• The wide receiver and offensive tackle classes are ridiculous: Half of the first-round picks could be wide receivers and offensive tackles, pointing to how loaded the two classes are.
• Bucky Irving falls behind: The Oregon running back tested poorly at the combine and will likely fall to the third round as a result.
• 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: Teams that need a wide receiver
The 2004 NFL Draft saw a record seven wide receivers go in the first round, but there’s a chance that record could be broken two decades later.
Using Kent Lee Platte’s relative athletic score, which measures how athletic a prospect is against past prospects at that position, there were 12 wide receivers who tested in the 95th percentile or better. Texas’ Adonai Mitchell was the highest of the bunch after running a 4.34-second 40-yard dash and posting an 11-foot-4 broad jump at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. His teammate, Xavier Worthy, broke the combine record by running a 4.21-second 40-yard dash.
As many as nine wide receivers have a legitimate shot to go in the first round come April.
XAVIER WORTHY TIES THE NFL COMBINE RECORD WITH A 4.22u 40-YARD DASH 🤯 pic.twitter.com/DnBGRLjFb8
— PFF (@PFF) March 2, 2024
Loser: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, Texas
Not all Texas pass-catchers were winners in Indianapolis. By no means did Sanders perform poorly at the combine, but he didn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations he had entering the week. He was seen as the consensus No. 2 tight end in the class thanks to his elite athleticism that he flashed on tape. His numbers this week were just above average though. His 40-yard dash (4.69 seconds) is in the 71st percentile for tight ends while his 20-yard shuttle (4.32 seconds) is in the 64th percentile.
His stock is also lowered by the fact that some of the other top tight end prospects outperformed him in Indianapolis: Cade Stover, Theo Johnson, Ben Sinnott, Jaheim Bell and Jared Wiley to name a few.
Winner: Teams that need an offensive tackle
Wide receiver isn’t the only position that’s absolutely loaded. The offensive tackle class looks like one of the strongest we’ve ever seen. Projected first-round picks Joe Alt, Taliese Fuaga, Amarius Mims, Tyler Guyton, Olu Fashanu and Troy Fautanu all scored in the 94th percentile or better in Platte’s relative athletic score.
As many as seven offensive tackles have a legitimate case to be a first-round pick. If all seven are picked there, it would break the record of six first-round tackles.
Solid 5.07u for @NDFootball's Joe Alt.
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/6KU93F1waF— NFL (@NFL) March 3, 2024
Loser: RB Bucky Irving, Oregon
Irving is a top-five running back prospect on PFF’s big board, but he likely won’t be moving up after his combine performance. To start, he’s very small for the position at 5-foot-9 and 192 pounds. His weight is in the fifth percentile for running backs.
He didn’t particularly test very explosive either, as his 29.5-inch vertical was also in the fifth percentile while his 9-foot-7 broad jump was in the 33rd percentile. As an already undersized back, Irving needed to test far better than this to enter the second-round conversation.
Winner: OG Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
Beebe has been college football’s best guard for the last couple seasons. His 91.8 pass-blocking grade since 2022 leads all FBS guards while his 82.2 run-blocking grade is seventh among Power Five ones. The reason why he was only a fifth-round prospect on PFF’s big board was due to concerns about his athleticism. His performance this week put those questions to bed.
His 5.03-second 40-yard dash is in the 92nd percentile for interior offensive linemen and his 1.75-second 10-yard split is in the 76th percentile. Beebe’s 9-foot-1 broad jump was in the 87th percentile for interior offensive linemen as well. He tested that well at 322 pounds, which places him in the 82nd percentile.
Expect Beebe to come off the board on Day 2, potentially in the second round.
Loser: OT Blake Fisher, Notre Dame
Fisher went viral a few years ago for hitting 21 mph on a treadmill at 6-foot-6, 330 pounds. While he still turned in an above-average performance at the Combine, it wasn’t quite as dominant as some would’ve expected from him.
Fisher’s 1.82-second 10-yard split was only in the 32nd percentile for offensive tackles. He tested in the 52nd percentile in both the three-cone drill (7.76 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (4.73 seconds). Fisher’s 28-inch vertical jump was only in the 46th percentile as well. His broad jump was better, as he was in the 94th percentile with a 9-foot-6 jump.
In a loaded offensive tackle class filled with freak athletes, Fisher’s okay numbers could have him fall to Day 3.
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