The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is upon us in all its glory, and it's time for some bold predictions for the athletic tests inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
We're bound to see a litany of jaw-dropping performances, and history tells us many of said performances will be from prospects we weren't necessarily expecting to be as jaw-dropping as ultimately were.
With that, let's get to it -- bold predictions for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine are here. And they're specific.
Pittsburgh's Israel Abanikanda runs the second-fasted 40-yard dash among RBsNo running back is running a faster 40 than Texas A&M's Devon Achane. Let's just get that out of the way. Alabama's Jahmyr Gibbs is one of the favorites to be the runner-up. Some like East Carolina's Keaton Mitchell or even Texas workhorse Bijan Robinson. I like the Pittsburgh running back. As a true junior unable to participate in the postseason all-star games, Abanikanda enters the combine quietly. He's not as explosive as Achane or Gibbs, but his film is overflowing with long runs that demonstrate his downfield juice. He had 38 runs of 10-plus yards (!) in a tremendous 2022 campaign.
Now, he's listed at 5-feet-11 and 215 pounds -- at that size it'll be a challenge to post a blazing time in the 40. If he's closer to 200 pounds we will see him run the second-fastest time among the backs, behind Achane, who has world-class speed.
Cincinnati's Tyler Scott runs a faster 40-yard dash than Tennessee's Jalin HyattHailing from the SEC, with the five-touchdown masterpiece in the epic victory over Alabama on his resume, Hyatt is the speedster wideout in the spotlight heading into this combine. Do not sleep on Scott, a burner in his own right with a decorated track background in high school. The key to running ridiculously fast in Indy -- or to help identify who will scorch the artificial grass at the combine -- check the height and weight combinations.
John Ross and Henry Ruggs were both 5-11 and 188 pounds. Last year, Baylor cornerback Kalon Barnes... 5-11, 183 pounds. Ran 4.23. Scott is listed at 5-11 and 185 and has plenty of catch-and-runs on film in which he is traveling at a much different speed than the defensive backs around him. He'll clock a faster time than the marquee prospect from Tennessee.
Three tight ends run under 4.55 in the 40-yard dashThis tight end group is stacked. And as far as speed goes, Oregon State's Luke Musgrave is the headliner. He's going to run sub-4.50 at 255 pounds, which will probably cement him in the first round despite being limited to two games in 2022 due to injury. Utah's Dalton Kincaid is a freaky specimen in his own right. And I would like to bring Old Dominion's Zach Kuntz to your attention. On film, he more looks like a wide receiver than a tight end, and he's listed at a ridiculous 6-8 and 251 pounds, which is actually pretty skinny for that towering height. The long strides make him deceptively fast.
The last time we had three tight ends run under 4.55 -- 2017 when Evan Engram, O.J. Howard, and George Kittle did it.
Michigan NT Mazi Smith has three-cone drill faster than some LBsSmith is arguably the best pure athlete in Indianapolis this week, particularly when his size is considered. At 6-3 and nearly 340 pounds, he moves like an outside linebacker at times. That means, the combine sets up perfectly for him to give his draft stock a significant boost.
The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported before the season in his annual compilation of college football's most athletic players called "The Freaks List'' that Smith was timed with a three-cone under 7.00 at Michigan. That's patently absurd. Maybe this isn't considered a "bold" prediction, but a 330-plus pound defensive linemen with a faster three-cone time than many linebackers would be bananas.
Mississippi State's Emmanuel Forbes has the longest broad jump of any CBForbes is a long, explosive outside cornerback quick to jump underneath routes and take them to the house. There's plenty of buzz about Oregon's Christian Gonzalez having a tremendous workout. Same goes for Georgia's Kelee Ringo, Penn State's Joey Porter Jr. -- bloodlines! -- Tre
