Many players have recovered from poor NFL combine performances and gone on to have tremendously productive careers, so maybe Florida edge rusher Jachai Polite shouldn’t feel too bad about what happened in Indianapolis this weekend at the 2019 NFL Combine. But, man, the guy could not have had a worse time at the annual showcase for draft prospects.
We’ll start on the field, where Polite turned in an underwhelming performance in the 40-yard-dash before pulling himself from the rest of the drills due to a hamstring injury that he had, apparently, been dealing with for 10 days.
Polite is seen as a first-round prospect because of his freakish athletic ability so this 40-yard-dash will not do him any favors…
He’s an undersized prospect who really needed to wow scout with his workouts. That did not happen.
Polite’s interviews with the media were even more concerning than his on-field work. He specifically called out several teams for grilling him during interviews, which is actually pretty standard during these combine meetings.
Polite did seem to have a good interview with the Rams, who did not scrutinize his play.
“Responds well to constructive criticism” is not a box Polite checked off this weekend. And it gets worse from there: A reporter asked the Florida product on how he tried to improve the weaknesses he saw in his film during the lead-up to the draft. His response was, um, interesting…
“I don’t really focus on — it’s just natural. That’s just how I play. I never really even watch myself that much to know that. That’s crazy.”
Even if it is true that Polite isn’t a big fan of self-scouting, YOU DON’T ADMIT THAT DURING WHAT’S BASICALLY YOUR JOB INTERVIEW. Polite is a raw prospect who will need to develop more pass rush moves to make an impact in the league. If he’s not actively working to better himself, team’s will rightfully be concerned. This is a terrible look.
Luckily for Polite, he still has his pro day to right all of these wrongs. Florida’s Pro Day takes place on March 27.
