Local players made impact with NFL scouts, coaches

With all the physical and psychological testing completed at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier in the week, the next big obstacle for players entering the draft will be pro days at their respective colleges.

In the meantime, there is plenty of data gleaned in Indianapolis for scouts, coaches and general managers to consider as they make adjustments to their draft boards in preparation for the annual selection meeting April 22-24.

Some of the more interesting information coming from Lucas Oil Stadium involved local players.

Tight end tradition:Young tight ends such as Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski received a lot of attention in the NFL last season for their incredible productivity, but teams looking for similar talent in this year's draft will be disappointed.Three tight ends could be drafted in the first round, but they might still be available in Round 2, and there's a big drop-off after that.The best natural receiver of that bunch is arguably Stanford's Coby Fleener, a Lemont native who played at Joliet Catholic High School. He had a big senior season working with expected No. 1 pick Andrew Luck. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Fleener caught 34 passes for 667 yards (19.6-yard average) and 10 touchdowns.Fleener, whose full first name is Jacoby, has been compared to former Bears tight end Greg Olsen, but he gets his name from another ex-NFL player, Redskins offensive lineman Joe Jacoby.#8220;My mom (Michelle) was watching football on television and saw the name on the back of Joe's jersey,#8221; Fleener said. #8220;She liked the name and turned to my dad and said, #8216;What do you think about naming our son Jacoby?' #8220;My dad, whose name is Bill, wasn't a big fan of that idea. He wanted his son to be named Bill. (But) after a long labor and delivery, my mom asked for one thing. She said, #8216;I'd like to name our son.' So here I am.#8221; It is what it is:Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus led the nation with 16 sacks and 9 forced fumbles after getting just 2 sacks in his first two seasons with the Illini. But he says he's not worried about becoming known as a one-year wonder.#8220;Once you're able to produce like that and you put it all together, in your mind you know you're able to repeat that success,#8221; Mercilus said.The NFL's advisory committee gave Mercilus a third-round grade when he inquired after the 2011 season about leaving Champaign-Urbana a year early. But he #8212; and just about everyone else #8212; believes he'll come off the board much sooner.#8220;You can't fall into 16 sacks,#8221; he said. #8220;There's no fluke to it: 16 is 16. There's no way you can just fall onto a sack.#8221;On the run:Northern Illinois University quarterback Chandler Harnish has to prove to the NFL that he's more than a great all-around athlete and capable of being more than a great running quarterback #8212; kind of like that athletic quarterback now playing in Denver.#8220;You're always trying to sell yourself to everyone, but at the end of the day it only takes one team to love you,#8221; said Harnish, who rushed for 2,983 yards at NIU. #8220;Obviously I'm a dual-threat quarterback coming out of college, but I want to show people that I can still throw and do a lot of things that NFL quarterbacks are asked to do.#8221;He also completed 61.9 percent of his passes as a four-year starter and threw for 8,944 yards.He should know:Broncos vice president of football operations John Elway on Tim Tebow:#8220;We're hoping that he's going to be the guy for a long, long time.#8221;Elway admits Tebow must become a more effective passer, but he's confident that will happen.#8220;Tim Tebow's going to do everything he can this off-season to get better,#8221; Elway said.As for this year's elite quarterback prospects Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck, Elway forecasts bright futures.#8220;I look at both of them as two unbelievable prospects,#8221; Elway said. #8220;They're two tremendous talents; tremendously mature, intelligent guys that I (think) are going to have a lot of success in the NFL.#8221;#376; Follow Bob's Bears reports via Twitter @BobLeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.