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News And Notes From Friday At The 2019 NFL Combine

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Friday marked the first day of on-field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium, with the offensive lineman and running backs showcasing their skills in a variety of position specific drills for the 32 franchises. The quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends also took to the podium to speak with the media. Here are the news and nuggets from the day's events.

(All Combine statistics referenced are unofficial reports)

--Garrett Bradbury (NC State) posted the third fastest 40-yard dash time of all lineman. The 2018 Rimington Award winner (Top Center in college football) also benched 225-pounds 34 times, ranking second of all combine O-lineman. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah said post-workout that Bradbury is a "unique player because of his quickness and ability." Erik McCoy from Texas A&M also had a great showing after benching 225-pounds 29 times, which ranked sixth of all lineman, while also posting the fastest 40-yard dash time of all linemen. Alabama offensive lineman Jonah Williams showed his speed and elite quickness in drill work and the 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4, 314-pounds.

--The running backs also completed their on-field drills, as Miles Sanders out of Penn State showed smooth footwork and open field speed in on-field drills. Jeremiah says he's "all aboard the Miles Sanders express train. He's smooth and he's explosive...He caught the ball extremely well. You can't have a better day than what Miles Sanders did today." Justice Hill, the former Oklahoma State Cowboy, had about as an impressive day that you could have from a testing standpoint after he ran the fastest 40, registered the highest vertical jump, and longest broad jump.

--NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks told Redskins.com this week that the Redskins should be looking for some upgrades at the skill positions on offense. They have lots of options, especially as they get into the second and third rounds of the draft, at both wide receiver and tight end.

"There's not many wide receivers who are tier one that I would say are slam-dunk, blue-chip players that play wide receiver," Brooks cautioned. "But there are a number of what I would call playmakers, in the second or third round."

--That could include Ole Miss wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, who had viral acclaim recently when he posted an Instagram photo with Ole Miss teammate and fellow wide receiver A.J. Brown showing off their muscles. The most intriguing thing with him on Friday? Of all the 15-minute interviews, Metcalf said the Redskins were the team that stood out the most, primarily for their attention to detail when watching film. He loved getting feedback from head coach Jay Gruden as they watched his old games, specifically about getting in and out of breaks, and believes Gruden is a "perfectionist" when it comes to watching the tape.

--Tight end is also a position the Redskins could potentially address in the draft, as uncertainty looms for the group. Alabama's Irv Smith could be another dynamic pass-catcher that fits the Jordan Reed mold, and coincidentally he said Friday that he models his game after Washington's star tight end. He also appreciates that former teammates Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne have been able to do at the NFL level.

"They were great players at Alabama, and they had excellent seasons. So it just shows with preparation, and trying to be great, what you can do," Smith said. "I used to have to block Johnathan Allen a lot. It was tough, but it got me better for sure."

--Team President Bruce Allen mentioned that the Redskins had met with quarterback Kyler Murray this week, and was particularly impressed with his confidence, despite question marks about his height and ability to play at the pro level. Now that he's officially committed to football over baseball, the Redskins could be a suitor for his talents, but his draft stock will be pretty high.

"I've never been the biggest guy on the field. I'm always the smallest guy on the field," Murray said in front of the largest media crowd of the week. "I've said it multiple times, I feel like I'm the most impactful guy on the field. I'm the best player on the field at all times. That's just the confidence that I have in myself and that my teammates have in me. I've always had to play at this height. I don't know. Everyone's trying to make it out to be something, but I just have to go out there and play the game that I love."

--Another former Oklahoma playmaker under six feet tall, the 5-foot-10 Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, mentioned his playmaking ability speaks for itself: "Size doesn't bother me at all, I just let my play show."

--After throwing for 99 touchdowns in four seasons at Missouri, quarterback Drew Lock isn't putting fundamentals to the side through his draft process: "I'm just trying to be in base at all times. I'll throw off-platform, I'll throw off weird arm angles, that's what I do, I have that in my back pocket, but I'm always wanting to be in base at all times."

--While many football players today start playing way before they enter middle school, wide receiver Kelvin Harmon has taken a different route, and mentioned he found his love for the game at a later age: "I always played in the yard or at recess but I didn't play organized football until I was 13...I just loved it, I was always physical and my first love in football was always just hitting people... Even now at receiver, I still love to hit DB's [defensive backs]."

--The 6-foot-5 former Blue Devil, Daniel Jones, has been mocked to Washington by many media sites. When asked what sets him apart from the other quarterbacks in this class, Jones said he prides himself on his "toughness, and ability to prepare. I've been prepared well at Duke, and my will to compete separates me as well. I think those things are going to separate me as to why I'm successful."

Check back to Redskins.com tomorrow, as we will have updates from Day 3 of the NFL Combine when the quarterbacks and receivers take the field for their on-field workouts, while the defensive linemen and linebackers speak to the media.

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