Local players to look out for at Scouting Combine

The annual NFL job fair, also known as the Scouting Combine, begins Tuesday for 330 college players seeking employment at the next level.

Among them are a number of local players who will run, jump, lift, drill, interview and undergo physical and mental exams in Indianapolis with hopes of elevating their draft stock.

Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis was just a two-star recruit after starring at Wheaton-Warrenville South High School. But now his 5,285 receiving yards are the all-time record for major-college football, and he will probably be the first local player drafted. Davis also caught 52 TD passes for the Broncos.

Considered a top three player at his position, Davis is likely to come off the board somewhere around the middle of the first round. But he has a few things to prove at the Combine before teams invest so heavily in him.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound Davis is plenty big and strong, but he had occasional problems with drops throughout his career and will look to show improved concentration during receiving drills. He will also need to demonstrate a greater interest in blocking, which he wasn't asked to do much of at Western Michigan.

Another possible first-round pick is Indiana guard Dan Feeney, who helped Hoosiers running back Jordan Howard have a huge 2015 season before Howard was drafted by the Bears last year. Feeney, who played at Sandburg High School in Orland Park, filled in some at right tackle as a senior, when the Hoosiers had injury problems, and he played well enough to be a first team All-America pick. As a junior, playing strictly right guard, he did not allow a single sack.

Feeney needs to show NFL teams that he can anchor better against power by playing with lower pad level and demonstrating better knee-bend to warrant a first-round pick. He is not expected to fall out of the second round.

Lyons Township High School's Jake Elliott was first-team all-conference four years at Memphis, where he became the all-time leading scorer and set school records for total field goals and FGs from 50 yards away or farther. He also made all 202 of his extra-point attempts. Of his 330 kickoffs, 210 (63.7 percent) resulted in touchbacks.

Elliott never missed a FG attempt inside 30 yards, had just 1 kick blocked in four years and never allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown. But his draft status would be improved with some added distance and hang time on his kickoffs.

Defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow followed in his brother Graham's footsteps at Aurora's Marmion Academy and then at Michigan.

Graham started 11 games at offensive guard for the Detroit Lions last year after being drafted in the third round.

Ryan Glasgow is not expected to be drafted quite that high. He started off as a walk-on at Michigan, and he lacks some size and athleticism, but he is a scrappy, high-motor tough guy with a blue-collar work ethic.

After playing three seasons at St. Joseph in Westchester, Jaleel Johnson transferred to Montini in Lombard and played on the Broncos' state championship team.

At Iowa, he was a first-team all-Big 10 defensive lineman last season and led the Hawkeyes with 10 tackles for loss and 7½ sacks. Johnson lacks some stoutness but is quick and active with a high-revving motor. NFL Media draft analyst Chad Reuter has him coming off the board early in Round Two.

Former St. Rita wide receiver Kenny Golladay topped 1,000 yards in both of his seasons at Northern Illinois, where he totaled 160 receptions and 18 touchdowns after transferring from North Dakota State.

Golladay has good length and a big catch radius, but he needs to fine tune his route-running and play with more physicality, especially as a blocker.

Lemont's Ethan Pocic was a Parade High School All-American, a three-year starter at LSU and an all-SEC first-team pick last season. He is the No. 4 interior offensive lineman, according to NFL Media draft analyst Mike Mayock, and should be a second day (Rounds Two and Three) pick.

Pocic's older brother Graham, also a center, was a three-year starter at Illinois.

Ethan has excellent versatility, having played all five O-line positions at LSU. He has good agility and the ability to hit a moving target on the second level but could use more bulk strength to anchor against bigger interior D-linemen.

Northwestern and Illinois each have two players invited to the Combine.

Illini defensive end/outside linebacker DaWuane Smoot has enough pass-rush potential to get into the second day of the draft. Now he's 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds, but 40 pounds ago he was an elite high school hurdler for USA Track and Field. Smoot had 30 tackles for loss and 13 sacks in his final two seasons in Champaign.

His teammate Carroll Phillips, who is the nephew of rapper Luther Campbell, is undersized for a defensive end at 6-foot-3 and 237 pounds. But his senior season was impossible to ignore. Phillips had 20 tackles for loss and 9 sacks while showing excellent range as a run defender. If he can add weight add strength, while maintaining his quickness and lateral agility, Phillips could get drafted soon after Smoot.

Northwestern's Ifeadi Odenigbo had 13 ½ sacks in his first three seasons as a pass-rush specialist but bulked up and made his senior season his best with 10 sacks. Teammate Anthony Walker, who is leaving school with a year of eligibility remaining, is the sixth-best inside linebacker in the draft, according to ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr.

Walker had a monster sophomore season with 20 ½ tackles for loss and added 10 more this year, along with a team-best 4 forced fumbles.

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