National Football League

Saturday's top 5 Combine performers

Published Feb. 26, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Saturday marked the first day of workouts during the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine. Players were weighed and measured and lifted weights prior to the workouts.

The workouts include a series of agility and speed drills including the 40-yard dash, short shuttle run, three-cone drill, broad jump and vertical jump.

Here’s a look at the best performances of the day.

Top Five Performances

1) Virgil Green/TE/Nevada — Green, who has excellent size for a tight end (6’3 3/8”, 249), looked extremely athletic during his workout, NFL Films’ Greg Cosell told FOXSports.com. Green, who is known in scouting circles as a very fluid athlete, posted a solid 40-yard dash time (4.64) and an amazing vertical jump (42” ½). Personnel sources equate the vertical jump with lower body explosion. Green was thought to be a fourth- or fifth-round pick coming into the Combine, but Saturday’s workout might have pushed him up a bit.

2) Rodney Hudson/G-C/Florida State — The interior offensive lineman weighed in at 299, which is important. Hudson, whom personnel sources project to play center in the NFL, needs to keep his weight up. But most importantly, he looked very athletic during his workout, scouting sources said. Hudson is thought to be a rock-solid second-round pick.

3) Ryan Bartholomew/C/Syracuse — He posted the best bench press (34) of all players Saturday. He also posted the best 20-yard shuttle time of any offensive lineman. The short shuttle time is very important because it shows short area quickness for offensive linemen. The 40-yard dash time, however, is basically irrelevant for linemen because that only measures how fast you can run downfield in a straight line.

4) Rob Housler/TE/Florida Atlantic — The relative unknown, much like Western Oregon’s Kevin Boss during the 2007 NFL Combine, opened some eyes with his workout. Housler ran a very solid 4.55 in the 40-yard dash (best of any tight end) along with a very solid three-cone drill time (6.90, tied for fourth in tight ends). Because of how many teams use tight ends as a vertical threat these days, Housler will force teams to watch his game tape again to see whether his timed speed matches up to what they viewed on film.

5) Jordan Cameron/TE/USC — Cameron posted the second-best 40-yard dash time for tight ends (4.59) and best three-cone time (6.82) at the position. Cameron, who has excellent size (6’5 1/8”, 254), only played tight end during his senior season. He played wide receiver in previous seasons. He also played college basketball. Because of his lack of experience at tight end, he’ll have to be brought along slowly at the NFL level.