Barnett struggles through combine amid illness

Derek Barnett will likely draw kudos for working out Sunday despite an illness that sidelined him the day before, but the top defensive end prospect struggled Sunday to put up the type of numbers expected of him.

Barnett is projected to be a first-round pick, and while he might get a pass for his disappointing results, there's little doubt he lost some ground in what was an impressive day for the majority of the defensive lineman class.

The 20-year-old, standing at 6-foot-3 and 259 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.88 seconds, three one-hundredths of a second slower than Malik McDowell, who weighs nearly 40 pounds more.

It was a decent performance in the 40 all things considered, but when coupled with an underwhelming showing in both the vertical jump (31 inches) and the broad jump (9-foot-8), Barnett faded into the background.

The combine is all about creating buzz, and, fair or not, Barnett's illness deprived him of the chance to elevate his draft stock.

The good news is that Barnett's Tennessee Pro Day isn't until March 31, so he should have enough time to get healthy and use the opportunity to reaffirm his status a potential top-15 pick.