Sportsfrog.com

Sometimes there is no simple reason to explain why an athlete does or does not get invited to the NFL Combine.

Of the 300+ players invited to the 2007 NFL Combine, there were 48 players invited to work out as a wide receiver.

Yet I have no idea how someone like Brandon Myles could have been left out of that group. It’s not like he finished his college career with a large resume to rest on or that scouts had a clear idea where his abilities were; like for example a situation Taylor Stubblefield had to deal with after ending his career as one of Purdue’s best wide receivers ever. Quite the opposite for Myles, actually, since he comes from a run-heavy West Virginia offense that was dominated by Pat White and Steve Slaton.

So why was Myles not allowed to showcase his talents in Indianapolis? I don’t know. I couldn’t even begin to guess. He had a very strong week of practice at the Senior Bowl, playing against the top defensive talent in the nation. But no invite came his way and the end result could very well be a player that most teams don’t know a whole lot about, one that may not even get drafted, and one that could end up making an impact at the NFL nonetheless.

Let’s take the measurables first. Myles is 6′1, 189 pounds; runs a 4.41 forty, and has a 35.5 inch vertical jump. Had he run that same 40 time at the Combine, it would have be good for 9th best (tied) among all WRs. Myles’ poor short shuttle (4.31) and 3 cone (6.98) times expose one of his question marks, quickness, but those aren’t bad enough times to keep him from being an effective NFL target. His 10′11″ pro day broad jump would have been good for #1 among receivers at the Combine and that combined with his top 10 forty time suggests Myles is a very explosive straight line athlete.

Watching him play in college and at the Senior Bowl, Myles also is a very talented pass catcher. He uses his hands and body extremely well when adjusting to the football and has excellent judgment skills when the ball is in the air. The main knocks on Brandon are not his quickness, which is at worst adequate enough to separate from defenders, but that he doesn’t block well, or run polished routes, or play with a lot of passion or a mean streak. All of those things can be improved on with coaching and discipline and are, in part, products of the system that Myles comes from.

NFL.com compares Myles to Chicago’s Mark Bradley (an early second round pick, by the way) and I would agree by also adding that I think Myles has a little more Brandon Lloyd in him as well. Myles says he compares himself to Reggie Wayne and there are some similarities there; although obviously a Myles to Wayne comparison is a stretch that’ll probably never pan out. But it does give us an idea of the kind of player he works to be on the field. And just there’s no reason Myles can’t be an impact, perimeter receiver in the NFL if given the opportunity. At the value he can be had on draft day - or even after draft day, at this point - there’s nothing but upside here.