Looking back on the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine through a Patriots lens

Nine eventual New England Patriots made the trip to Indianapolis for the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine.

Four of whom went on to be part of New England’s smallest draft class in franchise history. The other five went on to sign as undrafted free agents in the hours, days and months that followed. And altogether, six are still with the organization a year later but only two played a regular-season down as Patriots rookies.

That group of invitees-turned-Patriots didn’t include Vanderbilt defensive lineman Adam Butler or Iowa tackle Cole Croston – who both spent the duration of the campaign on New England’s 53-man roster – nor did it include six of the first-year pros who finished it on the team’s practice squad.

But as another cadre of some 330 prospects head to Lucas Oil Stadium next week, here’s a glance back on those who did so before stopping by Foxborough in 2017.

Derek Rivers, DE, Youngstown State

• Height: 6-foot-4
• Weight: 248 pounds
• Arms: 32 3/4-inch arms
• Hands: 9 3/8-inch hands
• 40-yard dash: 4.61 seconds
• Three-cone: 6.94 seconds
• Short shuttle: 4.40 seconds
• Vertical leap: 35 inches
• Broad jump: 123 inches
• Bench press: 30 reps

Before Rivers became New England’s top selection at No. 83 overall, the Youngstown State product tied Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan for the sixth-fastest 40-time among all front-seven prospects at the 2017 combine. Rivers also tied Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas for the third-most reps of 225 pounds in that assortment. As for his vertical, only eight D-line or linebacker participants leaped for a higher one than Rivers, who spent his first NFL season on injured reserve. And in terms of three-cone testing, Rivers’ 6.94 was faster than 20 wide receivers.

Antonio Garcia, OT, Troy

• Height: 6-foot-6
• Weight: 302 pounds
• Arms: 33 3/8 inches
• Hands: 9 7/8 inches
• 40-yard dash: 5.15 seconds
• Three-cone: 7.98 seconds
• Short shuttle: 4.94 seconds
• Vertical leap: 31 inches
• Broad jump: 108 inches
• Bench press: 22 reps

Garcia, who also missed the entirety of 2017 after going on the non-football illness list, clocked the eighth-fastest 40-yard dash and fifth-slowest three-cone among competing offensive linemen last February. The Troy Trojan’s 31-inch vertical leap placed him second among blockers and only an inch behind San Diego State guard Nico Siragusa. And his 9-foot broad jump tied Tennessee State’s Jessamen Dunker for sixth-best.

Deatrich Wise Jr., DE, Arkansas

• Height: 6-foot-5
• Weight: 274 pounds
• Arms: 35 5/8 inches
• Hands: 10 1/2 inches
• 40-yard dash: 4.92 seconds
• Three-cone: DNP
• Vertical leap: 33 inches
• Broad jump: 124 inches
• Bench press: 22 reps

Wise measured out with 35 5/8-inch arms, which, according to Mockdraftable.com, tied him for the ninth-longest among combine defensive linemen since 1999. The Patriots fourth-round pick’s 10 1/2-inch hands, meanwhile, ranked top-4 among defensive linemen in 2017. Wise, who posted 26 tackles and five sacks as a rookie, tied for the third-longest broad jump and eighth-highest vertical in terms of D-linemen at the 2017 combine as well.

Conor McDermott, OT, UCLA

• Height: 6-foot-8
• Weight: 307 pounds
• Arms: 34 3/4 inches
• Hands: 11 inches
• 40-yard dash: 5.18 seconds
• Three-cone: 7.52
• Short shuttle: 4.58 seconds
• Vertical leap: 28 1/2 inches
• Broad jump: 105 inches
• Bench press: DNP

McDermott, waived and claimed by the Buffalo Bills at the 53-man cutdown, checked in as the second-tallest offensive lineman at the 2017 combine behind Arkansas’ 6-foot-10 Dan Skipper. The Patriots’ final selection of the draft also tied Wisconsin linebacker T.J. Watt and USC guard Damien Mama for the third-largest hands overall. McDermott ran a 7.52 three-cone drill – tied for third-quickest among 2017 O-linemen – and he stood in fourth in terms of the short shuttle.

Harvey Langi, LB, BYU

• Height: 6-foot-2
• Weight: 251 pounds
• Arms: 32 7/8 inches
• Hands: 9 1/8 inches
• 40-yard dash: DNP
• Three-cone: 7.00 seconds
• Short shuttle: 4.32 seconds
• Vertical leap: 33 inches
• Broad jump: 118 inches
• Bench press: 23 reps

Langi, who was placed on non-football injury after suffering serious injuries in an October car accident, appeared in one game as a rookie. New England’s top undrafted signing worked out with the defensive linemen at last year’s combine, finishing sixth in three-cone and fifth in short-shuttle times. Nine D-line prospects notched a higher vertical leap than Langi, who locked with Wise, Michigan’s Taco Charlton, Auburn’s Carl Lawson and UCLA’s Takkarist McKinley at 33 inches.

Damarius Travis, S, Minnesota

• Height: 6-foot-1
• Weight: 206 pounds
• Arms: 31 3/4 inches
• Hands: 9 inches
• 40-yard dash: DNP
• Three-cone: 7.08 seconds
• Short shuttle: 4.28 seconds
• Vertical leap: 32 1/2 inches
• Broad jump: 115 inches
• Bench press: 13 reps

Travis, who resided on New England’s practice squad for all of 2017, did not run the 40 at the combine and had mostly inconspicuous results in other events. The Golden Gopher’s three-cone ranked 23rd out of the 24 defensive backs who ran it in Indianapolis, and his short-shuttle was slower than 17 of a partaking 22. Travis’ broad jump ranked 41st, yet his vertical eclipsed four future first- and second-round cornerbacks and safeties.

Brooks Ellis, LB, Arkansas

• Height: 6-foot-2
• Weight: 240 pounds
• Arms: 31 3/4 inches
• Hands: 9 3/4 inches
• 40-yard dash: 4.79 seconds
• Three-cone: 6.80 seconds
• Short Shuttle: 4.25 seconds
• Vertical leap: 29 1/2 inches
• Broad jump: 115 inches
• Bench press: 18 reps

An undrafted free agent who spent the spring and summer in New England before latching onto the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad, Ellis stacked up well in agility drills at the combine. The former Razorback ran the second-fastest 60-yard shuttle, tied for the fifth-fastest short shuttle, and had the third-fastest three-cone as far as the linebacker section was considered.

William Likely III, CB, Maryland

• Height: 5-foot-7
• Weight: 180 pounds
• Arms: 29 inches
• Hands: 9 1/2 inches
• 40-yard dash: DNP
• Three-cone: DNP
• Short shuttle: DNP
• Vertical leap: DNP
• Broad jump: DNP
• Bench press: 15 reps

Likely tore his ACL in the fall of his final season at Maryland, and the corner-slash-returner wasn’t fully cleared by his March pro day – hence his absence from all on-field workouts in Indy. Likely later signed with the Patriots in June and remained in the fold until after the preseason, logging six tackles and one pass deflection through three games of exhibition action.

Keionta Davis, DE, Tennessee-Chattanooga

• Height: 6-foot-3
• Weight: 271 pounds
• Arms: 34 inches
• Hands: 9 1/2 inches
• 40-yard dash: DNP
• Three-cone: DNP
• Short shuttle: DNP
• Vertical leap: DNP
• Broad jump: DNP
• Bench press: DNP

Along similar lines was Davis, a two-time FCS All-American and 2016 Southern Conference defensive player of the year who amassed 24 sacks over his final two seasons with the Mocs. Davis was unable to partake in drills at the combine after doctors discovered a bulging disc in his neck. The Senior Bowl attendee later signed with the Patriots in August and was sent to non-football injury list at the start of September.