Mario Manningham NFL Draft Profile: Will Slow 40 Times Hurt This Proven Performer?

In college, Mario Manningham seemed to be faster than every defensive back he went up against. Whether they were from Florida, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, or just about any other team, it didn't seem to matter.

Manningham blew by people on fly routes so easily that it seemed as if he would blaze up the turf at Indianapolis for the NFL Draft combine. But then Manningham went out and ran in the 4.5-4.6 range on his 40-yard dashes. Teammate and linebacker/defensive end Shawn Crable even out-ran him. Now instead of the middle-first round, many are projecting him to go late in the first or even the second round.

But Manningham doesn't deserve to be knocked down so far because football is played in pads and not a t-shirt and tight shorts. He also doesn't deserve to slide because pure vertical speed isn't the main reason why he blows by people with such ease; it's because of his amazing route-running skills and change-of-direction ability.

Manningham usually burns people by giving them the out-and-up move and taking off past DB's who sit on the out cut. The perfect example was when he left a Notre Dame defensive back standing still and then outran him by a good 30 yards.

It is because of these abilities that Manningham compares well to Marvin Harrison of the Indianapolis Colts. He has a little bit better speed than Harrison but will probably not be quite as good due to his somewhat inconsistent hands and occasional fear of going over the middle leading to drops. But Manningham has the kind of precise route-running ability and quickness to be able to consistently get open in the NFL, and if he plays with a good QB, he will put up big numbers.

Manningham was open on an incredible number of deep passes over his career at Michigan, but Chad Henne let a lot of deep balls sail on him and missed Manningham open deep quite a bit. Overall, Manningham should be an excellent complementary, #2-type of receiver in the NFL and he has the experience to contribute early in his career because he's been playing since he was a freshman.