DE Da'Quan Bowers has mixed performance at Pro Day

[az jam]

Da’Quan Bowers has mixed performance at Pro Day

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 1, 2011, 11:38 AM EDT



The results of his much anticipated Pro Day may not satisfy everyone. Depending on whose clock you trusted, Bowers ran anywhere from 4.85 to over five seconds in the forty-yard dash. The consensus average seemed to be in 4.9′s.

That is a slower than expected time for the 276-pound defensive end. (For comparison, UNC’s Robert Quinn reportedly beat 4.6 on Thursday.)

Bowers’ other times were solid. Tony Pauline of SI.com reports Bowers’ average short shuttle times were in the mid 4.4′s. Broad jump was 9”2′. He had a 34.5 inch vertical and a 6.95 in the three-cone drill. (Both very impressive.)

Bowers also reportedly looked rusty and a little winded in drills. That’s not a huge surprise after a long layoff from football.

“I’m stiff and I can do it. If u can’t, u must be real stiff!” Dolphins coach Bryan Cox yelled at one point to motivate Bowers, via NFLDraftbreakdown. (Cox and Bowers talked for a while afterward and may be close.)

Bowers will get a medical re-check in Indianapolis to send out to teams next week. Once seen as a potential No. 1 pick, his lack of consistent production at Clemson combined with the medical concerns could put Bowers seemingly anywhere in the top 12-15 picks.

UPDATE: Bowers called the performance “pretty good” according to Darin Gantt of the Rock Hill Herald. He sounded disappointed by the forty time but thought the other tests went well.

 

[Stout]

Stout's lock of the draft #2: We will not select Bowers if he is available.

 

[MoeIsBetter]

Bowers reminds me of a small version of Calais Campbell. Not a position of need in our 3-4, especially with knee issues.

 

[az jam]

Evaluator on Bowers: “He cost himself millions”

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on April 1, 2011, 2:45 PM EDT


The reviews coming out of the pro day for Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers are becoming less mixed and more negative.

Three teams at the workout told PFW’s Nolan Nawrocki that Bowers struggled. They had his forty times in the mid 4.9′s and don’t think his knee is healthy.

“He’s not ready. He was hobbling around out there. The shuttles were bad. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. He cost himself millions of dollars,” one team said.

Bowers reportedly struggled to bear his weight in agility drills. One team in the second half of the first round said he wasn’t sure whether they’d take Bowers if available because of his health.

“He had a real difficult time bending. I question whether he will be ready,” Nawrocki’s source said.

It’s April 1 and there is plenty of time to get ready for the season. The key is whether teams think these health problems are lasting.

Some teams reportedly believe Bowers will eventually need microfracture surgery, which would send his stock plummeting.

 

[az jam]

From Great Blue North Draft

Bowers slow at workout ... Clemson DE Da'Quan Bowers reportedly did not run all that well at a private on-campus workout earlier today. Nothing official has been released but Bowers, who was unable to participate in either the combine or Clemson's regular pro day last month while rehabbing from post-season knee surgery, didn't clock much better than 4.9 to 5.0 seconds in his 40s today and also didn't look especially athletic or explosive in the other drills. Bowers had been considered a possibility for the #1 pick overall before concerns about the injury became manifest and a strong showing today could have vaulted him back into the top 5 mix. The early reports appear to suggest that he may have failed in that regard, but still isn't expected to drop too far after leading the nation in sacks in 2011. At least 20 NFL teams had reps at Bowers workout today including Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt and GMs Buddy Nix of Buffalo and Atlanta's Tom Dimitroff.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Moved to between 10 and 20 is concensus on NFL Network.

 

[Garthshort]

4-3 guy, no?

 

[Buckybird]

Why Bowers worked out on a bum knee & not probably 80% is a mystery to me...crazy IMO. He might slide out of Rd 1 if he doesn't check out before the draft.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

Why Bowers worked out on a bum knee & not probably 80% is a mystery to me...crazy IMO. He might slide out of Rd 1 if he doesn't check out before the draft.

I was thinking the same thing. But, I don't buy all the talk of his sliding IF the knee checks out when he goes back to Indy for his re-examination. If the doctors say his knee will be fine and no lingering effects, he'll be a top 10 pick. I'm sure scouts realize the guy was coming off surgery and they are just feeding the fire to try and manipulate his stock value. Heck, the way things go in this league, every team will pass on him until NE and he'll play 10 years for them at a pro bowl level.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Why Bowers worked out on a bum knee & not probably 80% is a mystery to me...crazy IMO. He might slide out of Rd 1 if he doesn't check out before the draft.

It all about the medical, not the workout. The latter can easily be overcome in team evaluations by going back to the tape, and another workout when he's in a bit better shape.

He could have had a great workout, But - if the knee doesn't check out, he's going to drop in the draft order.

 

[JeffGollin]

Forget about comparing Bowers to Quinn - they're two different animals.

Quinn projects to a hybrid 4-3 DE/3-4 OLB. Bowers is bigger, stronger and slower and projects more to a 3-4 DE or strong side 4-3 DE, but not an OLB.

That aside, let's assume for a moment that the two of them compare similar to one another athletically. The problem with Bowers is that - until he proves he (a) can come all the way back medically and (b) when healthy, he can perform at a Top 6 - 10 level (both in workouts and on tape) he remains a question-mark and risky to draft that high.

Quinn appears to have proved in his workouts he has a Top 5 - 10 skill-set and represents less of a risk.

That doesn't mean that Bowers might not turn out to be a Pro Bowl DE (or not). Or that Quinn turns out to be a Pro Bowl OLB (or not). It just means that - as of right now - Bowers is a more risky pick than Quinn.

 

[ARodg]

On Realgm Risdon from ESPN said that Bowers is falling badly.

Re: Ask Jeff Risdon a question thread

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by Icness on Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:34 pm

Zabriskie wrote:Your take on Bowers' Pro Day?
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I think he proved he cannot play LB, which most everyone assumed already. He looked kind of out of shape, which makes sense considering he had knee surgery. If I were advising him I would have told him to not work out.

It seems like more people are probing a little deeper into his phenomenal one year. He didn't do much against Castonzo or Orlando Franklin of Miami or Lee Ziemba of Auburn, the only three future pros he faced all year. His sack against BC came on a stunt. Franklin shut him down completely; the sack he got in that game was the QB running straight into him. Almost all of his sacks came where it was obvious passing downs and he was isolated on the tackle with no help. I'm not saying he's not impressive, but NFL teams simply do not leave their tackles isolated on a terrific pass rusher very often.

It appears Peter King has (again) rode my bandwagon that Bowers is going to fall out of the top 10. If he wasn't from Ohio U. I'd really dislike that guy

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[dreamcastrocks]

On Realgm Risdon from ESPN said that Bowers is falling badly.

Re: Ask Jeff Risdon a question thread

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by Icness on Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:34 pm

Zabriskie wrote:Your take on Bowers' Pro Day?
​

I think he proved he cannot play LB, which most everyone assumed already. He looked kind of out of shape, which makes sense considering he had knee surgery. If I were advising him I would have told him to not work out.

It seems like more people are probing a little deeper into his phenomenal one year. He didn't do much against Castonzo or Orlando Franklin of Miami or Lee Ziemba of Auburn, the only three future pros he faced all year. His sack against BC came on a stunt. Franklin shut him down completely; the sack he got in that game was the QB running straight into him. Almost all of his sacks came where it was obvious passing downs and he was isolated on the tackle with no help. I'm not saying he's not impressive, but NFL teams simply do not leave their tackles isolated on a terrific pass rusher very often.

It appears Peter King has (again) rode my bandwagon that Bowers is going to fall out of the top 10. If he wasn't from Ohio U. I'd really dislike that guy

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I can think of one team quite easily.....

 

[Buckybird]

Well from all reports about Bowers is that his knee might have long term issues w/arthritis or more. I think he drops to the end of Rd 1 & possibly out of the round totally!!! Didn't Wadsworths career basically end after a micofracture surgery? Buyer beware on Bowers!!!