The NFL Scouting Combine is underway in Indianapolis, with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends completing their workouts Thursday afternoon. It’s an NFL tradition to overreact to prospects doing workouts they do every day and throwing on air wearing shorts, but Combine performance is often responsible for many players rising and falling in the NFL Draft.
So, let’s do some overreacting, shall we? Here are some players that raised – or lowered – their stock for the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday:
Stock up
Malik Willis: QB, Liberty
Willis had a great day on Thursday. Not only was he seen doing a good deed by donating to a homeless man in Indianapolis, but he also displayed all of the arm talent that has teams buzzing, dropping 60-yard bombs with relative ease in the throwing portion of the workout. Throwing in shorts was never going to be an accurate depiction of what he can do in a game – he is still a major project – but Willis still set himself apart in a weak quarterback class.
Christian Watson: WR, North Dakota State
Watching Watson’s tape at FCS North Dakota State is like watching the star player from the varsity team play with a bunch of sixth-graders – he’s so much bigger, stronger and faster than everyone else on the field that it’s hard to tell if he’s really that good or if the level of competition is just that bad. The real test was always going to be how he compared to his fellow NFL prospects. And at 6-foot-4, 208 pounds, he ran a 4.36 40-yard dash and had an 11-foot, four-inch broad jump. That puts his Relative Athletic Score in the top 10 of any receiver ever measured at the combine. In short, he made himself some money.
Christian Watson runs a drill during the NFL Combine Getty ImagesSkyy Moore: WR, Western Michigan
Chris Olave and Calvin Austin III both ran blazing, sub-4.4 40-yard dashes, but anyone who watches those guys play knew they were fast going in. Moore, however, has never been thought of as a burner, rather a guy that wins with polish and route-running ability. But on Thursday, he proved he can fly, posting an official 4.41 time in the 40 – better than expected. The tape and stats were always there for Moore, and the added element of speed could see him moving up draft boards.
Skyy Moore runs a drill during the NFL Combine Getty ImagesJelani Woods: TE, Virginia
Woods was the standout of the tight end group and looked like he was built in a lab throughout Thursday’s workouts. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound Virginia product led all players with 24 bench press reps, then went on to run a 4.61 40-yard dash – a blazing speed for a man his size. He displayed a ton of fluidity in the pass-catching drills as well. There is no limit to his athletic upside, and it was on full display in Indianapolis.
Stock down
David Bell: WR, Purdue
Bell, who is coming off a highly productive season with the Boilermakers, graded poorly on most of the measurable tests Thursday, with a 4.65 40-yard dash, a 33-inch vertical, and a 9-foot, 10-inch broad jump. He is not known for his speed, and those who watch his tape likely weren’t surprised by his testing – he is more known for route-running technique and physicality. But 4.65 is still slower than expected, and given the NFL’s tendency to overreact to the Combine, this was likely enough to make him slide.
David Bell runs a drill during the NFL Combine Getty ImagesKenny Pickett: QB, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett readies to throw at the NFL Combine Getty ImagesThe story of the day for Pickett was hand size. Two years ago, Joe Burrow made news for his “small” nine-inch hands – Pickett’s measured even smaller at 8.5 inches. Now, Burrow is coming off a Super Bowl run, but Pickett is nowhere near the caliber of a prospect the Bengals quarterback was, and the hand size will likely hurt his stock (he fumbled 26 times in four years of college football, often correlated with small hands). He ran a solid 4.67 40-yard dash, though.





