INDIANAPOLIS -- Quarterbacks and wide receivers hit the podium at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine on Friday, while defensive backs and tight ends prepared to show their stuff on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf.
Here's what we learned:
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Tune in to NFL Network and NFL+ for live coverage of the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine beginning at 3 p.m. ET on Friday and 1 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.
1) 'Bama QB makes case to be long-term answer for NFL team. Ty Simpson's tumultuous first and only season as Alabama's starting quarterback plunged him into uncertainty entering the 2026 NFL Draft.
He knows the challenges he faced painted a complicated picture. But he also believes his experience at Alabama -- both as a starter and a backup to Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe -- makes him a valuable prospect for any NFL team seeking a long-term answer under center.
"I'm ready. I'm a franchise quarterback," Simpson said Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Alabama prepares you most for the NFL. With the infrastructure that they have and the guidance from Coach (Nick) Saban, Coach (Kalen) DeBoer, Coach (Ryan) Grubb, all the coordinators that I had before, I ran an NFL-type system. It definitely prepared me for saying those long play calls, saying those checks, making sure that I get us in the right protection.
"And also, everybody talks about my starts, but I played in other games besides that. I've played against really good NFL players. I think about my freshman year, learning from the No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner (Bryce Young). Going on defense, going on scout team, I got Will Anderson Jr., Dallas Turner, Henry To'oTo'o, I got Kool-Aid (McKinstry) on one side, I got Terrion (Arnold) on the other side. There's a number of first- and second-round draft picks that I went against and who I was in the locker room with. The Alabama locker room is as close to a locker room in the NFL as you can get."
It's a case made for many products from Alabama, long considered an NFL factory over the last two decades. It also might not be quite strong enough to hold up against Simpson's intriguing but inconsistent tape from the 2025 season.
We'll see if Simpson's argument will convince a team, or if his performance -- including his intent to throw Saturday in Indianapolis -- carries the most weight in April.
-- Nick Shook
2) Manziel giving pointers to Heisman runner-up Pavia. While former Browns QB Johnny Manziel is more of a cautionary tale when it comes to translating college stardom to the NFL, Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia has welcomed Manziel as a mentor as he prepares to make the jump.
"He's given me what to look out for, what it's like, how to stay in the process," Pavia told reporters on Friday. "He's given me some good advice, for sure. He always reaches out, too. Checks up on me. Makes sure I'm good. He's just a friend to me. He's given me some mentorship. He's been around me. He's been around my family. He's just a great person for those that really don't know."
Similar to Manziel, Pavia has become something of a lightning rod, fueled in part by his reaction after finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Fernando Mendoza. In an Instagram post after the award ceremony, Pavia wrote "F-all the voters ... Family for life." There are also concerns about Pavia's height after he measured 5-foot-9 7/8 last month at the Senior Bowl, well below the NFL standard for his position.
He sought to set the record straight on Friday when it comes to perceptions about him.
"I feel like there's a lot out there, but I just want everyone to know that what's true about me is I'm humble and I get my confidence from my process," Pavia said. "If you saw how much I put into this, you would see where I get my confidence from."
Pavia said he will be throwing when QBs take the field at the combine on Saturday but will save his athletic testing for his pro day.
-- Dan Parr
3) Mendoza eyeing all-time great as possible mentor. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza is the overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft of the Las Vegas Raiders, but he said Friday at the combine that he'd be happy being selected anywhere.
"I know (the Raiders) have the No. 1 pick, but anything can happen in the draft," Mendoza said. "Excited for the opportunity and whatever team drafts me, I am going to give everything I got to them."
Mendoza added: "I'm just trying to be the best me possible, and whatever team drafts me, I'm grateful, whether it's the No. 1 pick, or whether it's, you know, the 199th pick."
If that draft placement sounds familiar, it's because it was the famous landing spot of Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft -- the same Brady who is a minority owner of the Raiders. During Mendoza's formal combine interview with the Raiders, he said he was able to say "a brief hi" to Brady on the phone, and that he'd love to one day meet Brady in person.
Mendoza's appreciation for Brady is strong, and the quarterback would relish the chance to work with the future Hall of Famer.
"Yeah, I mean, who hasn't admired Tom Brady? I mean, more Super Bowl rings than anybody ... anybody!" Mendoza said. "So, that opportunity would be fantastic. Tom Brady, I believe, is the greatest quarterback of all time -- by a wide margin -- and to be able to have the opportunity to be mentored by him, would ... mean so much.
"Especially to learn, and I'm all about learning. So from Day 1, you know, I've got to learn a lot. It's gonna be a long journey, and to potentially have a mentor like that, it would be pretty impressive and pretty meaningful."
-- Eric Edholm
4) Beck would be thrilled by NFL reunion. Before Carson Beck led Miami to the national championship game last season, he spent five seasons at Georgia. His offensive coordinator for the first three of them? None other than new Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken.
Beck didn't start a single game while Monken was Georgia's OC but did complete 36 of 58 passes for 486 yards and a 6:2 TD-to-INT ratio in 11 games as a reserve, serving as the backup to Stetson Bennett for the two-time national-champion Bulldogs.
Beck spoke Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine about his time with Monken, whom Beck first met when he was 7 or 8 years old, playing youth baseball with Monken's son while Monken was the Jaguars' wide receivers coach.
"I love him personally," Beck said. "I've been able to have a really good relationship with him over the years, and obviously at Georgia, he taught me a lot of what I know. So again, he's an amazing coach."
Beck called himself an "18-year old kid ... (who) thought I knew everything" when they first worked together in 2020. Now he's a 23-year old who's seeking a job in the NFL -- and the Browns might be quarterback-hunting again. Beck said he'd relish the chance to finish what they started in Athens, Georgia nearly six years ago.
"I had the opportunity to talk with him a little bit the other day, when I was done with all my interviews, we walked and chatted for a little bit," Beck said. "I love Coach Monken. He's an awesome coach and a great guy. ...
"If Coach Monken were to be my coach again ... I mean, I'd be super stoked."
-- Eric Edholm
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5) Potential 40-yard dash king keeping things close to the vest. There might not be a 2026 draft prospect with a better chance of challenging Xavier Worthy's 40-yard dash record than Brenen Thompson. In his scouting report of the Mississippi State wide receiver, NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein wrote Thompson is a "vertical threat with rocket boosters in his shoes."
It's an apt description, given the Spearman, Texas, native reportedly ran 40 times in the 4.3 range back in high school. Matching or besting Worthy's record 4.21 time, set in 2024, would be an amazing feat, one that would elevate Thompson's stock as a likely Day 3 pick.
Thompson wouldn't bite on Friday when asked to reveal the specific time he has in mind for his 40 run on Saturday, though.
"I think it's everybody's goal to do something like that," he said. "I think Xavier set a high bar for that. But I'm just looking to run fast, man."
-- Dan Parr