Area has three at NFL draft combine

Changing the postseason seeding is being considered by the league.

VINDICATOR STAFF/WIRE REPORTS

INDIANAPOLIS — Three college football players with area ties are competing at this week’s NFL Draft Combine, which began Thursday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Michigan junior Mario Manningham (Warren Harding High), along with Toledo offensive tackle John Greco (Boardman) and Pitt offensive tackle Mike McGlynn (Fitch) at the league’s annual job fair. More than 600 coaches, general managers and scouts attend the six-day event.

Manningham (6-0, 185) caught 74 passes for 1,174 yards and 12 TDs for the Wolverines this season and has been a big-play threat all three seasons with the Wolverines. Has elite speed and quickness and could sneak into the first round of the draft.

Greco (6-5, 320) is a three-time all-Mid-American Conference selection, starting 49 straight games, including 36 at left tackle.

McGlynn (6-5, 318) started 31 straight games at right tackle before switching to right guard as a senior. He eventually moved back to his original position. He played in 47 games for the Panthers and was one of the team’s most consistent player.

NFL Network will provide live coverage of the event Saturday through Tuesday beginning at 11 a.m. each day. The NFL Draft is April 26-27.

The NFL is considering changing the postseason so seeding would be based on records rather than division titles.

That won’t avoid instances like the one last season when Cleveland missed the playoffs and Tennessee made it by beating Indianapolis backups. But competition committee members agreed Thursday that changing the seeding guidelines would result in fewer such situations.

Committee co-chairman Rich McKay, the Atlanta Falcons’ president, said some clubs had indicated support for the changes.

“There are definitely people on both sides,” McKay said, “and I think there are good arguments on both sides.”

The main motivation for changing the rules is ensuring that the best teams are rewarded. With the NFL aligned in eight four-team divisions, the odds increase that a champion of a weak division may have home field against a wild-card squad from a tough division with a better record.

That happened last season when NFC South champion Tampa Bay (9-7) played host to the New York Giants (10-6). The Giants, who despite having clinched a playoff spot, played all-out in their finale against unbeaten New England, beat the Bucs in Tampa and won two more playoff games on the road.