NFL Scouting Combine Preview

Thursday was the first of four days where over 300 prospects take the field in Lucas Oil Stadium in hopes of improving their draft stock with their performances in on-field drills like the forty-yard dash and the broad jump at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. 

There are also weigh-ins, medicals, and interviews, which in some cases, are more important than the events. But we aren’t privy to all that information, and even if we were, it would be trumped by the incredible power and athleticism on display. 

Here’s a look at the next three days in Indianapolis:

Do you have the need for speed? The defensive backs will take the field today.

Oregon Ducks cornerback Christian Gonzalez is expected to run one of the fastest 40 times in Indianapolis and could establish himself as CB1 in this draft class. Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. and Georgia’s Kelee Ringo are two more projected first-round picks who will impress the scouts.

A name you might not recognize is Maryland Terrapins corner Deonte Banks, who might be Gonzalez’s stiffest challenger when it comes to the top speed demon at the Scouting Combine. 

“For me, it’s (Devon) Witherspoon, Porter, and Gonzalez, whatever order you want to put them in,” the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said as he ranked his top cornerbacks in this draft class.

What projected starters could go in the second round?

“I think Ringo from Georgia is gone. Banks from Maryland is probably gone. You are looking at Tyrique Stevenson. You are looking at DJ Turner from Michigan.”

Turner is another defensive back with some serious wheels, and Jeremiah also mentioned Iowa product Riley Moss as a coverman who will run well in Indianapolis.

We’ve already covered the quarterbacks, so let’s focus on the pass catchers. 

Unfortunately, we won’t see Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba run the 40-yard dash on Saturday. Thought of as WR1 going into the 2022 season, after a lingering hamstring issue limited him to five catches over three games, JSN is in the mix with several candidates in what is now a wide-open field.

It’s unlikely a wideout goes in the top ten, and some question whether there is a true WR1 in the group, but that doesn’t mean the position lacks speed.

“There’s flyers in this draft. You can get them,” Jeremiah said. “We talked about (Jalin) Hyatt early. Quentin Johnston can fly. He can really run. I know Nathaniel Dell is undersized. He is tiny. He is 5’8″ and a half, 163 pounds. He is like Marquise Brown. Big-time, big-time juice, and acceleration. He has really good hands. He is a good player. He can fly.

Tyler Scott from Cincinnati, I think, is probably going to go on Day 2 somewhere. He is vertical, can really go. He can take the top off.

Charlie Jones, I think you’ll see run well from Purdue. Marvin Mims probably more mid-4.4-type speed from Oklahoma but an overall good receiver, good route runner, and can get vertical if you need him to do that.”

Johnston is the complete physical package, while USC’s Jordan Addison and Boston College’s Zay Flowers make up for what they lack in size with skills like route running and reliable hands. We can’t forget Princeton’s track star Andrei Iosivas, who will have officials checking for jet engines when he posts his 40-time. 

With the cornerbacks and wide receivers establishing the bar on Friday and Saturday, the table is set for Texas A&M running back Devon Achane, who many believe has a chance to be the 40-yard dash king. A legit track guy who can catch the ball out of the backfield, Achane is a playmaker.

The consensus RB1 is Texas’s Bijan Robinson, who would have been a top ten pick ten to 15 years ago and in the mix to go in the top five 20 years ago. Because of how the position is looked upon in 2023, he could last into the bottom third of the first round.

Before we go, there must be some flowers for the big uglies. I’ve written a lot about the quarterbacks and the pass rushers as the best players in the draft. Every prospect in the top ten odds to be the No. 1 overall pick is a QB, an edge rusher, or a defensive tackle.

The next position group just outside the top ten are the offensive tackles, led by the troika of Georgia’s Broderick Jones, Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski, and Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr.

You can make a case for Skoronski as the “safest” pick of the trio, but he’s the most likely to find himself at guard, while Johnson Jr. was solid but never reached the high potential many believe he possesses. Jones is my favorite, with the feet to handle pass rushers and the power to maul in the run game.