February 29th – March 3rd. That was the four days of the NFL combine. Now that it is over, it sparks a lot of questions as to which players and which teams will be the most affected. This story will only be talking about offensive skill positions which teams will be looking for these certain kinds of players and how each player would play a role in that team’s offense
Not only was the record for the fastest 40 yd dash broken by .01, but we also saw many incredible performances by players all across the country and we also saw a new record for a college, with the University of Michigan breaking the record for most players to declare for the draft (23 players).
Quarterbacks:
There were plenty of notable quarterbacks in last year’s draft who made some sort of a name for themselves: Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Aidan O’Connell, Anthony Richardson, and many others. But this draft class has plenty of talented quarterbacks that I think are interesting to see. For example, Joe Milton, a quarterback coming out of Texas, has such an incredible amount of arm strength it seems unreal. Some other quarterbacks that performed well were players like JJ McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. All in all, I believe that this quarterback class will be very interesting to see in the next season.
Running Backs:
With plenty of running backs this year, some pretty notable running backs should be mentioned. Louisville running back Isaac Guerendo showed incredible speed with the top running back 40 yd dash time being 4.33 and also hoisting a top vert at 41.5”. Not only was the Cardinal an incredible-looking player but so was Tennessee Running Back Jaylen Wright as he had a 4.38 40 yd dash and an 11 ‘2 broad jump to lead the running back position.
Wide Receivers:
With plenty of talented receivers in this draft, predicting who will perform is very interesting. Not only do we have a generational project in the quarterback position in Caleb Williams, but there’s even generational talent at the wide receiver position: Marvin Harrison Jr., Son of hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, who was best known for his incredible duo and time with Hall of fame quarterback Peyton Manning. Marvin Harrison Jr. is looking like another incredible Ohio State receiver in the league like Chris Olave, Garret Wilson, and Jaxon Smith Njigba. Marvin Harrison Jr. will be an incredible addition to any team that takes him. But another star receiver that people put in the top picks of this draft is Rome Odunze, a Washington receiver who had five receptions for 87 yards in the National Championship game; his footwork is easily his best factor, and I believe he will be in the top ten for overall draft picks.
Tight Ends:
You wouldn’t believe it, but there’s even more generational talent found even in the tight end position. Brock Bowers, Georgia tight end, has shown skills and his grades off of PFF are generational compared to other tight ends. Showing that he can block and catch is special, and he is being heavily compared to San Francisco 49er’s tight end George Kittle, who is easily the best tight end in the league currently. Ja’Tavion Sanders, a Texas tight end, is also declaring for the NFL draft and he looks like an player that many teams could be looking for. He shows that his deep-threat ability is something that teams could be using, such as the New York Jets with a healthy Aaron Rodgers.
What teams could use these generational prospects?
Most of these players show lots of promise and some of them show a beginning of a rebuild for other teams. Caleb Williams is a need for plenty of teams, but he’s a singular player which means only one team can get him. Seeing the possibility of Justin Fields going to a different team means that Caleb Williams is likely to be the first overall pick in this draft. That pretty much means the Bears will be obtaining Williams.
When it comes to Marvin Harrison Jr.’s case, plenty of teams also need a better wide receiver to drastically improve their receiving core. But the most realistic situation is that he will end up being a Cardinal because they have the fourth pick; it could give Kyler Murray (or even somebody new) a powerful receiver.
And, finally, which team could use a tight end like Brock Bowers? I believe that Brock Bowers will fall to the Chargers, potentially releasing Gerald Everett is bound to happen and the Chargers could draft Brock Bowers with the fifth pick.
