When we talk about who made money through combine workouts, we’re not talking about the guys that just solidified their status. Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook and Mike Williams were already going to be top half first round picks anyway. Alabama’s O.J. Howard had an incredible combine, but he was already the best consensus tight end in the draft.
No, when you’re talking about “making” money it’s always about moving up the draft board. It’s about settling doubts, gaining buzz and maybe even shutting up a pundit or two.
So who made money from Saturday’s workouts?
John Ross (Washington), Curtis Samuel (Ohio State), Evan Engram (Ole Miss), Bucky Hodges (Virginia Tech)
We’ll start with John Ross because you all knew his name would be atop this list when you clicked on this article. Ross laid down the fasted 40 time in NFL Combine history, 4.22, besting former Tennessee Titans and Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson’s record mark by 0.02 seconds. Coming into the combine, Ross was already on plenty of boards as a late first round or early second round pick. Then he broke the space-time barrier on live television in Indianapolis.
Ross has just one complete season of game film at wideout after bouncing around offense and defense early in his college career with the Huskies and tearing an ACL in 2015. He’s obviously none the worse for wear and even cramped up on his combine 40 so, you know, he could be even faster than this.
Ross not only has the exercising skills, but the tape to back it up. He caught 81 passes in Washington’s offense for 1,150 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 14.2 yards per catch.
Ross went from being the third wideout off the board to very likely the first by putting in 4.22 seconds’ work. That will add up to millions of dollars over the course of his first contract.
Curtis Samuel wasn’t far behind Ross in the pre-draft rankings and in his combine results, in spite of not playing as a true wide receiver at Ohio State. No one will care about that after his blistering 4.31 40-yard dash. Samuel can also thank Kansas City Chiefs rookie phenom Tyreek Hill for any extra attention (and money) from his early day two draft status. Samuel has played that kind of role with the Buckeyes his entire career.
Samuel caught 74 passes for 865 yards and seven touchdowns last season and added 97 carries, 771 yards and eight touchdowns as a rusher, averaging 7.9 yards per carry.
At the tight end position, Howard will absolutely be the first one picked and there’s little doubt about that. The second guy is the question and leading up to the draft it looked like Miami’s David Njoku had settled into that spot. Then Ole Miss’s Evan Engram put down an elite wide receiver time in his 40 with a 4.42. Only eight wide receivers total at the combine were as fast or faster than Engram.
Engram’s production this season was off the charts for the Rebels and just like Howard, it was mainly against SEC opponents. He caught 65 passes for 926 yard and eight touchdowns. He could easily sneak into the first round.
Last we have Bucky Hodges, tight end from Virginia Tech. Hodges looked like a solid third or fourth rounder coming into the combine, then he blew it up like Engram and Howard. He laid down a 4.57 40-yard dash, a 39-inch vertical just and a 134-inch broad jump, a top performer in each of those drills.
Also like Engram and Howard, Hodges has the game film to back up any move up the draft board. He’s been a beast in the Hokies’ offense and started since he was a freshman. Last year he caught 48 passes for 691 yards and seven touchdowns. And that seems like an outstanding year for any tight end, but when you look at his freshman and sophomore stats and see nearly the exact same numbers, you realize this is just the kind of player you get in the 6-6, 257-pound sasquatch. He probably long jumped his way right into second round.
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