NFL Combine Stock Watch: Did Auburn Players Help or Hurt Draft Status?
Feb 23, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Auburn Tigers defensive back Jermaine Whitehead runs with the ball after catching a pass in a workout drill during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jermaine Whitehead, DB
NFL Combine Results
- Height: 5-foot-11
- Weight: 197 pounds
- Length: 31-inch arms, 9 3/8-inch hands
- 40-Yard Dash: 4.59
- Bench Press: 15 reps
- Vertical Leap: 37 inches
- Broad Jump: 128 inches
- Three Cone Drill: 6.95 seconds
- Short Shuttle: 4.11 seconds
One of the former Auburn football players with much to gain and little to lose during the combine was Jermaine Whitehead. The safety came in to Indianapolis pegged as a late round pick at best and likely an undrafted free agent.
Undersized but athletic, Whitehead finished second among safeties with a broad jump of ten feet, eight inches and ranked in the top five in his position group in the vertical, three cone drill and the 20-yard short shuttle. His 40-yard dash wasn’t extraordinary, ranking 12th among safeties, but overall the workout results were solid.
Whitehead started every game for the Tigers in 2013 and tied for the team lead with six interceptions in 2014, but he was suspended four games in the middle of the season. NFL teams surely grilled Whitehead on the suspension, and his interviews with the teams may mean as much or more than the numbers he posted.
With only one safety likely to be selected in the first round of the draft (Alabama’s Landon Collins), Whitehead had an opportunity to prove he’s worth a late round selection and an opportunity to compete for a roster spot.
NFL Draft Stock Report: Rising
Next: Angelo Blackson