• Chop Robinson had a massive week: The Penn State edge defender may have solidified his status as a first-round pick after his dominant performance at the combine.
• Kamren Kinchens could fall in the draft: The Miami (FL) safety had a rough outing in Indianapolis.
• PFF’s 2024 NFL Draft Guide now available: Our latest draft guide is loaded with more than 600 pages of PFF-exclusive advanced stats, grades and analysis on some of the top 2024 draft prospects.
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The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine is an event designed to measure just how athletic the next wave of players are as they enter the league.
With the 2024 version now in the books, here are the biggest winners and losers from the week in Indianapolis.
Winner: EDGE Chop Robinson, Penn State
Robinson entered the season as a projected first-round prospect but saw his stock start to slip despite still performing at an elite level (90.8 PFF grade in 2023). Following an elite performance at the combine, it’s possible that Robinson cemented his status as a top-32 pick. Both his 40-yard dash (4.48 seconds) and 10-yard split (1.54 seconds) ranked in the 98th percentile for edge defenders. Robinson’s 10-foot-8 broad jump was also in the 95th percentile among all edge defenders while his 4.25-second 20-yard shuttle was in the 85th percentile.
Loser: S Kamren Kinchens, Miami (FL)
Kinchens was a top-50 prospect on most big boards entering the week and even had a chance to be the first safety off the board. After a poor showing at the combine, that now seems highly unlikely. He ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash, which is only in the 18th percentile for safeties. That time was slower than Ole Miss edge defender Cedric Johnson’s, who’s 57 pounds heavier.
Kinchens’ 10-yard split (1.59 seconds) and vertical jump (35 inches) were each in the 42nd percentile as well. But his worst event came in the broad jump. His 9-foot-2 mark is tied for the third-worst by a safety since 1999. This type of performance could have Kinchens tumble down draft boards.
Winner: LB Payton Wilson, NC State
Wilson may have put to bed any debates about who the top linebacker in the 2024 NFL Draft is after his performance in Indianapolis. His 4.43-second 40-yard dash placed him in the 98th percentile for linebackers while his 1.54-second 10-yard split was in the 91st percentile. He was also above the 50th percentile in the vertical jump (34.5 inches) and broad jump (9-foot-11). The last draft where there weren’t any first-round linebackers was in 2011. While still unlikely, Wilson seems like the only prospect this year that can continue the streak.
Payton Wilson
4.44
LB1
pic.twitter.com/aiP8gFECh6— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) March 1, 2024
Loser: CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri
Rakestraw was a first-round prospect on PFF’s big board entering the combine, but now it seems unlikely that he'll hear his name called in the top-32 picks.
He only weighed in at 183 pounds, which puts him in the 14th percentile for cornerbacks. Despite not carrying that much weight, his 4.51-second 40-yard dash was only in the 44th percentile while his 1.54-second 10-yard split was in the 53rd percentile. He also had a 10-foot broad jump, which is in the 35th percentile for corners. Rakestraw is an undersized corner with just average athleticism for the position, making it likely that he slips to Day 2.
Winner: Quinyon Mitchell, Terrion Arnold and Nate Wiggins
There isn’t a consensus CB1 in the 2024 NFL Draft as of right now. Of the five players who have a legitimate case, three worked out at the NFL Combine: Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, Alabama’s Terrion Arnold and Clemson’s Nate Wiggins. All three scored in the 87th percentile or better in Kent Lee Platte’s relative athletic score, which measures how athletic a prospect is compared to past players at that position.
Mitchell earned the highest score of the bunch, earning a 9.84/10. He’s had quite easily the best pre-draft process of any cornerback prospect. After dominating at the Senior Bowl, the junior ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot, 195 pounds. That time is in the 95th percentile for corners. Not only is he blazing fast, but he’s also incredibly strong for the position as well. He put up 20 reps on the bench press, which puts him in the 91st percentile for cornerbacks. Mitchell was also in the 75th percentile for his vertical jump (38 inches).
With strong performances at the combine, those three could’ve jumped the following two players on teams’ draft boards.
QUINYON MITCHELL 4.33🚀🔥
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 1, 2024
Loser: Cooper DeJean and Kool-Aid McKinstry
The other top candidates to be CB1 are Iowa’s Cooper DeJean and Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry. They didn’t work out at the combine as they recover from various injuries. DeJean likely would’ve tested very well, as he entered 2023 as the No. 14 player on Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List”, which ranks college football players based on how athletic they are.
McKinstry needed a big combine as his long speed has been a question mark before. If he ran a respectable 40-yard dash, he has the requisite tape to reenter the CB1 debate. McKinstry’s been a PFF first-team All-American in each of the past two seasons. The only other players to accomplish that feat are Marvin Harrison Jr. and Joe Alt.
NFL teams will now have to wait for DeJean and McKinstry’s respective pro days to see how they perform in athletic testing.
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