2019 NFL Combine: 10 players who bombed

Elijah Holyfield, RB, Georgia

Some prospects enter Indianapolis with slight buzz around them as a sleeper prospect, only to leave with even more hype. There are also players that take the buzz and squash it under their slow plodding feet. That is what happened with Georgia running back Elijah Holyfield.

Before the combine Holyfield seemed like NFL Draft Twitter’s favorite mid-to-late round running back prospect. People praised his power and running style while with the Bulldogs. He sat behind two top-40 NFL draft picks a year ago. Even this past year he split carries with a former 5-star recruit who is destined for the NFL. Holyfield could build on that rising status, instead he under-performed severely and his stock took a hit.

The son of the former heavyweight champion Evander, Holyfield runs like a boxer’s son. While he was never the fastest or most elusive, there are certain baseline numbers the NFL expects players to hit.  Posting the second slowest 40 at 4.79 seconds certainly is not one of those baselines. Neither is  the 29.5 vertical jump. In fact, of the drills the Holyfield performed he did not finish better than the 10th percentile in any but the bench press.

Scouts and general managers will now go back and watch more tape. What they will see is a sub-par athlete who also struggles with interior vision and patience. That does not leave a likely path to success for Holyfield. This was a terrible performance but luckily enough scouts will attend Georgia’s pro day for him to make up for it.