The bright lights of the NFL Scouting Combine shone hot on the faces of the supposed top prospects. They had something to gain, but a whole lot more to lose with their performances in Indianapolis. The combine is where certain incoming rookies can either really help or hurt their draft stock. The sleepers, those with almost nothing to lose, stood to rise from obscurity after just one day of working out and running through drills. There were plenty of relative unknowns who either made scouts and analysts do a double-take or vaulted themselves into an entirely different conversation. Here are a few who shot up draft boards as a direct result of their impressive appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Lest we forget, through the trials and tribulations of the collegiate athlete, that some are simply built differently. Zamir “Zeus” White was a highly-touted, five-star running back and track and field sprinter at Scotland High in North Carolina. His personal record in the 100-meter sprint was a blazing 10.58 seconds. White committed to Georgia as a top recruit to be next in the long line of legendary Bulldog running backs. An ACL surgery on each knee later and draft experts had all but written him off as someone with too many red flags. He was muddled in a committee at Georgia with D’Andre Swift and James Cook during his tenure, which also suppressed his pre-combine hype.
The bright lights of the NFL Scouting Combine shone hot on the faces of the supposed top prospects. They had something to gain, but a whole lot more to lose with their performances in Indianapolis. The combine is where certain incoming rookies can either really help or hurt their draft stock. The sleepers, those with almost nothing to lose, stood to rise from obscurity after just one day of working out and running through drills. There were plenty of relative unknowns who either made scouts and analysts do a double-take or vaulted themselves into an entirely different conversation. Here are a few who shot up draft boards as a direct result of their impressive appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Lest we forget, through the trials and tribulations of the collegiate athlete, that some are simply built differently. Zamir “Zeus” White was a highly-touted, five-star running back and track and field sprinter at Scotland High in North Carolina. His personal record in the 100-meter sprint was a blazing 10.58 seconds. White committed to Georgia as a top recruit to be next in the long line of legendary Bulldog running backs. An ACL surgery on each knee later and draft experts had all but written him off as someone with too many red flags. He was muddled in a committee at Georgia with D’Andre Swift and James Cook during his tenure, which also suppressed his pre-combine hype.
Zeus ran like a lightning bolt. His 4.40-second 40-yard dash was among the fastest in the running backs group. He looked outright explosive in positional drills, maneuvering his 6-0, 214-pound frame with the same grace and power he showed on film over his three seasons in Athens. White earned another, closer look at his body of work. He has the ideal size for the position in the NFL and his patience, vision, and balance are all considered strengths of his. Running fast and looking explosive (and healthy) at the combine vaulted him from RB9 to RB4 in this class in my rankings, with similar movement reverberating through different outlets.
How small is too small for the NFL? That may be the only question lingering around the breathtaking playmaker from Memphis, Calvin Austin III. Austin is yet another track athlete-turned football star who is rounding into form at the perfect time to peak heading into the NFL Draft process. He enjoyed back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for Memphis, including some of the most scintillating punt return highlights to ever grace YouTube. Looking at the stat sheet, you would think this prospect would be in the conversation as one of the most coveted wide receivers on the board.
Make no mistake, Austin is small by NFL standards, at 5-8 and 170 pounds officially. On the field, he is a gritty competitor who can absolutely fly. Austin put on a show at Lucas Oil Stadium, starting with an incendiary 4.32 40-yard dash. He then defied gravity in a way that harkened memories of Spud Webb in the 1986 Slam Dunk Contest, with an 11′ 3″ broad jump and 39″ vertical jump. Calvin Austin III’s film is simply a joy to watch. He is fearless and plays like a much larger receiver. His releases out of press coverage and route stems are lightning quick. He can get vertical easily, especially from the slot, with effortless speed and acceleration. Austin is the kind of weapon that the right NFL offensive coordinator can weaponize in terrifying fashion. His value was discounted entirely on his height and weight before the combine. Austin is still small, but this kind of athleticism is exceedingly rare. He now has our attention.
Sometimes, a football player mirrors the traits of his team’s mascot. Pierre Strong is a jackrabbit. The South Dakota State offense was thoroughly unstoppable on the ground, which led their dominant run through the FCS playoffs in 2021. FCS athletes who look to make the quantum leap to the NFL game need to have dominant tape to be taken seriously. Pierre Strong was the epitome of a home run hitter, with 10 career touchdown runs of over 50 yards. Although Strong faced lesser competition than his peers at the combine, it was quickly apparent that he belonged in Indianapolis.
Just as FCS athletes need to have a sparkling production resume and an amazing body of work on film, they need to pop at the combine. Much like the rest of the running backs invited to Indy, Strong was considered to be a second-tier, two-down back at the NFL level. A less-than-stellar showing meant a running back like Strong could very easily go undrafted. Pierre Strong was stellar. He proved that he was among the most explosive athletes of the running backs group, with a 4.37 in the 40-yard dash. He backed that up with a 36″ vertical jump and a 10′ 4″ broad jump to go with a sturdy 5-11, 207 frame. Now, Strong is a good bet to be an early day-three pick that will fit nicely into a one-cut outside-zone running scheme. He is similar to Elijah Mitchell of the 49ers in a lot of ways and helped himself with a combine opportunity that Mitchell never got.
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Bo McBrayer is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Bo, check out his archive and follow him @Bo_McBigTime.
