Oklahoma’s Orlando Brown is considered one of the top left tackle prospects in this year’s draft. He had a terrific college career with the Sooners and also has a strong pedigree as his father played nine seasons in the NFL. However, Brown did not do his stock a lot of good during the Combine as he ran a really slow 5.86-second 40-yard dash on his first attempt.
"That's a historically bad time." – Mike Mayock on Orlando Brown running an unofficial 5.86 in the 40-yard dash. https://t.co/FuYQVbnOga
— 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 (@sportingnews) March 2, 2018
Brown's poor showing at the 40 comes on the heels of an equally underwhelming performance on the 225-lb. bench press test. He had just 14 reps, less than half of what running back Saquon Barkley managed to do. But despite his disappointing time, Brown still had a good sense of humor about his unimpressive speed.
“I’ve been fat my whole life,” Brown said, via Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “I wish I was fast. If I was fast, 6-2, I’d probably be playing [defensive back], but God blessed me. … It is what it is. I don’t necessarily try to live up to his expectations.”
From a layman's perspective, teams perhaps shouldn't take too much stock in an offensive lineman running slowly since they won’t be required to do so in actual game situations.
But Brown’s slow 40 coupled with a similarly subpar bench press test could potentially raise some question marks about his overall athletic profile – which would be surprising given his genetics – or at the very least, his work ethic in terms of getting his body prepared for those tests.
All is not lost for Brown, though. He’ll still have a chance to redeem himself during his pro day. And even if he doesn't markedly improve then, he still has four years' worth of college tape showing just how effective he can be on the field when he's actually playing football.
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