West Virginia WR Kevin White Big Winner at NFL Scouting Combine

by Robb Hoff

Going into the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, the potential first-round talent of available wide receivers for the upcoming NFL Draft wasn't quite clear in terms of who should be drafted first.

The consensus before the scouting combine was that Amari Cooper of Alabama, DaVante Parker of Louisville and Kevin White of West Virginia were a cut above the rest of the 1st-round pool, which includes Devin Funchess of Michigan and Jaelen Strong of Arizona State as prospects later in the round.

After the combine, the Top 5 WRs available seem to be the same, but the No. 1 overall talent in the group appears to be White from West Virginia.

There wasn't much mystery about the receiving skills of White in college, nor was his size in dispute at 6-3, 215. But his long speed and short-area quickness were less obvious -- until the combine.

White ran third-best among all receivers in the 40-yard dash at 4.35. While Cooper at 4.42 and Parker at 4.45 solidified their status as elite WRs for the upcoming draft, White's showcase of speed likely established him as the top receiver of the group and a likely Top 10 if not Top 5 pick.

The shorter Cooper (6-1,211) bested White in the 3-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle with times of 6.71 and a group best of 3.98 in the short shuttle, but White held his own with times of 6.92 and 4.14 respectively.

Parker excelled in the vertical leap and broad jump (36.5 inches and 10-5), but again White showed he is on par with the gifted Parker (6-3, 209) by equalling Parker vertical and falling just two inches short of Parker's broad jump. Meanwhile, Cooper's results in the two drills showed he is not quite as explosive as either of the taller pair.

Overall, all three of the top three WRs helped themselves at the combine, as did the later 1st-round prospects Funchess and Strong, but White checked all the boxes better than expected and as a result will most likely reap the reward of top WR drafted in the upcoming draft.