahawks prior to Friday. After Brown’s performance at the combine in Indianapolis, however, the question instead is: Why would they draft him?

Brown had been pegged as one of the first offensive linemen off the board in most mock drafts, with WalterFootball slotting him at 16 in their latest, and same goes for Mel Kiper. Brown has size that’s hard to find (6’8, 345 lbs, 85” wingspan) but perhaps it’s the size that’s worked against him, having an unbelievable showing that is going to be remembered for years. If Brown succeeds in the NFL, it will be a blow to the validity of any of these tests. If he doesn’t, well, at least it won’t cost a team a first round pick.

In the 40-yard dash, Brown ran a 5.86 and 5.77.

The slowest tackle last year was Jerry Ugokwe, who ran a 5.61. This is .25 seconds slower than that and Ugokwe went undrafted and didn’t play in 2017. Justin Senior, a sixth round pick by the Seahawks, ran a 5.55, and that was second-slowest.

But that’s not all.

Brown also did 14 reps on the bench, a mark worse than all the linemen in 2017. He had a 19.5” vertical, a leap lower than every player in 2017.

Then his broad jump — a workout that typically at its worst finds players in the 8-foot range — saw Brown hit just 6’10.

Consider an offensive line combine star on Friday and you’ll find UCLA’s Kolton Miller:

• 10’1 broad (record for offensive line), 31.5” vertical, 4.91/4.98 40-yard dash, and Miller checks in at a massive 6’9.

You couldn’t compete and do worse than Brown, whose TEF score (trench explosion formula, created by Rob Staton to measure a lineman’s size/strength/speed combo) when released, will bring us into new territory with prospects. Does that mean Brown will fall out of the first round? Or perhaps out of day two entirely? Or will teams ignore the measurables and focus instead on his three years at Oklahoma, including protecting Baker Mayfield?

I doubt they’ll ignore the measurables when they’re that bad. Does that make him a fit for Seattle? If he’s falling down the board because he can’t leap, run, or bench, then why should the Seahawks be the ones to take the bullet?