Maryland football players at NFL Draft Combine: Viral Tai Felton, a familiar face wins and an underrated guy
Maryland football sent five prospects to the NFL Draft Combine over the weekend, highlighted by Tai Felton's impressive numbers and viral flip. Here's how the Terps' NFL prospects performed.
Maryland football sent five prospects to the NFL Draft Combine over the weekend, highlighted by Tai Felton's impressive numbers and viral flip. Here's how the Terps' NFL hopefuls fared in Indianapolis.
Felton, Maryland's highest-rated Draft prospect, ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash, tying for sixth among receivers. He finished in the top six in the shuttle, vertical (fourth at 39.5 inches) and broad jump (10'10). Felton measured 6-1 and 183 pounds, with 30-inch arms and nine-inch hands. The consensus for Felton is the third or fourth round.
Maryland's offense was more predicated on getting the ball to Felton than it's been on any other individual in recent seasons. Despite the Terps' struggles overall in a 4-8 season, Felton was prolific, breaking several school records. But his high usage has brought questions.
NFL.com's Lance Zierlien wrote:
"Tall, slender wideout who's impressive 2024 production appears to be more a function of target volume than projectable talent. Felton is a linear route runner who will struggle with tight press and physical man coverage inside the route. He can build speed inside long strides and has proven he can make tacklers miss, creating chunk plays on possession throws. He lacks functional strength and rarely owns the catch space when contested. Felton has backup potential, but he could compete for a role as a gunner early on."
Evan Lazar of NFL.com is higher on Felton. He wrote:
"Maryland WR Tai Felton is someone we'll dig deeper into after posting an elite 9.60 RAS with a 4.37s 40-yard dash and a max speed of 23.43 MPH in the 40, third among WRs. Felton separates well on film, and his on-field work confirmed his burst through the top of his routes. He made a case to be a late day-two pick with a strong showing in Indy.
He also went viral after showing off his athleticism spot-drills.
Among the other Maryland prospects, defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote has been underrated, but he was a consistent force during the second half of the season. He showed off good speed for his size at 6-5 and 306 pounds, tying for ninth among tackles with a 5.01 40 time.
San Francisco 49ers beat writer Jason Aponte mentioned Akingbesote and Maryland product Sam Okuayinonu on X:
"Just ran into Tommy Akingbesote DT from Maryland, who confirmed he met with the #49ers (and the other 31 teams, FWIW) before mentioning Sammy O) as a big influence and mentor since they are both Maryland boys," he wrote.
Fellow defensive tackle Jordan Phillips showed some agility by finishing fourth among tackles in the 20-yard shuttle (4.65 seconds). But Phillips's brute strength is what could make him a middle-rounder or higher. He was first among defensive tackles with 29 reps on the bench. It was also the third-highest rep total at the combine, with a familiar face winning that category: former Maryland tight end CJ Dippre (Alabama), who did 32 reps.
Safety Dante Trader also opened some eyes.
Receiver Kaden Prather ran a 4.46 40, an excellent time for a receiver his size. He measured 6-3.5 and 204 pounds, prortypical size for a big receiver. He looks like he has a chance to rise into the middle rounds.
