Since nobody is interested in hearing my breakdown of every player, so I'm simply going to mention observations from watching individual drills by group. Day 3 is the “front 7” day at the combine seeing the defensive lineman and linebackers. A number of the players in the respective groups appear to have the flexibility to play at multiple positions, which is especially important with the wide variety of sets seen by individual teams in the NFL these days.

Defensive Line
40 yard dash
The full 40 isn't too meaningful to these guys beyond pride, but the 10 yard split is more crucial here than with any other position. At this point even most of the DTs run sub 5. Some of the players put down 10-yard splits in the low 1.6s, including Sam Acho at 1.60s dead, Chris Carter at 1.62s, Marvin Austin at 1.63s and Ryan Kerrigan 1.65s. For reference, yesterday's average 10-yard split was 1.63s. It's worth mentioning that Dontay Moch ran a 4.44 with 1.61 10-yard split, which would be right at home at safety, quite impressive for a guy that played DE at Nevada.

Bench Press
Like the offensive lineman, the bench is unlikely to build your draft stock, but a poor showing could be disastrous or signal a need to move to LB. Stephen Paea deserves mention here with his unbelievable 49 reps, which is the best total this millennium at the combine by any player at any position. He also out lifted all other players this year by 11 reps, barring an absurd total by a DB tomorrow.

On-field Drills and Footwork
The players in this years class seem more athletic than I can every remember. The 300+ pound D-tackles can now run like OLBs a decade ago. Most of the defensive ends move around like LBs, which is probably good because they will likely need to drop into coverage at some point with all of the new NFL schemes.

Other notes
Ryan Kerrigan needs a haircut. This year's class at DL looks spectacular, which is good news for a lot of teams. I wouldn't be surprised if 1/4 of this season's 1st round was composed of guys that played as down lineman in college. Both Nick Fairley of Auburn and Marcell Dareus of Alabama look like top end Dts, but teams will likely be looking at them as the next Suh. I'm not sure either is quite at that level, but they could have a Gerald McCoy type impact as rookies. One of the drills required the lineman to drop back into coverage and try to catch a pass, which showed that hands is a rare skill at this position.

Linebackers
40 yard dash
This event certainly matters more for linebackers than for DLs, especially for coverage guys, OLBs in the 4-3 and middle linebackers in the Cover 2. Martez Wilson from Illinois was the only man to break 4.5 today, just barely, with 4.49 which is surprising given his impressive size, 6'4” 250lb. Von Miller of Texas A&M (4.53) and the undersized Brian Rolle of Ohio St. (4.56) were the only others to break 4.6 among the LBs. Rolle is only 5'10”, 229lbs which means he'll need to prove that he has elite instincts and solid tackling ability if he's ever going to start at the NFL level.

Footwork, Coverage and Mobility
Nobody really jumped out at me in this set of drills, except for Akeem Ayers of UCLA. He possessed the quickness and agility of much smaller player than his 6'3” 254lb frame would suggest. Von Miller obviously has talent, but he seemed to be pressing all day. When he just calms down and plays his game, he is clearly one of the best if not the best LB prospect in this draft. A few of the smaller LBs looked like safeties with their mobility, but none of them possess the speed to match up against pro receivers downfield. Guys that meet this criteria are Mike Mohamed of Cal, Adrian Moten of Maryland and Lawrence Wilson of Connecticut.

Other notes
Mark Herzlich was a top notch prospect before cancer, now that he's recovered, he no longer looks like a first round talent. Despite that he'd probably be one of the best reaches a team could possibly make because he leads this group in intangibles. The natural leadership and camaraderie of LBs as a group was clear throughout the afternoon. More than any other group, these guys were rooting each other on, high fiving, and generally enjoying football.  Due to an injury, Clay Matthews younger brother, Casey was unable to participate in the combine.  Luckily for him his bloodlines will likely get him drafted earlier than a guy with the same skills, but with a different name. 

Since nobody is interested in hearing my breakdown of every player, so I'm simply going to mention observations from watching individual drills by group. Day 2 is unofficially the “skill position” day at the combine seeing the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers trying to impress. This is generally considered the most interesting because you see most of the fastest 40 times of the whole combine 

Quarterbacks
40 yard dash
This event means a lot to some of these guys and virtually nothing to others. Mobile QBs need to put up decent times to show that their speed translates to the next level. If you're a pocket passer, none of the teams will care if your slow, considering that Marino, Manning and Brady aren't exactly burners. Jake Locker ran an unofficial 4.52 (both times) which would blow away most of the NFL's “mobile” throwers. His final, official time was 4.59 matching that of Cam Newton. Tyrod Taylor of Virginia Tech ran a very impressive 4.51 and Colin Kaepernick of Nevada ran a 4.53 which qualifies both as elite NFL QB speed.

Wonderlic
The Wonderlic results are never really officially released, but they generally leak out for a fair number of players. I was unable to track down this year's tests, but they may become available within the week. QB is one of the few positions where this really matters since it's the most cerebral position on the field. Anything above 30 at QB should be considered good enough, it's not necessarily a red flag if you score below (Peyton Manning scored a reported 25), but those guys need to prove they really know football. 

Throwing Drills and Footwork
The majority of drills focus on the WRs so the QBs were not fully covered by the TV cameras. Some of the footwork drills were shown, but due to the proliferation of the spread offense almost half of the QBs are still developing their 5 and 7 step drops. Ryan Mallett throws impressive ball, the release is very powerful and comes out sharply with a tight spiral, but you always wonder if the skills will translate at the next level.

Other notes
Ryan Colburn of Fresno State looks like Steve Young not stylistically, but physically, in terms of stature. Cam Newton and Jake Locker were impressive in all of the agility, quickness and speed drills yet both are still questionable in the throwing accuracy and game reading department.

Wide Receivers
40 yard dash
While every position runs the 40 it is most important for WRs considering that they are the only ones that frequently run that far in a straight line, especially those who are being looked at as special teamers. Their weren't any absolute stunners this year, but Edmond Gates of Abilene Christian, Ricardo Lockette of Fort Valley State and Julio Jones of Alabama all ran sub-4.4, which is still exceptional.

3 Cone Drill
This is a good measure of quickness and agility along with the 20 and 60 yard shuttles. Players that excel here tend to have the ability to run sharp, crisp routes. While not always as explosive they tend to make good slot receivers. Jeffrey Maehl of Oregon finished 1st or 2nd in all of these events, only losing to Boise State's Austin Pettis in the 20-yard shuttle. In recent years, success in these events hasn't necessarily been a good thing considering that none of the top performers have excelled at the next level.

Vertical Leap/Broad Jump
Both jumps give you an idea of a guy's range. Performing well in these events demonstrates an ability to get to more balls. When a big vertical pairs with a 6'3”+ WR you have a guy that provides a foot of vertical separation from the majority of NFL defensive backs (think Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald). This year's big vertical came from Jonathan Baldwin of Pittsburgh who is 6'4” and leapt 42”. Julio Jones' broad jump was 4” further than any of the other WRs at a phenomenal 11'3”.

Route Running and Catching Drills
Leonard Hankerson of Miami showed poor hands throughout the drills (particularly his first gauntlet run), but that doesn't always hurt draft stock because certain teams get obsessed with the “height, weight, speed” players.

Other notes
Edmund Gates has character questions, which seems par for the course at WR, but most of those guys don't have fathers that have been convicted of murder. It makes him look like a real Bengals or Jets kind of guy where he'd fit right in with their respective rap sheets. Julio Jones and AJ Green are largely considered the top 2 WRs and extremely likely going in the 1st half of the 1st round. Going into the combine AJ Green was ranked as the #1 positionally, but based on Jones' measurables its likely that he jumped over Green on a few draft boards.

Running Backs
40 yard dash
Da'Rel Scott of Maryland ran a stellar 4.34 which paced the RBs with Mario Fannin of Auburn trailing close behind with a 4.38. Despite this, 40-yard dash is not a critical drill for RBs because it only gives you an idea of their breakaway speed. On the other hand, the 10 yard split provides a strong indication of initial burst which is crucial coming out of the backfield. The FBs participating as part of this group have almost no interest in 40 time because they make their living on running power and blocking strength.

3 Cone Drill
Quickness, hip flexibility and lateral mobility can all be shown by the 3 cone drill. Typically smallish runners and 3rd down back types perform well here. Ray Rice has the record in the last 5 years with a 6.65s, but Graig Cooper of Miami and Roy Helu of Nebraska ran 6.66s and 6.67s. Other top performers in recent years include Ahmad Bradshaw, Jahvid Best and Jamaal Charles. Cooper and Helu also finshed top 2 in the 20-yard shuttle

Footwork and Running Drills
There seemed to be a sharp delineation between the short and tall RBs. Most guys under 5'11” excelled in the mobility and lateral quickness department, while most the taller guys struggled. Jacquizz Rodgers looks like Ray Rice in both stature and running ability, I don't know enough about his catching ability to know whether he'll be a big factor in the passing game going forward. Damien Berry of Miami ran one of the drills incorrectly, which demonstrates a lack of concentration that may cause problems at the next level.

Other notes
Based on the shear number of guys with fully tattooed arms, I think RBs lead the league as a group in tattoos/person, barely edging out the WRs. Roy Helu of Nebraska set RB records in the 20-yard and 60-yard shuttles for the years since the NFL combine has been televised (2006-present), so if he doesn't make it as a runner he could always go the special teams route. Ingram dropped about 15 pounds to slim down and quicken up, but in my opinion he looks too slender right now to work as a power runner in the NFL. He also has a tendency to make a lot of noise and do a lot of grunting when he's running.

This weekend saw the beginning of the NFL Combine's onfield drills. In recent years the public exposure has been ratcheted up, with coverage available on NFL.com, as well as, on the NFL Network. Since nobody is interested in hearing my breakdown of every player, so I'm simply going to mention observations from watching individual drills by group. Day 1 was composed of offensive lineman, tight ends, and special teamers (namely kickers and punters).

Offensive Line
40 yard dash
The full 40 time is virtually meaningless for O-lineman, but the 10 and 20 yard splits can provide a lot more important information. Jason Kelce of Cincinnati and Ryan Bartholomew of Syracuse did both manage sub 5 seconds.

Bench Press
This drill is simply the maximum number of reps at 225lbs. This event actually occurred yesterday but there was a quick recap this afternoon. Bartholomew again paced the field putting up a very impressive 34 reps and supposedly maxes out at 585 lbs, which is spectacular even for an NFL lineman.

Footwork and Blocking Drills
The players also go through a battery of mobility, blocking and footwork drills that are not measured quantitatively. In my estimations the clear standouts here were unsurprising, being Anthony Castonzo and Gabe Carimi. The top 2 O-line prospects did nothing to hurt themselves here.

Other notes
Brandon Fusco of Slippery Rock is “looking to be the first player from his school to get drafted” and based on what he showed today, he should be drafted. In addition, he looks to be a high energy guy that will give full effort on every play. James Carpenter of Alabama was the most intimidating player at today's combine. The wild dreadlocks and beard makes a big guy look even larger and makes him look slightly crazy. Carimi looks like a TE with his relatively slim build for a tackle, despite that his strength, size and hands make him a great candidate for stopping speed rushers. Adam Grant of Arizona has classic lineman size and strength, but his technique and footwork looked poor. He'd need a lot of coaching from whoever drafts him.

Tights Ends
40 yard dash
Nobody came close to Vernon Davis' absurd 4.38 with Florida Atlantic's Robert Housler winning with a 4.55 (which is still pretty quick). The other top performers Virgil Green and Jordan Cameron, but more on them in the 'other notes' section below.

3 Cone Drill
This drill is a great measure of agility and quickness in and out of cuts. The top TEs in this drill are virtually WRs in bigger bodies (think Dallas Clark). Jordan Cameron put up the winning time edging out Schuyler Oordt of UNI and Zack Pianalto of UNC all of whom ran below 6.90, which was the time put up by Mike Wallace of the Steelers when he was at the combine.

Bench Press
Charlie Gantt of Michigan St., Luke Stocker of Tennessee, Lee Smith of Marshall, Lance Kendricks of Wisconsin are all put up at least 25 reps in the bench. They are all big and strong enough to survive as blocking TEs in the NFL but likely will not excel in the passing game.

Footwork, Blocking and Catching Drills
The inconsistency of the combine QBs had a distinct effect on the TEs performance in the basic route running drills. Personally I love the “Gauntlet” drill which requires a quick succession of 7 passes both stationary and on the run. I was disappointed in Lance Kendricks' which almost ensures that he won't be targeted much at the next level. Zach Pianalto was particularly impressive in the catching drills, where he caught almost everything while snatch the ball out of the air well away from his body.

Other notes
Virgil Green of Nevada won the Broad Jump and Vertical Leap while finishing top 3 in the 40 yard, the 20 yard shuttle, and 60 yard shuttle. Supposedly, Green may have problems grasping a complex offense, but I imagine that athleticism will be enticing to many. Jordan Cameron of USC won the 3 cone drill, 20 yard shuttle, and 60 yard shuttle. Finished top 3 in the 40 yard, Vertical Leap, and Broad Jump. Still developing as a blocker due to his basketball and WR background, but a lot of former college basketball players are having great success in the pros right now.

Special Teamers
There weren't any real drills shown for the kickers and punters, but this is a position at which the transition from college to the pros is relatively easy. The combine doesn't mean much for these guys because past performance is the major indicator, unless you're David Buehler and want to show off in the bench press and 40.