NFL Draft 2013: Damontre Moore 'really disappointed' by Combine performance

Moore managed just 11 reps in the bench press drill and struggled with a hamstring injury during his 40-yard dash.

By Adam Stites Feb 26, 2013, 11:49am EST

The 2013 NFL Combine definitely didn't go very well for Texas A&M pass rusher Damontre Moore and he acknowledged as much on Monday in an interview with NFL Network in which he said he was "really disappointed" by his performance.

"I had a rocky start with the bench press," Moore told NFL Network's Matt Smith and Bucky Brooks. "I was really disappointed I was nowhere near what I did when I was training. I was disappointed in that, but it's just like football. There's always adversity, you gotta learn from it and move on."

As Moore noted, the combine disappointment began on Sunday when the 250-pound defensive lineman only managed 11 reps of 225 pounds in the bench press. While Moore did measure in with long arms, they weren't the longest in the defensive line class and even 5-9, 183-pound receiver Marquise Goodwin managed 13 reps, leaving little excuse.

The poor showing in the bench press drew the ire of NFL Network's Mike Mayock:

"I wasn't high on Damontre Moore," he said. "I hear top five, I don't believe it. And by the way, he did 11 reps at (225 pounds). That is totally unacceptable. I don't know how you convert speed to power if at 250 pounds you can only bench press 225 11 times. So I'm kind of poking holes in all these supposed top 10 guys because I'm not seeing it."

Compounding the poor show of strength, Moore struggled in the 40-yard dash as well, finishing in an underwhelming 4.87 seconds, although a hamstring injury is said to have slowed him a bit.

With the poor showing at the 2013 NFL Combine, Moore is in danger of falling behind a class of talented defensive end and outside linebacker prospects. In the immediate aftermath of his declaration for the draft after his junior season, Moore was considered by many to be the best pass rushing prospect. Now he has slipped and prospects like Barkevious Mingo, Dion Jordan, Ezekiel Ansah, Bjoern Werner and Jarvis Jones all have the chance to go ahead of him.

Even Cornellius "Tank" Carradine has the capability to do go ahead of Moore if Carradine is able to fully recovery from an ACL tear in time to workout at full-speed in April like he told media at the combine.

In the latest mock draft from SB Nation's Matthew Fairburn, Moore is slated to go to the New York Jets with the ninth selection where the 3-4 scheme could disguise his lack of strength.