The 2020 NFL Combine is upon us, and over 300 football prospects are hoping to boost their stock for the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft. Players will hold Pro Days in March and April, but the Combine brings all 32 teams together to pour over medical records and performances by the various prospects.
Players arrive in positional groups, and it started with quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends arriving on Sunday. They’ve gone through medical exams, measurements, and are in the process of the team interview scheduling.
Now, they move on to the on-field workouts. This includes running the 40-yard dash, going through the 3-cone drills and shuttle run, doing the vertical leap and broad jump, and going through various position-specific drills.
NFL Combine TV schedule
NFL Network will be airing live coverage from the workouts starting Thursday. The NFL has moved the workouts into prime time, hoping to generate a little more buzz to their television network. They will air from 4-11 p.m. and will be available via live online stream.
Who to watch
Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert: Herbert is your prototypical quarterback, standing at 6’6” and weighing in at 236 pounds, he’s what old school scouts look for at first blush. Arm strength and mobility shouldn’t be a concern, but there were plenty of red flags with reads and touch passes. Unlike Joe Burrow, Herbert needs a good showing at the combine to solidify his draft status. His Senior Bowl performance helped and there’s no-doubt he’ll be a first-round pick, but he’ll need to continue to impress for teams to feel good about him in the Top-10 of the draft.
Jordan Love: Love’s breakout came in 2018, but a big turnover in coaching and offensive talent impacted his 2019 season, as he regressed statistically. His physical abilities aren’t in question, but his grasp of the position and the little things it takes to excel are. Love also was cited for marijuana possession between declaring for the draft and Utah State’ bowl game. Teams are probably fair in questioning his decision making in that case. But talent trumps all and a strong combine to go along with his raw talent and 2018 tape might push him into the first round.
Jacob Eason: Eason has taken a winding road to the 2020 combine, as a true freshman, he started at Georgia and then beat out Jake Fromm for the starting job his sophomore year, but a knee injury ended up sidelining him and giving Fromm the job and relegating Eason to the bench. Eason decided to transfer back to his home state and had to sit out nearly two years. He ended up throwing for 3,132 yards and 23 touchdowns with eight interceptions in 2019 and then declaring for the draft. Many scouts believe he needed another year in college, but there’s no doubt he has the arm talent to succeed. His footwork and reads still need work, as he has trouble under pressure. His arm will likely show off well at the combine though, and there will be a team that thinks they can fix the rest.
Jalen Hurts: Hurts is the best dual-threat quarterback in the draft and with Lamar Jackson’s recent success at the next level, teams will do their due diligence on his evaluation. He’s relied on his running ability to the detriment of his passing game, but that is often the profile of a running college quarterback. His ability to read defenses and stay in the pocket and make tough throws at all levels has improved and a good showing at the combine could help teams see his ability as a touch and deep ball passer.
Wide Receivers
Henry Ruggs: Ruggs will be the receiver you want to be in front of the TV for when he runs his 40. But his world-class speed isn’t just him being fast, he is a top receiver with good hands and tremendous burst off the line, getting defenders in bad situations immediately. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah compares him to Tyreek Hill, as do many other scouts. He’s a true game changer and it will be standing-room only to watch him show off his speed and possibly break the combine record set by John Ross at 4.22 seconds.
Jalen Reagor: Reagor comes into the draft after a down year at Texas Christian after a big 2018. That drop in production is linked to poor quarterback play and usage. The team’s inability to get the ball to him in space was troubling, as his best trait has been running after the catch. His speed is off the charts but his ability to get early separation and make contested receptions is lacking. Reagor has a wide receivers confidence and has predicted he will beat Ruggs’ 40 time, so there’s some intrigue to that matchup at the combine to be sure. But as a player, he is still a work in progress, bit one that has the traits to be an asset with the right NFL team.
Gabriel Davis: An absolute monster in three seasons for the Knights, Davis’s 6’3 frame and huge catch radius caused nightmares in a G5 conference. He also has excellent downhill speed, and can post up smaller defenders because he isn’t afraid to get physical. 72 receptions for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns will get him noticed, but he’s also done it against elite competition: he made plays in NYE 6 games against LSU and Auburn as well. He’ll want to show measurables, but is an impact player right away.
CeeDee Lamb: The most reliable receiver in the pass-happy Big XII, Lamb is a first-rounder if he sat in his hotel room playing XBox in Indianapolis. 173 catches for 3,292 yards and 32 touchdowns in just three seasons on a team that had plenty of talent will get you noticed. And a 21.4 yard reception average in 2019 shows his elite breakaway speed. At only 190 lbs. some teams might want him to add to his frame, but his ability to shed defenders in stem routes is outstanding. He’ll want to show measurables here, but even if his 40 isn’t top of the class (which it might be!), he’s still got game film that will have scouts drooling.
Tight Ends
Cole Kmet: The two-sport athlete at Notre Dame is a big target at 6’5, 262 lbs., and came out early after his junior year giving him a chance to potentially add even more size. He had 43 catches for 515 yards for the Irish this year, not exactly the pass-happiest of teams. He’s not a terrific blocker, but has all the tools to improve in that area with NFL coaching and training. Likely the first tight end off the board, he has renounced baseball publicly and says he’s solely focused on football going forward. And being from Chicago, he’d be a great fit for a Bears team that has need at his position.
Harrison Bryant: Winner of two C-USA conference championships at FAU, the Mackey Award winner for the nations best tight end had 65 catches for 1,004 yards his senior year, eye-popping statistics for that position. His blocking has improved significantly, and he’s athletic enough to run over DB’s in coverage or open a hole against a scraping linebacker. As with all G5 players, the Combine becomes more important because of the lack of tape against top defenses. But if his measurables hold, he’s a Day 2 pick candidate.
Mitchell Wilcox: Criminally underused in some offenses that didn’t fit his skillset at South Florida, Wilcox brings the size, speed, hands, and blocking ability that translate at the next level. But his lack of game film due to a run-and-shoot offense his sophomore and junior seasons held him back. There wasn’t much to work with otherwise and he saw tons of bracket coverage. He’s got all the tools, but will that alone be enough to make him a draftable prospect is the question.
List of players
QB, WR, TE Combine participants
Name | Position | School | Conference |
---|---|---|---|
Name | Position | School | Conference |
Bryant, Kelly | QB | Missouri | SEC |
Burrow, Joe | QB | LSU | SEC |
Davidson, Kevin | QB | Princeton | Ivy League |
Eason, Jacob | QB | Washington | Pac-12 |
Fromm, Jake | QB | Georgia | SEC |
Gordon, Anthony | QB | Washington St. | Pac-12 |
Herbert, Justin | QB | Oregon | Pac-12 |
Hurts, Jalen | QB | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
Lewerke, Brian | QB | Michigan St. | Big Ten |
Love, Jordan | QB | Utah St. | Mountain West |
Luton, Jake | QB | Oregon St. | Pac-12 |
McDonald, Cole | QB | Hawaii | Mountain West |
Montez, Steven | QB | Colorado | Pac-12 |
Morgan, James | QB | Florida International | Conference USA |
Patterson, Shea | QB | Michigan | Big Ten |
Stanley, Nate | QB | Iowa | Big Ten |
Tagovailoa, Tua | QB | Alabama | SEC |
Aiyuk, Brandon | WR | Arizona State | Pac-12 |
Bayless, Omar | WR | Arkansas State | Sun Belt |
Bowden, Lynn | WR | Kentucky | SEC |
Brown, Tony | WR | Colorado | Pac-12 |
Cager, Lawrence | WR | Georgia | SEC |
Callaway, Marquez | WR | Tennessee | SEC |
Cephus, Quintez | WR | Wisconsin | Big Ten |
Claypool, Chase | WR | Notre Dame | IA Independents |
Cleveland, Tyrie | WR | Florida | SEC |
Coulter, Isaiah | WR | Rhode Island | CAA |
Davis, Gabriel | WR | Central Florida | AAC |
Davis, Quartney | WR | Texas A&M | SEC |
Duvernay, Devin | WR | Texas | Big 12 |
Edwards, Bryan | WR | South Carolina | SEC |
Finke, Chris | WR | Notre Dame | IA Independents |
Fuller, Aaron | WR | Washington | Pac-12 |
Gandy-Golden, Antonio | WR | Liberty | Big South |
Gibson, Antonio | WR | Memphis | AAC |
Guidry, Stephen | WR | Mississippi St. | SEC |
Hamler, KJ | WR | Penn St. | Big Ten |
Higgins, Tee | WR | Clemson | ACC |
Hightower, John | WR | Boise St. | Mountain West |
Hill, K.J. | WR | Ohio St. | Big Ten |
Hodgins, Isaiah | WR | Oregon St. | Pac-12 |
Jackson, Trishton | WR | Syracuse | ACC |
Jefferson, Justin | WR | LSU | SEC |
Jefferson, Van | WR | Florida | SEC |
Jennings, Jauan | WR | Tennessee | SEC |
Jeudy, Jerry | WR | Alabama | SEC |
Johnson, Collin | WR | Texas | Big 12 |
Johnson, Juwan | WR | Oregon | Pac-12 |
Johnson, Tyler | WR | Minnesota | Big Ten |
Lamb, CeeDee | WR | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
Lipscomb, Kalija | WR | Vanderbilt | SEC |
Mack, Austin | WR | Ohio St. | Big Ten |
Mims, Denzel | WR | Baylor | Big 12 |
Mooney, Darnell | WR | Tulane | AAC |
Osborn, K.J. | WR | Miami | ACC |
Parker, Aaron | WR | Rhode Island | CAA |
Patmon, Dezmon | WR | Washington St. | Pac-12 |
Peoples-Jones, Donovan | WR | Michigan | Big Ten |
Perry, Malcolm | WR | Navy | AAC |
Pittman, Michael | WR | USC | Pac-12 |
Proche, James | WR | SMU | AAC |
Reagor, Jalen | WR | TCU | Big 12 |
Reed, Joe | WR | Virginia | ACC |
Rogers, Kendrick | WR | Texas A&M | SEC |
Ruggs III, Henry | WR | Alabama | SEC |
Shenault Jr., Laviska | WR | Colorado | Pac-12 |
Stewart, Darrell | WR | Michigan St. | Big Ten |
Swain, Freddie | WR | Florida | SEC |
Thomas, Jeff | WR | Miami | ACC |
Victor, Ben | WR | Ohio St. | Big Ten |
Watkins, Quez | WR | Southern Miss | Conference USA |
White, Cody | WR | Michigan St. | Big Ten |
Asiasi, Devin | TE | UCLA | Pac-12 |
Breeland, Jacob | TE | Oregon | Pac-12 |
Bryant, Harrison | TE | Florida Atlantic | Conference USA |
Bryant, Hunter | TE | Washington | Pac-12 |
Deguara, Josiah | TE | Cincinnati | AAC |
Hopkins, Brycen | TE | Purdue | Big Ten |
Keene, Dalton | TE | Virginia Tech | ACC |
Kmet, Cole | TE | Notre Dame | IA Independents |
McKeon, Sean | TE | Michigan | Big Ten |
Moss, Thaddeus | TE | LSU | SEC |
O'Grady, C.J. | TE | Arkansas | SEC |
Okwuegbunam, Albert | TE | Missouri | SEC |
Parkinson, Colby | TE | Stanford | Pac-12 |
Pinkney, Jared | TE | Vanderbilt | SEC |
Sullivan, Stephen | TE | LSU | SEC |
Taumoepeau, Charlie | TE | Portland St. | Big Sky |
Trautman, Adam | TE | Dayton | Pioneer |
Wilcox, Mitchell | TE | South Florida | AAC |
Woerner, Charlie | TE | Georgia | SEC |
Wood-Anderson, Dom | TE | Tennessee | SEC |