Ohio State Football: Why Mike Weber needs a strong NFL Combine

One Ohio State football player who could really move up or down in the draft order due to his performance at the NFL Combine is Mike Weber.

Ohio State running back Mike Weber is in the mix with a group of very good running backs in this year’s draft class. A strong NFL Combine performance can move him up in the draft order as the running back position is always heavily scrutinized.

Pro scouts and general managers put a lot of importance in seeing running backs go toe-to-toe during the workouts. They have already analyzed them from their stats, factored in playing time, style of offense they played in, strength of opposition, injuries etc. But opinions can change when they see them perform in person against their peers.

Not being considered one of the elite backs in the class Weber has been evaluated quite differently by draft analysts at this point, and that’s probably the case with general managers as well. Here are two examples of how Weber is rated differently by two services at the moment.

Walter Football.com has Weber rated as the 5th best running back in the 2019 draft class. Drafttek.com has him at No. 13.

Here is a look at where the 5th running back was chosen in the draft last year along with the others through the13th, and their reported contracts.

• 5) Ronald Jones:  6th pick in 2nd round, $7,071,927 – $3,223,220 guaranteed
• 6) Kerryon Johnson:  11th pick of 2nd round, $5,503,698 – $4,065,583 guaranteed
• 7) Derrius Guice:  27th pick in 2nd round, $4,541,936 – $2,473,224 guaranteed
• 8) Royce Freeman:   7th pick in 3rd round, $3,940,020 – $997,020 guaranteed
• 9) Nyheim Hines:  4th pick in the 4th round, $3,184,548 – $724,548 guaranteed
• 10) Mark Walton:  12th pick in the 4th round, $3,145,348 – $685,348 guaranteed
• 11) Ito Smith:  26th pick in the 4th round, $3,080,872 – $620,872 guaranteed
• 12) Kalen Ballage:  31st pick in the 4th round, $3,049,180 – $589,180 guaranteed
• 13) Chase Edmonds:  34th pick (Compensatory) in the 4th round, $2,912,356 – $452,356 guaranteed

From the things I have read Weber is seen as more of a situational back than a featured one so it’s likely he will fall into the 5-13 range. A good Combine could put him closer to the top of list which could be extremely important for a couple of reasons.

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And both have to do with the guaranteed money.

Running backs tend to have shorter careers than players at other positions so their initial contracts are important in many cases. And the larger the amount of guaranteed money, the more likely they will make the roster their rookie year.

Mike Weber has built quite a resume during his Ohio State career. He rushed for 2,756 yards, averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored 24 touchdowns on the ground. He also caught 54 passes for 297 yards and another score.

But while scouts and general managers will place importance in Weber’s play on the field they will want to see how he measures up against other players they are interested in. That’s why the Buckeye running back needs to have an impressive performance at the NFL Combine.