Berry banks on body of work

The film won’t stand alone.

Eric Berry is more than willing to give pro scouts all the measurable information they need, and unlike a few other top prospects, the former Tennessee safety isn’t picking and choosing workouts.

Berry will run the 40-yard dash, do the bench press and anything else needed at the NFL combine today in Indianapolis, which can be a calculated risk for players who already brought solid stock with them to the pre-draft event. But if for some reason something goes wrong before he leaves town, Berry at least has one major cushion to protect him from falling too far.

“The film doesn’t lie,” NFLDraftScout.com senior analyst Rob Rang said. “The kid is an absolute playmaker.

“It’s not only the fact that he has the interceptions and things like that, this kid makes the dirty plays that don’t get all the attention as well, like taking out a blocker so another defender can make the play. It’s that kind of defense this kid plays that’s going to make him a Pro Bowler someday.”

Before Berry can become one he has to actually find a team first, though that will be a mere formality when the draft finally rolls around in April.

Since returning for his junior season with the Vols, his status as a first-round pick has never wavered. And despite not putting up the eye-popping individual statistics he was accustomed to, Berry has likely solidified himself as a top-five selection after showing off his versatility in the secondary and near the line of scrimmage as UT’s utility-weapon.

He still has a chance to put up impressive numbers of a different sort today in workouts with the rest of the defensive backs, though that wasn’t the sole motivation for his trip to the combine.

“It’s a very big job interview,” Berry said late last week on The Sports Page radio show. “Really I just want to show people what I can do, not really concerned with the numbers. I’m concerned with putting the impression on people how intelligent I am on the football field and what I can bring to an organization.

“That’s what I’m really focused on, although I am going to go up there to the combine prepared, I really want people to see my film and how versatile I am on the football field. With playing cornerback, playing nickel corner, played free and strong safety, played every facet of special teams except field goals, I can bring so much to a football team, I feel. I’m banking on teams to see that and really evaluate me based on my tape.”

That breakdown of Berry’s value will certainly continue after the combine is over and all the way up to draft day, but there also will be a few new components to analyze.

The workout might not be enough to move him into the top-two spots or really cause him to slide, but either way he’s not planning to skip any part of it.

“I personally have him as the third-best player available behind the two defensive tackles (Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy),” Rang said. “The only reason that he’ll potentially fall lower than that is just because of the fact that safeties aren’t valued as much in the NFL as perhaps they should be, especially considering how the NFL has morphed into so much more of a passing game than it has been in the past.

“Certainly considering the impact safeties had this year in the NFL, how good the Colts defense was with or without Bob Sanders, the impacts that Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Brian Dawkins all had, Darren Sharper last year with the Saints, safeties are as valued now as they’ve ever been.”

Berry might not be able to boost his stock all that much higher, but he’s not afraid to cement it through a little participation.