The NFL Combine is not a guarantee of success in the NFL, but it often helps players to move up draft boards and thereby make more money if the results of various tests are good. Here are the foremost examples of players who did something to help themselves at the Combine, as opposed to merely avoiding embarrassments or staying in place on the draft board.
Myles Garrett
The Texas A&M edge rusher increased the odds that he will be taken with the top pick in the coming draft. It would indeed seem foolish for the Cleveland Browns to use the top pick on a quarterback when a large yet fast and agile pass rusher is available. Garrett’s 40-yard dash, vertical leap, and other physical tests were the best in his class. It is very hard to see how Garrett, barring injury, won’t become a highly productive player for a decade in the NFL. He might not be one of the game’s greats, but his floor is already so substantial that the ceiling almost doesn’t matter at this point. He will make a pile of money.
Christian McCaffrey
There was a lot of buzz in the football world when McCaffrey blew off the Sun Bowl for Stanford against North Carolina and focused on preparation for the NFL Draft. That decision might be replicated a lot more in the near future after McCaffrey dominated the combine, putting up a strong number on the 40-yard dash and showing the level of agility scouts were looking for in other areas. McCaffrey arrived fresh and prepared – clearly, he enabled his December decision to pay off for him a few months later. He’s still small in stature, but he appears to have the ability to do everything necessary of a starting NFL running back. Plus, he offers some versatility. That’s going to appeal to many teams early in the second round and possibly in the first.
John Ross
When the stopwatches clicked and the 40-yard dash was over, Ross had clocked in at 4.22 seconds, a new record. He did so while cramping up during the run, too. Executives and scouts took notice of this. Ross has certainly improved his standing on most draft boards. When a receiver demonstrates the full extent of his blazing speed, how could that NOT happen? If the late NFL great Al Davis were still with us, we know that he’d be one of the first people in line to get his hands on Ross. He loved his speed. Regardless, expect a lot of teams to be interested in Ross given his blazing speed.
Evan Engram
There are those who value tight ends for being equally adept at receiving and blocking, but Ole Miss tight end Evan Engram showed that he will be a load to handle as a pass catcher. Engram outpaced his fellow tight ends in the 40-yard dash and marked himself as the most likely vertical threat among tight ends in his class. In that way, he could become something close to what Jason Witten (years ago) and Rob Gronkowski (more recently) have been able to establish.
Deshaun Watson
When the measurements and the physical tests gave way to football components such as accuracy, timing and knowledge, Watson impressed the football people on hand at the combine in Indianapolis. Most of the scouts who watched the quarterbacks perform at the combine felt that Watson made the most favorable impression of all, more than Mitchell Trubisky of North Carolina. It seems hard to think that Watson won’t go at some point in the top 10, even though Trubisky might still be taken first among quarterbacks due to his much bigger arm.
As we’ve watched free agency happen over the last couple of days, we’re getting a better idea of where Watson might go. The Cleveland Browns attempted to get their hands on Tyrod Taylor and Jimmy Garoppolo, but that didn’t come to fruition that means they’ll likely be deciding between Watson and Trubisky early in the 2017 NFL Draft.
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