2019 NFL Combine: 10 players who showed out

T.J. Hockenson & Noah Fant, TE, Iowa

This may be cheating but it was impossible to eliminate either Iowa tight end from this list. These two are already in rare company, likely being the first pair of teammates playing the same position to be drafted in the first round. Might as well keep them together on this list.

T.J. Hockenson is the better of the two players. His size and speed profile is drawing comparison to fellow former Hawkeye George Kittle. Hockenson’s tape shows a rare athlete who can block like a tackle, but run and catch like a receiver. His workout proved that to be true. Hockenson ran a 4.7 40 yard dash, good enough for 70th percentile. His agility testing were in the 85th percintle for tight ends. Meanwhile his jumps were elite, both placing inside the 90th percentile. This was the type of workout people expected, including impressing with the on field drills. He will be the first tight end taken and could climb into the top-10 of this class.

Meanwhile Noah Fant is considered the lesser of the two prospects. His comparisons are more in line with recent tight end prospects we’ve seen like David Njoku and Evan Engram. That is doing Fant a disservice because he is a much better blocker than either of those former first round tight ends. Fant outperformed his teammate in every drill the two ran this weekend. His 4.5 40 yard dash is in the 96th percentile. In fact only his 20-yard shuttle (79th percentile) finished below the 90th percentile for movement drills. Fant elevated himself into the top half of the first round discussion.

These two are in rare air for how well they performed all season and where they will be drafted. In a tight end class that is extremely deep, these are the two top performers and the draft in April will show just that.