National Football League

Havenstein has something to prove as NFL Draft draws near

Published Apr. 9, 2015 3:30 p.m. ET

foxsports

MADISON, Wis. -- It has become an annual tradition of sorts to use the window between the end of bowl season and the start of the NFL Draft to pick at the flaws of even the most talented college prospects. All the game film in the world, all the yardage gained or vicious pancake blocks no longer seems to hold the same value.

Instead, scouts and NFL personnel use this stretch to tear apart every shred of a player, trying to spot the blemish other teams could not that will provide reason to pass on him and draft the next great hope of a franchise. Too slow in the 40-yard dash. Not enough bench-press reps. Mediocre vertical leap.

Former Wisconsin right tackle Rob Havenstein is not the first to hear about the ways in which he does not measure up to his NFL peers, nor will he be the last. But in the days leading up to this year's NFL Draft, which is now three weeks away, he is hopeful teams will see him for what he is rather than what he is not.

Havenstein did not wow scouts with his NFL Combine performance in February. He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.46 seconds, better than only eight other linemen there. His 16 repetitions of the 225-pound bench press was the lowest number among all linemen who performed at the combine. And NFL.com writer Chase Goodbread went so far as to label him the "biggest workout loser" at the combine, noting he finished "near the bottom of the linemen in the 20-yard shuttle (4.87) and turned in the worst three-cone drill time (8.28)."

And yet, at 6-foot-7 and 321 pounds, Havenstein still is one of the largest specimens in the draft. He still is someone who appeared in 54 career games at Wisconsin and was good enough to make 42 starts, including 41 consecutive games over his final three seasons for the Badgers, and was the unquestioned leader of the line.

To think, then, that Havenstein won't be a quality football player in the NFL based solely on his bench press and 40 times seems absurd.

"Wherever I went to train or whatever I ate, it wasn't going to get me to a 4.5," Havenstein said at Wisconsin's pro day last month. "So I wasn't going to run a sub-4.5 40. My numbers are my numbers. It was the best I could do."

If history of Wisconsin offensive linemen is any indication, Havenstein should have a productive career, even if his measurables did not impress. John Moffitt, for example, ran a 5.55-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine in 2011. He was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft, at No. 75 overall, and started 15 games before opting to retire in 2013.

Travis Frederick ran a 5.58-second 40-yard dash at the combine in 2013. He was selected in the first round of the draft, at No. 31 overall, and has started all 32 regular-season games for the Dallas Cowboys since being drafted.

Peter Konz only bench-pressed 225 pounds 18 times at the NFL Combine. He was a second-round draft pick in 2012, at No. 55 overall, and has played in 39 games with 28 starts for the Atlanta Falcons.

Havenstein was quick to note that just because those other players have found success in the NFL doesn't mean he will. But just because his combine numbers weren't exceptional doesn't mean he won't have success.

"There is a lot of heritage of Wisconsin guys in the NFL," Havenstein said last month. "I guess for me right now it comes down player to player. It's not because I went to Wisconsin that I'm going to be a great player or anything like that. I think we've had really good coaches and really good players come through here. Really good players have had good careers in the NFL because they're really good players. So I'm just trying to go out, make my mark and see what I can do."

During Wisconsin's pro day, Havenstein only participated in the bench press and performed in individual linemen drills. He improved his bench press number from 16 to 20 and said he was happy with the mark. Where teams draft him likely will be up to the film and whatever private workouts he holds with teams in the lead-up to the draft.

Havenstein has proven his work ethic during his college career. He arrived at Wisconsin weighing close to 390 pounds but dropped nearly 60 pounds by the time he was senior. He was named a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and a first-team All-Big Ten player in 2014.

As for his NFL Draft stock, CBSSports.com projects him as a third- or fourth-round pick. And NFL.com describes him as a "three-year starter who doesn't look the part in his uniform, but teams should worry more about how the dish tastes rather than how it is plated. With surprising feet to pair with good length and balance, Havenstein has the tools to be a starting right tackle in the league."

Havenstein was asked if durability was his biggest asset considering he hadn't missed a game the past three seasons.

"I guess some people could say that," he said. "Some people could say other things. Some people could say I don't have any attributes. It's all up to interpretation. I'm just trying to show who I am as a player, as a person, as a teammate, whatever it is. I'm trying to show who I am."

Wherever Havenstein is selected, he will simply be happy to have the opportunity. He is by no means a perfect player, but he is one who surely can help the right team in the NFL for quite some time -- which would represent the culmination of a years-long dream.

"It's everything," Havenstein said. "It's what a lot of people are trying to do and can't do. Ever since, I'm sure a lot of people were little kids, you watch it on TV and you kind of think about, 'Man, it'd be cool to play there.' Then you get to high school or college and think, 'OK, maybe I've got a shot at this.'

"And then you've got to keep pushing and pushing every day to make that dream a reality. You know it's not going to come easy. There might be some bumps in the road. But you keep your nose to that grindstone every day and you make that dream a reality."

Follow Jesse Temple on Twitter