Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe absolutely blew up the Scouting Combine. He was hand timed as fast as 4.87 in the forty-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and 346 pounds. He led every player invited to Indianapolis with 44 reps on the 225-pound bench press.
But can Poe play football, or is he just a workout warrior?
CBS Sports’ Bruce Feldman interviewed one veteran college offensive line coach who game planned against Poe in Conference USA. The position coach gave Poe mixed reviews.
“He’s probably the best talent I’ve seen in several years,” said the assistant. “He took plays off and wasn’t a great effort guy, but he is a freakish talent.”
Feldman suggested that most oversized defensive linemen take some snaps off.
“Yeah,” the coach conceded. “But he took off more than most. He did get better last year than he was the year before. He just was never that productive, but I heard they didn’t require him to do that much. He was definitely someone I took into account with schemes. ... I’m not at all surprised to hear that he’s blowing up at the Combine, at all.”
Poe started 30 games in college, racking up 21 1/2 tackles for loss, five sacks, and seven forced fumbles. The C-USA coaches voted him second-team all-conference in 2011.