Former Gopher running back David Cobb was in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl last week, and from all of the published reports, it seems he made quite the impact for the hundreds of NFL scouts and coaches in attendance. Cobb all but guaranteed he will be the first Gopher running back selected in the NFL draft since Laurence Maroney in 2006.
The week started for Cobb at the official weigh-in and measurements even on Tuesday. Even just weighing-in he impressed several attendees:
Senior Bowl Measurements: RB David Cobb, Minnesota 229 pds, 5'10.6" with 9.4" hands.
— R.C. Fischer (@CFBMetrics) January 20, 2015
North squad weigh-in winners - Minnesota RB David Cobb, Hobart OL Ali Marpet
— Josh Liskiewitz (@JoshLiskiewitz) January 20, 2015
The first practice of the week was Tuesday afternoon, and Cobb went right to work impressing those who came to watch:
David Cobb alert: he looks natural running routes. Pretty angle route to smoke Texas ilb Jordan Hicks.
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) January 20, 2015
North practice stand outs: RB David Cobb (MN), WR Jamison Crowder (Duke), DT Carl Davis (Iowa), LB Mike Hull (PSU), CB Steven Nelson (OSU).
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) January 20, 2015
David Cobb all smiles after winning the weigh in (229lbs) and putting together a solid first day of practice pic.twitter.com/SqVH7s9slc
— Luke Inman (@Luke_Spinman) January 20, 2015
It seemed as though the initial thoughts coming into the week were that Cobb would be a good solid pick in the 4th or 5th round....but as the week went on, it seemed his stock continued to rise significantly.
2) Minnesota RB David Cobb will go in first 3 rds of the draft, I was told by two different talent evaluators at practice. Impressive today.
— Robbie Rosenhaus (@robbierosenhaus) January 21, 2015
Cobb continued to get great press as the Senior Bowl practices went into Day 2. He got a nice feature story in the New Orleans Times-Picayune on Wednesday. His play continued to garner him more attention from media and scouts from all over the country:
David Cobb, one of the more talked-about prospects at #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/kdp6nf1Kbb
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) January 21, 2015
David Cobb has looked good today. He hits the hole faster than I thought watching Minnesota.
— Dan Kadar (@MockingTheDraft) January 21, 2015
Two other players who stood out this morning - David Cobb who looks natural catching balls, and OSU's Devin Smith - very fluid. #SeniorBowl
— Robbie Rosenhaus (@robbierosenhaus) January 21, 2015
Day 2 top standouts from the North practice this morning. Danny Shelton(UW), David Cobb (Minn), Carl Davis (Iowa)
— Adam Heisler (@AdamHeis6) January 21, 2015
Senior Bowl player who stood out to me today: Minnesota RB David Cobb. Looked very smooth catching screen passing, run-after-catch.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) January 21, 2015
Cobb continued to get the attention of NFL staffs as well as published reports had him talking to representatives of at least half of the NFL teams including the Vikings, Chargers, Broncos, Saints, Browns, Bills, Panthers, Falcons and others. Cobb continued to shine into Thursday as well, proving that he wasn't just a one day wonder:
David Cobb/RB/Minnesota looking terrific this morning. Catching the ball extremely well.
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) January 22, 2015
David Cobb has looked like the best RB at the Senior Bowl. He's decisive hitting the hole.
— Dan Kadar (@MockingTheDraft) January 22, 2015
David Cobb takes RZ dump off to the corner for TD https://t.co/uBVoaPs1uf
— Luke Inman (@Luke_Spinman) January 22, 2015
This Minnesota tailback David Cobb keeps making plays. I'm becoming intrigued.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) January 22, 2015
The more Cobb did to impress, the higher and higher his draft stock went. However, Gopher fans and others shouldn't get too excited. This is the NFL after all. A league where several scouts still think speed means EVERYTHING:
One RB coach for an NFC team told me David Cobb is "very impressive, but it's all about the 40 in Indy." #SeniorBowl
— Robbie Rosenhaus (@robbierosenhaus) January 22, 2015
But some scouts/media still don't seem to care:
Absolutely RT @therealhotbaad do you think David Cobb has the potential to be an NFL starter
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 22, 2015
David Cobb didn't come into the week as the top RB here, but he left as the best RB here. Most complete skillset of the bunch. Love him.
— Mike Loyko (@NEPD_Loyko) January 23, 2015
9. It's official @GopherFootball RB David Cobb is the best Running Back at the 2015 #SeniorBowl
— RosterWatch (@RosterWatch) January 23, 2015
Cobb and the rest of the players got Friday off to rest before the actual Senior Bowl game on Saturday. Its said that most of the observations and analysis for the scouts in attendance comes from the week of practices, but Cobb made sure that if anyone just watched the game itself, he also would show off his skills there:
Some NFL team is going to be very happy with David Cobb on its roster.
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) January 24, 2015
Love what I saw from David Cobb all week at the Senior Bowl. And that big run is more proof he's a possible stud. Great vision.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) January 24, 2015
I don't care how fast RB David Cobb, [#Minnesota] runs at the combine. If you can spot that cutback, I'll take 'em. #SeniorBowl #NFLDraft
— Joe Everett (@JoeWEverett) January 24, 2015
#Minnesota RB David Cobb has shown more burst out of the backfield than I expected today. Having a strong #SeniorBowl performance.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 24, 2015
Though Ameer Abdullah was given the game MVP award, Cobb has an impressive days as well. Cobb finished the game with 11 carries for 69 yards and two catches for 16 yards. His longest run was a 25-yard burst up the middle, and had a four yard touchdown run seen below.
VINE - David Cobb 4 Yd TD Run #SeniorBowl https://t.co/dXvACZRGYV
— FanSided GIF (@FanSidedGIF) January 24, 2015
Conn was given several NFL running back comparisons after his week including Micheal Turner, Frank Gore, Jeremy Hill, Doug Martin, Joique Bell, and the one I saw the most, Le'Veon Bell. Not a bad back to be compared to.
Here is some video of Cobb answering some reporters questions after practice one day:
And here is another audio interview with Cobb talking about his week.
In addition, here are some other links to scouring reports for Cobb from optimumscouting.com, bleacherreport.com, and two of our fellow SBN Prop Football Sites, Bleeding Green Nation (Eagles) and Gang Green Nation (Jets). Note that the Jets preview of Cobb came back in December, way before his performance last week.
So what is next for Cobb on his journey to the NFL?
@garyalan82 No way to know until the combine. He looks great and has looked great all week in practices. But the combine will be big.
— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) January 24, 2015
That's right..the next major step for Cobb, and where we will most likely finally have a handle on where he may go in the draft will be the NFL Scouting Combine, held in Indianapolis from February 17-23. The official invite list will come out the week after the Super Bowl, but for sure both Cobb and Maxx Wiliams will be invited and will do all the fun activities like the 40-yard dash, and the shuttle run, etc. As has been said, the 40 will be a major factor in where Cobb will end up going in the draft. For Maxx, it won't be as important as he should show off his skills in the bench press and vertical leap portions of the testing.
We here at The Daily Gopher will have combine updates for you as it occurs in February. We also will have more in-depth previews of all potential Gopher draftees as we near the 2015 NFL Draft in May.