David Cobb might not get picked until Day 3 of the NFL draft, between rounds four and seven, but analysts have referred to the former Gophers running back as a potential steal.
Cobb's stock climbed at the Senior Bowl in January, when he rushed 11 times for 69 yards after checking in at 5-11, 229 pounds. Then, after weeks of training in Carson, Calif., Cobb went to the NFL combine and strained his left quadriceps while running the 40-yard dash.
It took an additional seven weeks before he finally could show teams he was healthy at his pro day in Minneapolis, on April 13. The Vikings and Ravens were among the teams with multiple people watching, and about 17 teams were represented.
Cobb said it had been "stressful" watching his name drop in the running back rankings. His cousin, former Gophers linebacker Damien Wilson, worked to keep his spirits up. Wilson made it through the combine healthy and hopes to become a late-round pick.
"I got kind of down a little bit when I got hurt, and it wasn't healing as fast as I wanted it to," Cobb said. "[Wilson] just always says, 'Great things take time.' He jokes about that a lot."
Two other factors are working against Cobb: The running back position has been devalued in the NFL, with the past two drafts passing without a single running back getting picked in the first round; this is considered a deep running back class, led by Georgia's Todd Gurley and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon.
SI.com ranks Cobb as the No. 6 running back on the board, and CBSSports.com ranks him 11th. Most projections have him going between the third and fifth round.
"For running backs, it's about performance, and Cobb had a heck of a year," ESPN analyst Mel Kiper said, referring to Cobb's 1,626 rushing yards, which broke Laurence Maroney's single-season record for the Gophers.
