The Way We Hear It — draft edition
NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly
Improved workout results do not help NT Balmer; Dorsey not scheduled to re-check legs
By Nolan Nawrocki
April 1, 2008
North Carolina DT Kentwan Balmer worked out Tuesday, clocking as low as 5.12 seconds in the 40-yard dash on some scouts’ watches after registering electronic times of 5.34 and 5.35 at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis back in late February.
On the surface, based on the improvement, one could deduce that his stock is rising. The way we hear it, however, there may not be a more overhyped player in this year’s draft than Balmer, who only improved his time because he was running on a fast, downhill mondo track that generally helps prospects improve their times by .15.
Disheartening to scouts who watched him clock a good time was the way Balmer reacted, claiming that he tweaked his hamstring and could not run a second time. Despite the so-called injury, the career underachiever was able to go through a full positional workout, leaving scouts feeling like they had just been misled about an injury.
“He has no career production,” one evaluator said. “He’s got excuses for everything, and he did the same thing (Tuesday) when he pulled himself out of the workout. I would be surprised if he gets drafted in the first round.”
The Packers, who hold the 30th overall draft spot in the first round and who drafted DT Justin Harrell with the 16th overall pick in last year’s draft, sent a psychologist to evaluate Balmer’s mental makeup and could be following the Giants’ blueprint of loading up on pass rushers. The Panthers, whose headquarters are in relatively close proximity to the University of North Carolina, and the Rams both sent coaches to work out Balmer. The Rams, strongly considering Glenn Dorsey with the No. 2 overall selection, would appear to be considering Balmer with the 33rd overall selection if they do not land Dorsey.
North Carolina first-year head coach Butch Davis had nothing but positive feedback to give scouts about his big-bodied senior, even comparing Balmer to the late, great Eagles DT Jerome Brown, whom Davis had coached at the University of Miami.
Brown, much like Balmer, had to shake an underachiever label and battled questions about his toughness and issues with his weight. He was a 300-pounder with natural strength. Where Balmer and Brown vastly differ is in the area of quickness, agility and initial explosion off the ball.
Balmer has great natural size and strength but he does not play with much twitch and will fit best in 3-4 fronts where he is asked to stack the point.
Dorsey update
According to three different team sources, LSU DT Glenn Dorsey is surprisingly not scheduled to appear at the Combine re-check next weekend despite concerns by many teams that he has a slight stress fracture in his right tibia.
Dorsey showed at his pro-day workout that he was healthy enough to complete a grueling positional workout, but his workout numbers were not particularly impressive.
“(Dorsey) looked extremely stiff in the shuttles,” said one executive in attendance. “He could not bend or touch line. He did not show a lot of lower-body flexion.
“He looked great in the positional workout, showing burst and acceleration. He finished drills. He knew Tim Krumrie was waiting for him and he still did a real good job and left everything on the field. He exhausted himself — gave it his all just like you see him do on tape.”
Despite not having to revisit Indianapolis, Dorsey will be poked and prodded by the team doctors of the Rams and Falcons in private visits and his leg injuries will be much more heavily scrutinized.
Based on feedback from four teams that have analyzed the results of Dorsey's MRI taken at the Combine, a thin black line did appear in his tibia and it clearly has been slow to heal. Calcium has formed on top of the stress fracure and provides enough support to play through it initially. Eventually, however, at least three team doctors have shared the opinion with their general managers that the fracture eventually will have to crack to heal properly.
Overall, the injury does not figure to hurt Dorsey's draft prospects much, if at all, but it could still play a role on Draft Day.
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