NFL Combine Takeaways: Bryce Young, Jordan Addison, and Derek Carr making waves

The second day of the 2023 NFL Combine kicked off with major news as an arrest warrant was issued for Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who is currently graded as the top prospect on my draft board.

Much more must play out before we see how this will affect Carter’s draft stock. And while most spent time focused on a story that could shape the early part of the draft, there has been plenty of additional action in Indianapolis that will impact April’s event. Here are my takeaways from Wednesday at the Combine.

NFL Combine Takeaways from Day 2

The Combine is where teams separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to interviewing senior prospects. All 32 franchises have the opportunity to interview more than 400 players prior to the Combine at All-Star events such as the Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl, and NFLPA Game, as well as other minor events.

So when a team uses one of their coveted 45 interviews to sit down and spend the allotted 18 minutes with a player they interviewed at length during one of the aforementioned contests, it means they have significant interest in that player.

Bryce Young and Jordan Addison Impressing Teams

I’m hearing a lot of positive news on the interviews teams are doing with two highly rated prospects in Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and USC receiver Jordan Addison. I’m told Young has been smart as a whip, and the intellect he displays on film has come shining through during face-to-face interviews.

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For his part, Addison has also come across as smart and trustworthy. To follow up on my report from earlier this week, Addison is expected to measure just about 6 feet even and a touch under 190 pounds.

Lack of Safety Depth in the 2023 NFL Draft

The Combine is the unofficial start of free agency, and there are more agents here in Indianapolis than Combine invited players. Their objective is simple, to get a feel for the type of market which exists for the players they represent.

The sense I’m getting from speaking with people is the market for the second tier of free agent safety is going to be hot. Players like Eric Rowe, A.J. Moore, J.T. Gray, and LaMarcus Joyner, as well as others, are attracting more attention than many first thought.

What’s going on here? Much of it revolves around the fact teams are not enamored with the safety class in the 2023 NFL Draft. Brian Branch of Alabama grades as the top safety in the draft and the only player at the position currently expected to become a first-round pick.

Sydney Brown of Illinois and Chris Smith of Georgia are next in line, but there’s a big drop-off after those two. The talk is that franchises will overpay for a second-tier free agent safety rather than roll the dice on a prospect in the draft who is a one-dimensional player at the position.

Derek Carr Continues to Consider His Options

While it was known the New York Jets were meeting with free agent quarterback Derek Carr today, it was not public knowledge that team owner Woody Johnson would be in attendance, something I tweeted earlier. This was the second time Carr met with the franchise, as back on February 20, the former Las Vegas Raider sat down with the Jets in New Jersey.

As has been reported, Carr was incredibly impressed with Robert Salah and hit it off with the head coach. And while Carr is also meeting with the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints here in Indianapolis, don’t expect the quarterback to leave Indianapolis with a deal in hand.

In earlier conversations with Carr’s team, I was told the signal-caller would take his time and review all the options before making his final choice. The final decision of Aaron Rodgers also looms large, as it could potentially give Carr more leverage than he presently has.

Denver Broncos Keen on Adetomiwa Adebawore

Such is the case with the Denver Broncos and Northwestern defensive lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore. Denver sat down extensively with Adebawore at the Senior Bowl after watching the athletic defensive lineman destroy the opposition in Mobile.

Here in Indianapolis, they devoted one of their 45 interviews to going over schemes and concepts with the athletic big man. The defensive line is not a huge need for the Broncos, yet with starters, Dre’Mont Jones and DeShawn Williams set to hit the free agent market on March 13, it could soon become an area of need.