INDIANAPOLIS — As the NFL Combine begins to wind down, the fifth day of the league's annual event at Lucas Oil Stadium Combine watched quarterbacks take center stage.
Here's what stood out on the field and in the media room on Saturday.
Goff, Wentz separate themselves from the pack
If it's a two-man race between California's Jared Goff and North Dakota State's Carson Wentz to be the draft's top quarterback, Saturday afternoon's passing drills seemed to reaffirm that notion.
Goff and Wentz were crisp and precise with their throws. While Goff appeared to be the more polished passer, Wentz showed off his athleticism with a 4.78-second 40-yard dash time.
Meanwhile, Memphis' Paxton Lynch, was impressive in the vertical jump (36 inches) and clocked a 4.86-second time in the 40. In throwing drills, however, Lynch — who admitted he's still something of a project in the pass game — appeared raw with his mechanics and missed a handful of receivers during throwing drills.
Cardale's combine cut short
A solid showing from Cardale Jones was cut short Saturday after the Ohio State quarterback pulled his hamstring after running his second 40-yard dash. Jones told the NFL Network he was done for the day and wouldn't participate in throwing drills.
Before the injury, Jones clocked a 4.83-second 40, which is impressive given his 6-foot-5, 253-pound frame. The Cleveland native also posted a 36-inch vertical jump, besting teammate and standout running back Ezekiel Elliott's 32.5-inch showing.
Slow receivers
At a position known for speed, this year's draft class was unusually slow when it came to running the 40-yard dash.
"This is the slowest receivers class I can remember," NFL network analyst Mike Mayock said Saturday during the network's broadcast.
In fact, three receivers posted over a 4.7-second official time in the 40 including Mississippi State's De'Runnya Wilson, who ran the drill in 4.85 seconds.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Notre Dame receiver Will Fuller clocked a 4.32-second 40, the second-fastest time in the combine so far.
Miller's draft stock
In his five years at Ohio State, Braxton Miller was undoubtedly one of college football's most dynamic athletes. He's long been known for his uncanny ability as a runner and ability to stop on a dime without losing speed. And after an impressive showing at the Senior Bowl last month, Miller — the quarterback-turned-wide receiver — entered the combine with considerable buzz.
"That's what I wanted to do. That was my goal, just to show I'm capable of doing whatever any receiver in the country can do," Miller said of his time at the Senior Bowl. "I wanted to make sure my name was in the mix of all that good talk that was going on. I think I did." He also added he felt he was a first-round draft pick.
But during on-field drills Saturday morning, Miller's 40-yard dash times were considerably slower than expected after he clocked a 4.5 and a 4.55 on his second attempt.
Those times, of course, aren't bad. And later in the day, Miller finished the 60-yard shuttle in a blazing 10.84 seconds. That's the best of anybody in Indianapolis.
But so much of Miller's stock is tethered to his speed as he appears to remain a work in progress when it comes to learning the ins and outs of playing receiver. After all, Miller was a quarterback for all of his football life before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in 2014.
Hargreaves makes his case
On a day where defensive backs met with the national media, Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves made his case as the best cornerback in the draft.
"Playing in the SEC, I've covered (Oakland Raiders/Alabama receiver) Amari Cooper, I've covered (New York Giants/LSU receiver) Odell Beckham, I've covered (Miami Dolphins/LSU receiver) Jarvis Landry, (Carolina Panthers/Florida State receiver) Kelvin Benjamin. I've seen them all before," Hargraves said.
"That's not to say that I'm ready necessarily, but it definitely helps to have covered them before, to have tracked them before. In the NFL you can't put your hands on them so I'll definitely have to work on my technique but that's how I approached my junior season. You can't touch them 10 yards down the field like you could in college so I worked on keeping my hands off guys."
Hargreaves — along with Florida State's Jalen Ramsey, who did not attend a podium session with the media Saturday — is regarded as one of the best cornerbacks in the draft, and the two are apparently dueling to be the first defensive back taken in April.
"We don't really talk about it when we see each other but we see the stuff. It's kind of like a sideline rivalry with us. He wants to be first, I want to be first. I'm going to say I'm the best, he's going to say he's the best. That's what football is about and we're going to go to work on Monday," Hargreaves said.
