Did Kelvin Benjamin tank his combine?
Picture was taken from video of Kelvin Benjamin's 40 time at NFL.com |
Earlier this year scouts were analyzing hundreds of players in a never ending quest to predict the quality and potential of future NFL athletes. So after spending all of that time looking at film, investigating backgrounds, and checking Wonderlic scores there is one thing they can't check. They cannot measure effort. Enter former FSU wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.
The first round selection claimed to have deliberately have a slow 40 time at the combine, according to David Newton of ESPN Newton explained:
Because I wanted to play for the Carolina Panthers,
The comment was mentioned on a local Charlotte radio station and a source from the Panthers organization sent a text message to a guest on the show stating:
Kelvin was kidding about the Combine. Wasn’t even close to being serious. Didn’t know he was being interviewed for a story.
Enter everyone being completely baffled by the situation.
So here are the possible scenarios:
- Benjamin was just kidding and the comment was taken out of context. The most likliest of scenarios.
- Benjamin did in fact run a slow 40 time on purpose. The only logical reason for him to want his draft stock to drop would be avoid the fifth year option that first rounders are subject to. But to randomly admit this would be something that only someone incredibly simple minded person would do.
- Benjamin was trying give an excuse for why he ran slowly. This is not a real possibility, I just like doing lists in three's.
What do you think of Kelvin Benjamin's comments? Let us know in the comments section below!
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