The NFL Combine is coming up this week and there should be some interesting players that will be weighed and measured, and hopefully they will actually work out.  The top players at the positions rarely work out and it’s a safe assumption that happens again this year.  There are some guys who can really help themselves if they work out and do well.  The flip side is you can hurt yourself if you don’t do well.  I’m going to give you a little primer on who could help themselves (or not) this week at the combine.

Quarterbacks

Jalen Milroe (Alabama)- He has the opportunity to show off his elite athleticism, which is something everyone knows he has but when you do it in front of them, it leaves a lasting impression.  I’m not a Milroe guy because I have a lot of questions about him in the passing game but he could move into the QB3 spot of this draft with an impressive showing in Indy.

Will Howard (Ohio St.)- One of the more intriguing QBs after he led Ohio St. to a National Championship.  Howard is 6’4 236 lbs. and he shows good accuracy. He’s more mobile that he gets credit for because he’s pretty big. He doesn’t want to run with the ball but he can move out of the pocket and throw on the run. 

Tyler Shough (Louisville)- Shough (pronounced like Shuck) will be 26 years old in September, he’s been in college 7 years.  He started at Oregon, went to Texas Tech, and ended up at Louisville.  When he throws at the combine, he’s going to make all the others look bad, he’s got arguably the best arm in the class.  He might scare off a few of the more notable players from throwing because they don’t want to look bad in comparison. 

Kyle McCord (Syracuse)- The guy who left Ohio St. and had a great year at Syracuse could make himself some money if he looks good at the combine.  He didn’t dominate the Shrine Bowl like some expected but he was good and if he carries that momentum into the combine, he could move up the board. 

Running Backs

Quinshon Judkins (Ohio St.) – Judkins transferred to Ohio St. last year after dominating for a couple of years at Ole Miss.  He moved into a timeshare with Treveyon Henderson and while they were both good it didn’t let either really dominate during the season.  Henderson was the speed guy while Judkins was the power back. Judkins showed in the National Championship game that he can be a dominate back.  He’s fallen behind a number of guys in this draft but someone is going to get a great back on day two.  He could really move up too if he shows some of the skills people forgot he had this last season. 

Kyle Monangai (Rutgers) – Monangai is listed at 5’9 209 lbs. but no one who has ever tried to tackle him would believe that.  He’s one of the toughest runners in college football and his game will translate to the pros.  He needs to prove to teams he has some speed and elusiveness that he rarely showed at Rutgers.  He’s a true power runner but he can do a little more than that.  If he can outperform expectations in the 40, the broad jump, or the vertical, just to prove some explosiveness, it will help his draft stock.

Kaleb Johnson (Iowa) – There is no doubt he has everything you want in the run game, speed, power, vision, patience, it’s all there.  The one thing that Iowa didn’t use Johnson for enough was in the pass game.  He has good hands and I believe he’s a complete back but there just isn’t a lot on film showing different aspects of catching the ball.  The pass catching drills for the RBs could be huge for Johnson’s stock. 

Wide Receivers

Luther Burden III (Missouri)– I’m not certain Burden will work out but I think he should.  He had a less than stellar season at Missouri, but it wasn’t his fault.  He can go to the combine and show that he’s still the playmaker he was two years ago.  I’m seeing him fall behind guys like Emeka Egbuka and Matthew Golden, I like those guys but Burden has the higher upside as a true playmaker. 

Emeka Egbuka (Ohio St.) – Egbuka is the all-time leading WR at Ohio St. in most categories, it helps that he spent five years there.  He was never the #1 guy and he’s not going to be a WR1 in the NFL but he’s an awesome #2.  He can move up the boards by showing off his athleticism, which is an underrated part of his game.  Most see him as a great route runner and steady presence.  He has more agility and body control that make him really good at the route running and gives him an opportunity to make tough catches.

Tez Johnson (Oregon) – He’s going to blaze the 40-yard dash because he has elite speed, but it would help if he does it weighing someone over 160 lbs.  He was 156 at the Senior Bowl and that was all anyone wanted to talk about.  Being fast is great but too many teams will take him off their board if he’s in the 155 lbs. range. 

Tory Horton (Colorado St.) – Horton played at Nevada and Colorado St. and was really productive at each place but he’s been injured lately.  He missed most of this last season and he will need the medical checks to come back clean.  Whoever ends up with Horton later in the draft is going to get very productive player who should outperform his draft slot. 

Arian Smith (Georgia) – Speed, speed, and more speed. Smith is going to try to break Xavier Worthy’s combine record in the 40 and he’s sure to run in the 4.2’s.  He’s never been the best WR from a production standpoint but teams won’t be drafting him because he’s a productive player, it’s because his speed is enticing.  I’m not his biggest fan but he’ll be the talk of the combine if he gets close to Worthy’s time. 

Savion Williams (TCU) – He’s also known as the other TCU WR.  Jack Bech was the productive WR at TCU and he should go higher than Williams but Williams is very intriguing.  He’s 6’5 225 lbs. and he has speed and agility all day.  Unfortunately, he’s very underdeveloped from a skill prospective and his hands are inconsistent.  If he looks good catching the ball and running routes, someone might take a flyer on him way earlier than anyone expects. 

Tight Ends

Harold Fannin Jr. (Bowling Green) – This guy as highly productive in college, as a matter of fact, he was so productive some people think he’s a WR not a TE.  He’s undersized for a TE or oversized as WR, not sure which is truer.  At the combine, teams are going to try to figure that out. Can he block well enough to play TE or is he only a receiving TE?  He doesn’t have the size to be a great blocker but technique and willingness can go a long way towards being a competent blocker at TE.      

Luke Lachey (Iowa) – Lachey had a rough year coming off a major injury the year before, having Iowa changing the offense, and having pretty ugly QB play all year. Lachey is a talented athlete with great size and great hands.  It’s a good TE class so he needs to stand out at the combine and make teams go back and watch him before his injury and before Iowa’s offense was a disaster, he was really good back then.

Offensive Line

Will Campbell (LSU) – Campbell’s combine results only matter as far as his arm length.  Teams are concerned he won’t have arms over the minimum 33-inches teams like for offensive tackles.  If he’s at 33 or above, they will largely forget about it.  If it’s under 33, then it becomes a conversation about him becoming a guard.  I don’t care all that much but teams seem to care a lot.  I would take him covering Drake Maye’s blindside for the next decade.   

Charles Grant (William & Mary) – Grant is a small school prospect who’s 6’4 300 lbs. so he’s also a bit small for a LT.  He makes up for his size deficiency with his athleticism.  He’s the perfect fit in zone blocking scheme because of his movement skills.  Not everyone is going to like him but he’s going to be impressive when he works out. 

Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon) – Conerly is another guy who will be quite the athletic specimen at OT but he also has the requisite size to be a legitimate starting LT next season.  Conerly is not a refined player and he’s going to have his growing pains but the combine could be his showcase if he works out. 

Josh Simmons (Ohio St.) – This is all about his medical evaluation.  He had a torn patellar tendon early last season but he looked quite good leading up to that point. He has the size and athleticism everyone wants in LT, there’s just questions about the knee and the fact he doesn’t have a lot of starts at the power 4 level, he transferred into Ohio St. 

Defensive Line

Darius Alexander (Toledo) – Alexander had a really good Senior Bowl week proving he could hang with the big boys after playing at Toledo. He’s an athletic guy for size and while this is a deep defensive line class, Alexander stands out.  If he continues to stand out at the combine, he’ll keep moving up the DT board. 

The Big Boys; Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M), Kenneth Grant (Michigan), Deone Walker (Auburn), Alfred Collins (Texas), Omarr Norman-Lott (Tennessee) – It’s always fun to watch the freaky big guys run the 40 and do the drills and realize just how unbelievably athletic these guys can actually be.  These are the truly scary athletes, Shemar Stewart is a 6’6 290 lbs. DE who could run 4.5 in the 40, that’s incredible.  And I guarantee you one of these guys is going to do something incredible in one the drills or something like the vert or broad jump.  Fun times.

The speed rushers; James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee), Jalon Walker (Georgia), Mike Green (Marshall), Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College), Princely Umanmielen (Ole Miss), Landon Jackson (Arkansas), Josiah Stewart (Michigan) – This group is going to need to workout to stand out from each other.  There are so many good edge rushers in this class these guys need to show out to put themselves in position to be drafted before the others.  Abdul Carter is the top edge rusher and that’s not a question but who’s #2 might have a bunch of different answers at the moment and the combine is the chance these guys need to prove it should be them. 

Linebackers

Demetrius Knight Jr. (South Carolina) – Knight is a 6’2 245 lbs. run stuffer who is a little stiff and doesn’t move great laterally.  He lacks pass coverage instincts and shouldn’t be counted on to do that to much.  His workout is about showing he’s improved his agility and fluidity. 

Carson Schwesinger (UCLA) – He’s the opposite of Knight, he’s speedy, fluid, and sometimes looks like he was shot out of a cannon.  He’s got good coverage ability because of those traits and he’s pretty good at blitzing even though he lacks size.  At 6’2 226 lbs. he can get overwhelmed in the run game but he can be a good player if used correctly.

Defensive Backs

Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina) – Emmanwori is going to dominate at the combine, that’s what elite athletes do.  For me, it’s the position drills that will be interesting.  Is he fluid enough and comfortable enough to play safety full-time or is he a tweener, between a safety and LB.  His athletic testing scores are going to impress everyone, can he be a useful football player and not just a great athlete. 

Jahdae Barron (Texas) – Here’s the opposite of Emmanwori, Barron is an awesome football player no matter where you put him but his testing numbers and measurements aren’t going to impress.  He won’t be the tallest, strongest, fastest, or the longest DB prospect but he’s going to be really good anyway.  If he can show some of the athleticism teams want to see, it will help him immensely. 

Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame) and Shavon Revel Jr. (East Carolina) – These two need their medical checks to go well.  If Morrison’s hip injury is a question, he falls from round one pretty easily.  Revel had a less worrisome knee injury but teams can be scared off when a guy has any leg injury as a DB. 

Trey Amos (Ole Miss) and Azareye’h Thomas (Florida St.) – These are the two guys most likely to benefit if Morrison and Revel fall due to injury concerns.  They can help themselves by having good workouts in Indy.  Both have good size and coverage ability and if one out performs the other, he could move up draft boards significantly.