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NFL Combine 2017: Players whose stock fell after Indy

The 2017 NFL Scouting Combine has ended and many top players hurt their stock by not performing as well as others. Here is a look at 10 players, listed alphabetically, who could move down draft boards after their showings in Indianapolis.

MORE NFL Combine: Farrell's takes | Stock boosters

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Recruiting: The five-star named Alabama his favorite in February of his junior year and in May decided to pull the trigger for the Crimson Tide. Florida, USC, Oklahoma, Ohio State and many others were also in the running.

Combine performance: Allen had only 21 bench press reps and ran a 5.00 40-yard dash so those numbers were average but the bigger concern could be an arthritic condition in his shoulders. If an average combine and his shoulders scare off some teams, Allen could fall into the middle of the first round but probably no further.

Farrell’s take: Allen was projected by some to be a top four or five pick but this combine and medical questions could hurt him. He is projected as a defensive tackle but could be a big end in a 3-4 scheme as well and his film is outrageous so there is still a lot to like. As a five-star and the No. 11 prospect in the 2013 class, it was clear that I loved Allen as a player. He was big, intense, ran everything down and could either go around you or bull rush you into the quarterback’s comfort zone. He was honestly downright scary at Stone Bridge High School.

Recruiting: Brantley decommitted from Florida hours before the Gators played Louisville in the Sugar Bowl, only to recommit a few days later. Florida State, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and others were in the mix.

Combine performance: Brantley also had only 21 bench press reps and his 5.14 40-yard dash isn’t going to blow anyone away. Maybe more concerning is that he didn’t seem to adequately address taking plays off, which scouts saw on film, as one told Yahoo! Sports that Brantley came off as “full of (expletive),” when he tried to explain his work ethic.

Farrell’s take: We knew Brantley wasn’t a great athlete and that the combine could hurt him and it has a bit. He was a big, athletic kid out of high school who could not only stuff the run but also get after the passer. He was more of a pocket flusher than a pure sack guy, and that continues now. He doesn’t show up in the stat sheet as much as you’d expect, but when you break down the film, he makes the pocket small and uncomfortable for opposing quarterbacks quite often. Like many defensive tackles, he took plays off and still does at times.

Recruiting: Cook originally committed to Clemson, and one main reason was because he liked how the Tigers utilized C.J. Spiller. After attending the Florida spring game, Cook switched his commitment to the Gators. His final decision came at the Under Armour game when he picked Florida State.

Combine performance: Cook didn’t necessarily hurt himself with his workout but he probably didn’t leapfrog Leonard Fournette as the No. 1 running back available. His 22 bench reps were the best among running backs but his other testing numbers weren’t extraordinary. In a loaded running back group, Cook didn’t separate himself.

Farrell’s take: Hurt is a relative term and Cook now has to worry about guys like Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara and perhaps even Joe Mixon because he did good but wasn’t great.

Recruiting: Cunningham chose Vanderbilt over Auburn, Colorado, Miami, Oregon, UCLA, Texas and Tennessee on National Signing Day. He finished with 194 tackles (43 for loss) and 12 sacks in his senior season of high school.

Combine performance: Cunningham had an excellent vertical and broad jump but didn’t run incredibly well and had only 15 bench reps, which won’t clear up any issues about how physical he is at linebacker. He also didn’t look incredibly smooth during drills.

Farrell’s take: Cunningham was a tall, skinny linebacker who continued to rise in our rankings throughout his cycle. He started off as a three-star and ended up as a four-star outside of our Rivals250. He was a tackling machine during his high school career, especially as a senior where he nearly eclipsed 200 tackles. His tackling instincts have obviously continued in college but I expected him to be more athletic than he showed at the combine. He looks like a quick twitch linebacker because of his anticipation but he’s not as fast as I expected overall.

Recruiting: A former Louisville commit under then-coach Charlie Strong, Ford selected Virginia Tech on National Signing Day. South Carolina, Florida and Louisville were also considered in the final days.

Combine performance: Ford was expected to run really well but a 4.62 40-yard dash was disappointing. Then in drills it seemed like he was fighting the ball at times and was not as physical as some other higher-level receivers.

Farrell’s take: Ford was a bit overlooked on his own team as Trinity Christian was loaded, especially at defensive back. He was tall and very skinny, and there was some concern about how he’d fill out, but he also had very good hands while lacking elite speed. That lack of speed didn’t surprise me at the combine but fighting the ball a bit did. Many wide receivers helped themselves but Ford didn’t.

Recruiting: The five-star linebacker made an early commitment to Alabama, only to decommit and pick Auburn. Foster then took official visits to Washington and San Diego State weeks before National Signing Day and then reportedly left his late Auburn official early to take a trip to Alabama one last time.

Combine performance: According to reports, Foster met with 20 team personnel on Tuesday to explain and discuss why he was booted early from the combine after some sort of altercation occurred while he waited for his medical examination in Indianapolis. His time at the combine could not have gone worse as more questions about his behavior arose.

Farrell’s take: Foster was a huge linebacker with a ton of potential who could thump downhill but also move laterally. But he also had a major bust factor tag between a knee injury that limited him late in high school and his bizarre recruiting process. The flakiness we dealt with in recruiting never really surfaced in college but came out of nowhere at the combine and it will hurt him a bit. This was a guy who lacked great maturity in high school but appeared to put it all together and now those questions are arising again.

Recruiting: The four-star defensive tackle committed to Iowa over Michigan State and many other Big Ten and SEC teams in the summer before his senior season. He finished as the third-best prospect in the Illinois state rankings for the 2012 class.

Combine performance: Johnson ran 5.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash and according to reports he ran the slowest 10-yard split in almost 20 years. He also was slow in the three-cone drill and looked uncomfortable in many of the on-field drills.

Farrell’s take: Johnson was a light-but-athletic defensive tackle coming out of high school who bulked up and had a solid career at Iowa. He clearly lost a lot of his burst and quickness by adding weight. We had him as a four-star in our Rivals250 as a 277-pounder back in 2012 and now he’s really hurt his stock as a 316-pounder who had one of the worst defensive tackle combines ever.

Recruiting: Less than 48 hours after visiting Notre Dame and landing his offer, Kizer committed to the Irish. Prior to that offer, Kizer had Tennessee, LSU and Alabama as his three favorites, and he was also keeping a close eye on whether Ohio State would offer as well.

Combine performance: Concerns that were evident during the season – mainly inaccurately throwing the ball – along with what some scouts called “sloppy footwork” did not help Kizer in Indianapolis. Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky and Patrick Mahomes were all solid. Kizer had some issues. That could move his stock down.

Farrell’s take: Some once had him as the No. 1 pick in the draft, which was crazy, but I will admit I had him in round one at one point during this past season. All of that changed as I watched him more and his accuracy and footwork were not pro level. Kizer was big and athletic coming out of high school but also very raw, which is why he was a four-star but didn’t make our Rivals250. He was clearly a work in progress out of high school, sometimes throwing a perfect ball and other times wobbling it down the field. Accuracy was a big issue. He was a big boom-or-bust guy to us, and I can still see a lot of that at the NFL level

Recruiting: McDowell picked Michigan State over Michigan, Ohio State and Florida State on National Signing Day but McDowell’s letter of intent didn’t arrive in East Lansing until early April because his mother had strong reservations about him going there. She told multiple media outlets that she didn’t want her son playing for the Spartans.

Combine performance: One scout told Yahoo! Sports that McDowell was the “worst interview we did,” and another added, “Awful interview.” There were obviously questions about his production this past season. He ran well at 4.85 seconds in the 40-yard dash but the off-the-field questions remain.

Farrell’s take: The first time I saw McDowell I thought he was a bit soft and too raw to be special despite his size and amazing physical gifts. I honestly wondered about his desire. But everyone told me to wait and watch his progress. He was at our first Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta, and I was underwhelmed considering the hype. The next year at the same event in Chicago, he was a different player and he played lower and more physical. This is more about the interview process than what he did on the field; it clearly hurt him.

Recruiting: The five-star defensive back committed to Arizona over Alabama and others at the Under Armour All-America Game. About a week later, Tabor flipped his commitment to Florida.

Combine performance: His 4.62-second 40-yard dash was not good. His nine reps on the bench press were oddly bad. There are some off-the-field questions about Tabor as well and that could lead him to move lower in the draft.

Farrell’s take: I worried about Tabor’s speed because he was never a burner in high school and his 40 time was weak. But I still see the instincts and “always around the ball” ability of Tyrann Mathieu as I’ve said many times. Some think I’m crazy but this kid has always had that “it” factor that can’t be measured. But this performance and off-the-field questions will drop him down quite a bit.

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