Which Player Saw His Value Increase The Most?
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Kev White: Denzel Mims. Pre-combine, Mims was considered a round 2-3 type prospect, however on the back of his impressive athletic testing he will have a round 1 grade on some team's draft boards. He displayed an elite speed score & catch radius, prompting comparisons to stud WR Chris Godwin. He should be taken as a top 5 rookie WR in the NFL Draft and fantasy rookie drafts alike.
Alex Edwards: Justin Jefferson went into the combine with with question marks from some about the level of his athleticism. He left showing everyone theres not much to question, running a 4.43 and jumping a 37.5 vertical. Jefferson has looked to increase his value into a consensus top 5 at the wide receiver position and for me a guaranteed top 3 wide receiver prospect going into the draft.
FFSpotlight: The biggest value increase from the combine was Jonathan Taylor. His strength and speed were on showcase at the combine. Despite the later testing times, he outperformed expectations.
Parker McDonald: Albert Okwuegbunam. Not known for his explosiveness, he turned in a 4.49 40-time. That ranks among the 10 best 40-times for a tight end since 1999. He may start his career as just a red zone threat while he works on his route running and blocking, but could prove to be a viable starter down the road.
JetPack Galileo: AJ Dillon. The Hulk confirmed his absurd power with a monster day in Indy. Dillon jumped out the building with a 41 inch vert and 135 inch broad. At 247 pounds, Dillon's vertical jump is the highest peak power ever recorded for a running back. His 4.53 forty yard dash produced a Weight Adjusted Speed Score ranks 14th best since 2003. Better than fellow SpeedTanks Derrick Henry and Leonard Fournette. He should slide into the first round of your rookie drafts.
Which Player Saw His Value Decrease The Most?
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Kev White: Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The former LSU standout was on the cusp of the top tier of RBs pre-combine, however after a poor showing, in particular in the 40 Time / Speed Score, he has seen his stock plummet. The film guys will still love him, but to be small & slow you're hoping he's an outlier to be a success in the NFL.
FFSpotlight: Laviska Shenault's value decreased the most with the results of his physical and his inability to run a 40 at full speed.
Alex Edwards: Salvon Ahmed came into the combine as a running back expected to show off his speed. Instead, he ran a 4.62 for the 40 yard dash. The combination of weighing in under 200 and a speed score of 86.5 (2nd worst for RBs that ran) his stock looks to plummet.
JetPack Galileo: Tyler Johnson. I am a big Johnson fan, but he is killing himself by avoiding the competitive offseason events. After skipping the Shrine Bowl and not being invited to the Senior Bowl, Johnson's team told us he would be using this time to prep for the combine. Well apparently he didn't prep enough. He failed to standout in drills and missed an easy catch due to lack of concentration. Still a fan of his game overall, but I don't expect him to be drafted before Day 3.
Which Sleeper Did The Combine Help You Identify?
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Parker McDonald: Donovan Peoples-Jones. In this stacked wide receiver draft class Peoples-Jones would need to make a big impact to push his name up the draft board. He almost broke the vertical record with a 44.5 jump put up a solid 40-time (4.48). After being tabbed as a potential back up at the next level his performance at the combine shot him into the upper echelon of wide receivers. Next Gen Stats gave him an Athleticism Score of 99, shared only with Henry Ruggs III and Denzel Mims.
FFSpotlight: A.J. Dillon's measurables brought his name into the rookie RB talk much more than before the combine. He may fall back under the radar, miss the hype, and be a sleeper in fantasy drafts.
JetPack Galileo: Darrynton Evans' combine performance slotted him 4th in class in my latest model. His athletic profile is very similar to Justice Hill, running 4.41 and hitting some quality jump numbers with a 37 inch vert and 125 inch broad. I'm often curious how the smaller guys will lift and Darryton put up 20 solid bench reps. A strong combine means it's time to re-evaluate the tape with fresh eyes.
Which Performance Does Not Effect Your Evaluation?
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Kev White: Jonathan Taylor. The ultra-productive RB for the Wisconsin Badgers, Taylor was known to be a beastly athlete & the combine did nothing to change our opinion. He aced the 40 time and looked like the alpha RB in this draft class - but this was exactly what we expected. If you have any other pre-draft rookie RB1, I think you're doing it wrong.
Alex Edwards: Gabriel Davis had a relatively average combine performance besides his 20 yard shuttle being horrendous, but we are looking at him as a football prospect not an underwear olympics prospect. He is one of the best deep ball threats in the draft with 17.2 yards per reception in 2019, despite not having outlandish speed. Draft capital will be huge for Davis. Taking into consideration both a deep wide receiver class and a mediocre combine performance, he could be pushed into mid to late day 3 territory.
FFSpotlight: The combine metric I care about the least is the fastest 40. Check the list of the top times in the 40 in history. They typically don't perform well in the NFL.
JetPack Galileo: CeeDee Lamb didn't stand out in any of the tests and will not hit any valuable threshold targets to earn any points in our athleticism models, but it doesn't matter one bit to me. He is a bona fide stud and the easiest scout at the wide receiver position since Amari Cooper. You'll see him comped to DeAndre Hopkins, I think that's the caliber of stud that we are dealing with.
