Moving the chains (really fast) on draft stocks

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INDIANAPOLISFor much of the next two months the gossip will swirl around whos hot, whos not and whos who in the NFL draft. The Scouting Combine is usually the unofficial launch point for a lot of that and this year is no exception, nowhere more so than for wide receivers, which is of more than a little passing interest to the Bears.

Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd ran his 40 in 4.42 secomds early Sunday morning and did himself a major solid, given his size at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds.

What also may have helped Floyd and other wideouts is that Oklahoma States Justin Blackmon declined to run the 40, this after his height was established at 6-foot for Combine purposes.

Blackmon, who posted stunning reception totals at OSU, is seeing his stock slip visavis Floyd and others, particular Rueben Randle from LSU and Kendall Wright out of Baylor. Randle was rising on unofficial draft boards whereas Blackmon is no longer considered the sure top-five pick he once was.

But the clock wasnt automatically a friend to all. Randle listed at 6-foot-2 78ths and 217 pounds, and he was timed at 4.5 sec. in his first go in the 40 and 4.65 in his second. Mohamed Sanu from Rutgers, another rising star at 6-foot-1and 211 pounds was a disappointing 4.65 in his first 40.

Kendall Wright from Baylor, at 5-foot-10was a strong 4.45 in his first effort, supporting the buzz that he will be gone by the time the Bears pick at No. 19.

Illinois A.J. Jenkins probably ran his way into the second round with a time of 4.37 sec. in his 40. Jenkins is slightly taller than 6-foot but was a four-year player in Champaign and had reception totals of 56 and 90 in his final two seasons with 15 combined touchdowns.

Andrew Luck ran a 4.66-second 40-yard dash in his first effort, well off the 4.38 pace of Robert Griffin III and around the 4.59 credited to Cam Newton last season.

But quarterback is less about long, straight-ahead speed and the Indianapolis Colts are not likely to change their target from Luck to Griffin or anyone else based on a sprint that every team hopes its quarterback never has to make. Luck ran his second 40 at 4.59, and if that was good enough for Newton to go No. 1, you can bet thatll be just fine with the Colts on Luck.

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