Emmanuel Ogbah’s NFL Combine Performance Made Him Some Money

I’m not sure what you did last weekend, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t make as much cash as Emmanuel Ogbah did. Ogbah was one of the standouts of the NFL Combine over the weekend as Kyle B. highlighted here.

Here’s what Chase Goodbread of NFL.com had to say about the performance.

Oklahoma State DE Emmanuel Ogbah likely made himself some draft-day money Sunday with his combine performance, particularly given that the draft isn’t especially deep with pass rushers. He finished in the top three among all defensive linemen in several drills, including the 40-yard dash (4.63, 2nd), vertical jump (35.5, tied for 2nd) and broad jump (10-1, tied for 3rd).

What I found even more interesting is this piece from ESPN that said Ogbah could potentially be a linebacker in the NFL. A linebacker?!

We still feel his best fit is at defensive end, but he showed that he moves well enough to spot drop and line up as a 3-4 outside linebacker.

Of course those guys went on to say that they think Ogbah will still probably go in the second round which, uh, is not going to happen. Not after the 4.63 40 or the top three finishes in vertical and broad jump.

I get that workouts aren’t everything, but consider that Jadeveon Clowney ran a 4.53 a couple of years ago. Ogbah wasn’t too far off that which is insane. Although not everyone in impressed. Here’s what one NFC scout said on his draft report on NFL.com.

 “He’s stiff and upright so he has no counters as a rusher and then he doesn’t even play hard all the time. If you are going to be the hulk, then play hard all the time.”

Well OK than. But back to the money. Let’s say Ogbah was going to go around pick No. 30 before the weekend. That’s where a few places (including my employer) had him. And let’s say he jumped to No. 18 based on his workout (I’m just making up numbers obviously). Last year that was a difference of $1.4M. So again, I bet you didn’t make as much dough as Emmanuel Ogbah did over the weekend.