The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is upon us in all its glory, and it is time for some daring predictions for the athletic assessments inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
We’re sure to see a litany of jaw-dropping performances, and historical past tells us lots of mentioned performances will probably be from prospects we weren’t essentially anticipating to be as jaw-dropping as in the end had been.
With that, let’s get to it — daring predictions for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine are right here. And they’re particular.
Pittsburgh’s Israel Abanikanda runs the second-fasted 40-yard sprint amongst RBs
No operating again is operating a quicker 40 than Texas A&M’s Devon Achane. Let’s simply get that out of the way in which. Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs is without doubt one of the favorites to be the runner-up. Some like East Carolina’s Keaton Mitchell and even Texas workhorse Bijan Robinson. I just like the Pittsburgh operating again. As a real junior unable to take part within the postseason all-star video games, Abanikanda enters the mix quietly. He’s not as explosive as Achane or Gibbs, however his movie is overflowing with lengthy runs that show his downfield juice. He had 38 runs of 10-plus yards (!) in an incredible 2022 marketing campaign.
Now, he is listed at 5-feet-11 and 215 kilos — at that dimension it’s going to be a problem to publish a blazing time within the 40. If he is nearer to 200 kilos we’ll see him run the second-fastest time among the many backs, behind Achane, who has world-class pace.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Scott runs a quicker 40-yard sprint than Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt
Hailing from the SEC, with the five-touchdown masterpiece within the epic victory over Alabama on his resume, Hyatt is the speedster wideout within the highlight heading into this mix. Do stay awake on Scott, a burner in his personal proper with a adorned observe background in highschool. The key to operating ridiculously quick in Indy — or to assist establish who will scorch the synthetic grass on the mix — examine the peak and weight mixtures.
John Ross and Henry Ruggs had been each 5-11 and 188 kilos. Last yr, Baylor cornerback Kalon Barnes… 5-11, 183 kilos. Ran 4.23. Scott is listed at 5-11 and 185 and has loads of catch-and-runs on movie by which he’s touring at a a lot totally different pace than the defensive backs round him. He’ll clock a quicker time than the marquee prospect from Tennessee.
Three tight ends run underneath 4.55 within the 40-yard sprint
This tight finish group is stacked. And so far as pace goes, Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave is the headliner. He’s going to run sub-4.50 at 255 kilos, which is able to in all probability cement him in the primary spherical regardless of being restricted to 2 video games in 2022 as a consequence of damage. Utah’s Dalton Kincaid is a freaky specimen in his personal proper. And I want to carry Old Dominion’s Zach Kuntz to your consideration. On movie, he extra seems to be like a large receiver than a good finish, and he is listed at a ridiculous 6-8 and 251 kilos, which is definitely fairly skinny for that towering top. The lengthy strides make him deceptively quick.
The final time we had three tight ends run underneath 4.55 — 2017 when Evan Engram, O.J. Howard, and George Kittle did it.
Michigan NT Mazi Smith has three-cone drill quicker than some LBs
Smith is arguably the most effective pure athlete in Indianapolis this week, notably when his dimension is taken into account. At 6-3 and practically 340 kilos, he strikes like an outdoor linebacker at instances. That means, the mix units up completely for him to provide his draft inventory a major increase.
The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported earlier than the season in his annual compilation of school soccer’s most athletic gamers known as “The Freaks List” that Smith was timed with a three-cone underneath 7.00 at Michigan. That’s patently absurd. Maybe this is not thought of a “daring” prediction, however a 330-plus pound defensive linemen with a quicker three-cone time than many linebackers can be bananas.
Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes has the longest broad bounce of any CB
Forbes is a protracted, explosive exterior cornerback fast to leap beneath routes and take them to the home. There’s loads of buzz about Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez having an incredible exercise. Same goes for Georgia’s Kelee Ringo, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. — bloodlines! — Tre Hodges-Tomlinson from TCU, and Maryland’s Deonte Banks.
But at round 6-0 and a somewhat mild 180 kilos, Forbes goes to leap from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne throughout his exercise on the mix. OK, not that far. But he’ll have the longest broad of any defensive again this yr.
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