Georgia Football: Former Dawgs crush the NFL Combine

Big men have got some moves:

The Combine was a big opportunity for UGA’s two defensive tackles that attended. Trenton Thompson was a physical specimen when he arrived at UGA. This event gave him the chance to really display that athletic ability. John Atkins is a nose tackle who did a lot of dirty work at Georgia. He wasn’t a highly regarded recruit so he never got a huge amount of attention. This past weekend helped him show that he deserves a shot at the next level.

Thompson showed just how explosive he could be on Sunday. He’s still recovering from a shoulder injury this season and so he didn’t do the bench press. But he did do really well in the vertical and the broad jumps. That explosive power combined with his overall size makes him a really interesting player for teams on day 2 of the draft. If he can stay healthy, I think he’s got a chance to play in the league for a while.

Atkins also did pretty well for himself. He didn’t wow by any means, but he showed that he could keep up with the rest of his position group. He didn’t fall behind at all and he put up some pretty respectable numbers. While he still looks like a late round prospect to me, I think he’s going to get drafted. Big guys like him who can stuff the run remain a premium and I can see Atkins landing somewhere and making a roster.

Isaiah Wynn did not work out because he is recovering from shoulder surgery. Most analysts think that he will either be a late first or early second round pick.