NFL Combine is one aspect of a very complicated Draft equation. While it is not the only factor it is the largest factor the average fan gets exposed to. The Combine is split into two categories viewers get to see. Measurables testing and drill work.
In any given year some players will increase or decrease their draft stock with how they perform in at the Combine. Those that improve their draft stock, will likely do so through one category or the other. Typically, if a prospect looks great at both, most analysts and fans expected that, minimizing the impact of that riser.
A great example from 2026 would be Notre Dame running back Jeremyiah Love. The clear cut RB1 of the draft class did not have perform to solidify his draft stock, but he did. Looking great at all aspects only confirmed what many already believed. Love will not be on this roster as his performance was an ‘as expected’.
Very few names on this roster are names expected to be called in the first 20 picks. However, there are a few. Those names are included because while they were perceived as first round picks, their Combine performance put them significantly higher in the first round than expected.
### **Quarterbacks**
**Taylen Green – Arkansas**. Taylen Green was considered an afterthought by most analysts heading into the Combine. Thought by many to be a running quarterback that lacked the tools to be an NFL quarterback. While Green still appears to be a project for any NFL teams he showed he has the foundation of tools that could be developed.
### **Running Backs**
**Emmett Johnson – Nebraska**. Johnson put up incredible numbers in 2025, but still found himself getting pushed down rankings. He showed a burst and cutting ability that some may have missed. While he is not the complete package that a Jeremyiah Love is, he showed enough that works at the NFL level.
**Jam Miller – Alabama**. Miller was receiving some 2025 NFL Draft buzz for a stretch last year. Yet, despite many Crimson Tide players being mentioned in this draft, Miller seemed to be the forgotten back. He showed explosion and cutting ability some must have forgotten about. Again, not a first round player, but someone who looks better today than he did a week ago.
### **Wide Receivers**
**Ted Hurst – Georgia State**. Hurst was the biggest what if in the entire Combine. 6’3/200 and described by many as a guy who plays like George Pickens without the drama. Admittedly, Hurst’s game tape does bear that out. However, how would he look against other receivers from a higher competition level? Answer? Post Combine he looks every bit the part. One could argue his stock rose from the fourth or fifth round to as high as the second round.
**Zachariah Branch – Georgia**. This could end up being the best draft for recievers who are not the prototype. Many don’t fit the 6’3+, 220+, sub 4.45 criteria the league prioritized for so long. Names like Lemon, Concepcion, Cooper might come to mind. Branch might have just leaped over all of them except Lemon. Branch is quick and fast. He’s explosive and most impressively he catches everything with his hands (not his arms) and squeezes the ball better than every other receiver at the Combine.
### **Tight End**
**Eli Stowers – Vanderbilt**. Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq is likely the TE prize of the draft. After Sadiq there seemed to be about 38 other tight ends that are nice in their own right, but lack the traits to go much higher than the middle of the second at the earliest. Then Stowers tested. Stowers ran a 4.51 forty at almost 6’4 and 240lbs. More impressive than that was the 45 inch vertical. A 45” vert is insane. He was always TE2, but his Combine performance changes his draft ceiling.
### **Left Tackle**
**Monroe Freeling – Georgia**. This offensive line draft, especially at tackle, has no clear cut No. 1. At left tackle it gets even harder to predict. Francis Mauigoa could be a better guard than tackle. Spencer Fano has good tape but he’s barely 300lbs. Kadyn Proctor is dangerously big, to the point that there’s a ceiling on how high teams are likely to consider him. Freeling put on a performance that may have said he’s the top exclusively left tackle in this draft. That’s not going to stop teams from looking at guys ahead of him. However, it creates an interesting dynamic after the first 20 picks or so. Possibly providing a team picking later a good future starting LT option.
### **Left Guard**
**Olaivavega Ioane – Penn State**. Ioane is one of those names that could be surprising on a list like this. Yes, Ioane confirmed previously held expectations. There was a relative log jam at the top of the list for guard. Can’t go wrong with Ioane, Emmanuel Pregnon or Chase Bisontis. However, Ioane confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt who the OG1 is. Primary in the drill work. He moved even better than expected. It will be a travesty if he’s still on the board at pick 33.
### **Center**
**Pat Coogan – Indiana**. If you’ve followed the college football playoff, you know about Pat Coogan. The MVP of the Rose Bowl… at Center! The Notre Dame transfer has been the model of consistency at Indiana, but would he look like an anchor for NFL offensive lines? Coogan looked better than advertised. Moved better than it seemed he would. While he could have been a late Day 3 steal, he could start moving up boards.
### **Right Guard**
**Keylan Rutledge – Georgia Tech**. This one feels like cheating. There isn’t an analyst covering this draft that didn’t expect to see Rutledge begin to move upwards. At any point in the process, he’s been somewhere between the 3rd and the 12th projected Guard. After confirming what many already knew, he should be a consensus top four Guard in this class.
### **Right Tackle**
**Genning Dunker – Iowa**. The winner for ‘best hair’ at the 2026 NFL Combine solidified himself, if he even needed to. Dunker continued his stellar, eye-opening performance at the Senior Bowl and was everything and more in Indy. Dunker could be equally good at RT and RG. For these purposes we’ll leave him at RT. Movement and strength especially makes him look like a lock to be off the board before the start of the third round.
This still may not be perceived as an offensive heavy draft, but there are impressive players to be had. QB, RB and TE are very top heavy, but there is depth at WR and OL. Teams could expect to dramatically alter those two position groups, especially if the top defensive players force some of these offensive players to slide due to specifically positional value.
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