UW's Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock impress in NFL Combine drills

The second day of on-field testing at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine saw Washington cornerbacks Tacario Davis and Ephesians Prysock undergo measurements and participate in on-field drills. The former Arizona teammates performed well, and both should see their draft stocks rise in the coming days. Here’s what happened at their combine workouts:

Tacario Davis

Davis got off to a hot start in measurements. He led all cornerbacks in height (6-foot-3 ⅞), arm length (33 ⅜ inches), and wingspan (80 ⅞ inches). He then impressed in the 40-yard dash, where he recorded an official time of 4.41 seconds despite . That time, which is blazing fast for someone of Davis’ size, placed the Husky cornerback in a tie for the fifth-best time among cornerbacks.

Davis’ day wasn’t quite as impressive after that. He had a perfect first run through the ‘gauntlet’ drill but dropped three of seven passes on his second attempt, the last of which was a pure concentration drop. His numbers appeared towards the bottom in the vertical (37.00 inches, sixth-lowest) and broad (10-foot-3, T-third-shortest) jumps. Davis also displayed some stiffness when flipping his hips, which remains likely his biggest weakness as a prospect.

Nevertheless, Davis’ stock is likely to rise considerably as a result of his excellent 40-yard dash time and physical measurements. Questions remain about his short-distance burst (his 10-yard split tied for fourth-slowest among CBs) and hip limitations, but anyone who doubted his long speed has been proven wrong.

Davis now projects as a big body, a strong tackler, and a speedy defender in deep coverage. He’s not quite a finished product yet, but his ceiling is sky-high. I previously considered Davis an early Day 3 target, but he could absolutely be drafted on Day 2 if a zone-based defense is willing to gamble on his upside.

Ephesians Prysock

Davis was the biggest cornerback in attendance this year, but not by much. Prysock was surpassed only by his teammate in height (6-foot-3 ⅜), arm length (33 ⅛ inches), and wingspan (80 ½ inches). Prysock wasn’t far behind Davis in the 40-yard dash either: His time of 4.45 seconds was just four hundredths of a second behind his fellow Husky’s.

However, Prysock outperformed Davis across the remainder of Friday’s drills. Prysock outleapt Davis in the vertical (39.00 inches, T-eighth-highest) and broad (10-foot-4, T-sixth-shortest) jumps and caught 6/7 passes in both gauntlet attempts. He also displayed superior hips during the various backpedal-and-react drills in which the cornerbacks participated. 

Davis got a lot of attention for his 40-yard dash time, and rightfully so, but Friday’s drills made Prysock appear as a much safer draft pick. He’s only barely shorter, smaller, and slower than Davis, and he plays with a more fluid base which will allow him to optimize his physical gifts. 

Prysock might not be drafted before Davis, but he’s still got plenty of upside, and I think he’d be more effective as a plug-and-play starter. Prysock’s combine outing was a very solid one, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear his name called on Day 2.