The NFL Draft Combine is, surprisingly, not necessarily about the draft itself. At least, not as far as where the engagement comes from.
For example, Fernando Mendoza's warm hometown welcome notwithstanding, this combine was not about the 2026 rookie class' top prospects. Mendoza didn't throw, Caleb Downs didn't participate at all, and Carnell Tate actually disappointed a tad as the consensus No. 1 receiver on everyone's board. No, the biggest stars of the combine are always the surprising stories, the athletes who didn't get to show off on as big a level as they wanted during the college season. Draft stock is improved, names are made, even if the flaws that forced them into relative obscurity might still loom throughout their careers.
5. Zane Durant, DT, Penn State
Fatal flaw: arm length
Arm length and leverage was the topic of the day for projected-first round edge rushers Rueben Bain, Jr. and Cashius Howell, who both came in with measurements over two inches shorter than the positional average (33"). But the measurement is equally, if not arguably more important for interior linemen.
Take in Zane Durant (31.88" arm length), who possibly improved from a Day 3 projection into the top 100 with his combine. He posted the best 40-yard dash time of his position (4.76 seconds), showing off the explosiveness he has built his reputation on. Teams are now drooling at the possibilities of his explosion and quickness on the interior. But if he's not participating in the pass rush, Durant's arm length and lack of leverage against more aggressive guards and centers could be a legitimate problem for him going forward.
4. Mike Washington, Jr., RB, Arkansas
Fatal flaw: lateral agility
What an incredible career thus far for Mike Washington. Investing three years at Buffalo to start your college career, only to bet on yourself in the transfer portal, not once, but twice in consecutive years is insanity. And based on his combine results, it's all about to pay off for the fifth year senior -- a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 223 pounds is insane as it is, and that's before you get to his positional runner up vertical (39") and broad jump (10'8) scores. Washington went from a three-team college career to a real shot at becoming a second round pick. No wonder he got emotional.
No one expected a 40-yard dash from someone as massive and physically strong as Washington. But speed and quickness are not the same, and that shows up a bit in Washington's game. He has the upper gears to burn in an open field and the hands to catch passes, but accelerates slowly, both up and down. He is limited in wide zone schemes and routes beyond simple checkdowns, and unless those issues are worked on, either with technique or body composition, Washington's future as a true workhorse back has a legitimate ceiling.
3. Taylen Green, QB, Arkansas
Fatal flaw: decision-making
Seriously, what did they put in the water at Arkansas?
It likely won't be enough to bump his status up from a Day 3 stash pick, but rare is the day that records get set. And for a quarterback as mechanically raw as Taylen Green is, setting records was exactly what he needed to focus on in the combine. And that he did: Green's 43.5" vertical and 11'2 broad jumps are the highest combine marks among all quarterbacks since 2003. And his 4.36-second 40-yard dash wasn't far behind as the second-best time at his position since that year as well. There is a reason that the combine's official broadcast took a moment to compare his measurables to DK Metcalf's (note the higher vertical score as well).
Still: there is a reason why Green is largely considered a mid-round prospect. What the combine can't mathematically measure is how well he does as a thrower of the football under pressure, and there is enough data from his time at Arkansas to provide a single word as to who Green is in those situations: panicked. His 3.13 second time to throw was essentially at the bottom of all 138 FBS quarterbacks, and only completed 38.6% of his passes while under true pressure. Also, keep in mind that, athletic freak that he is, Green was still sacked 27 times in a single season, all of which came in those true pressure situations.
2. Lorenzo Styles, Jr., DB, Ohio State
Fatal flaw: lack of experience
He didn't necessarily improve his draft stock, but a 4.27-second 40-yard dash is more than enough to become one of the combine's biggest headlines. Styles, like his brother is a born athlete.
However, his combine did not address Styles' biggest issue: that he simply hasn't played DB that long. He converted from wide receiver after his first season as a Buckeye, and his tape shows that he is still transitioning to the new position. He's relatively slow to read offenses and is still building his instincts as a playmaker. All good, doable, learnable things, but not on the timetable Styles is hoping to be on.
1. D'Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana
Fatal flaw: size
In most any other year, Ponds would be a consenus first round pick on his athleticism alone. In fact, he might still. Ponds boasted a position-best 43.5" vertical, and didn't even need to run the 40-yard dash for teams to be impressed enough by his twichiness and speed.
But this isn't any other year, so on the other hand, Ponds' weakness is painfully obvious. His vertical was absolutely singularly impressive, but at 5'9, it should have been assumed that a player of Ponds' presumed draft capital would have enough athleticism to set it off. For reference, keep in mind that Ponds shares a draft class and position with the lanky Tacario Davis out of Washington, who boasts a full seven inches on him. And while Davis is an outlier, this CB class is both deep and insanely fast -- to run a 4.41" 40 at Davis' height is wildly impressive, to say the least. Ponds could go as high as the end of the first round, especially how stellar of a combine he had, but the flaw is there.