The dust has settled in Indianapolis, and 40-yard dash times, vertical jumps, broad jumps, arm lengths, official heights, etc., at the 2026 NFL Combine have all been dissected and scrutinized.
With the most important of all pre-draft showcases complete, it’s time to rank the draft prospects who helped themselves the most last week at Lucas Oil Stadium.
And it’s all relative.
Even an already projected first-round pick can benefit greatly from an elite NFL combine performance, as the monetary difference in being drafted late first round vs. inside the top-15 or top-10 or top-5 is substantial.
But even more life-changing are the fringe draft prospects or projected mid- to late-round players who surge up draft boards after top-end testing results and demonstrative work in on-field drills.
Ranking The Draft Prospects Who Used The 2026 NFL Draft To Boost Their Stock
We touch on both ends of that spectrum in our rankings here …
1. Ohio State LB Sonny Styles
Styles was already going to go very high in the first round of the draft. Leading into the combine, ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. and PFF both projected the Buckeyes star to go No. 7 overall to the Washington Commanders. Fellow high-profile draft analyst Todd McShay had Styles slotted at No. 15 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
So there was at least still a range of perceived potential outcomes for the AP Second-Team All-America standout.
But it’s hard to imagine Styles still being on the board by the middle of the first round after his incredible combine performance Thursday.
Per ESPN, Styles’ 43.5-inch vertical jump was the highest by an off-ball linebacker at the combine since at least 2003 (as far as archived data is kept by NFL NextGen Stats) and the second-highest by any linebacker in that span behind Cameron Wake’s 45.5-inch jump in 2005. Styles’ 4.46-second 40-yard dash tied his Ohio State teammate Arvell Reese for the fastest among all linebackers, and his 11-foot, 2-inch broad jump was the best at the position as well and tied for the second best of the whole combine (just 1 inch behind the leaders).
People who are 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds just aren’t supposed to do those kinds of things.
Neither Kiper nor McShay have updated their mock drafts yet since the combine, but several others now project Styles to go top 5, with PFF projecting him 4th to the Tennessee Titans, ESPN’s Jordan Reid slotting him No. 5 to the New York Giants and Giants’ beat reporter Connor Hughes also expecting them to covet Styles at No. 5.
2. Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers
Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq only further solidified his standing as the top tight end in the draft with a strong combine performance and reportedly excellent interviews with teams. But it’s also now clear who the second tight end on most if not all draft boards will be.
Stowers topped not only Sadiq but all NFL combine participants in the vertical jump as his 45.5-inch leap was the highest of the week by 2 inches. Even more notably, it’s the highest mark on record by any tight end at the combine (dating back to 2003) and nearly matched safety Gerald Sensabaugh’s overall record of 46 from 2005.
Meanwhile, Stowers’ 11-foot, 3-inch broad jump tied Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst for the best mark of the week among all prospects. That was also a tight end record at the combine.
Stowers also tied for the second-best 40-yard dash among tight ends — behind only Sadiq — at 4.51 seconds.
The 6-foot-4, 239-pound converted quarterback caught 111 passes for 1,407 yards and 9 TDs over the last two seasons and was an AP First-Team All-America selection in 2025.
PFF, for one, now projects the Vanderbilt standout to slip into the back of the first round at No. 30 to the Denver Broncos.
3. Georgia OT Monroe Freeling
Entering the combine, Kiper projected Freeling as the No. 24 overall pick, PFF had him at No. 28 and McShay had the Georgia lineman going No. 29. Now?
Both ESPN’s Reid and PFF’s post-combine mock drafts slot Freeling all the way up to No. 6 as the second OT off the board behind Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, leapfrogging Utah’s Spencer Fano. (Fano is facing fresh questions about his arm length after official measurements at the combine).
Among offensive tackles at the combine, the 6-foot-7, 315-pound Freeling ran the third-best 40 time (4.93 seconds), had the fourth-best vertical jump (33.5 inches) and tied for the third-best broad jump (9’7”).
Freeling made just 16 starts during his time at Georgia, but he was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2025 and his elite athleticism projects to still-untapped upside.
4. Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr.
Washington was a two-star recruit coming out of high school, spent three seasons at Buffalo and then one at New Mexico State before getting one season in the SEC at Arkansas to truly prove himself.
Washington seized that opportunity with a career-high 1,070 rushing yards and 8 TDs on a career-best 6.4 yards per carry, adding 226 yards and a TD receiving. But he was still relatively underrated because the Razorbacks were so bad collectively and so far off the national radar this past season.
Then Washington starred at the Senior Bowl, the hype started mounting and Saturday at the combine in Indianapolis he took it to another level.
At 6-foot-1, 223-pounds, Washington bested all running backs — even surefire high first-round pick Jeremiyah Love — in the 40-yard dash at 4.33 seconds. Per ESPN Research, that tied for the fastest 40 time in the past 20 combines for players weighing at least 220 pounds.
He also had the second-best vertical (39 inches) and broad jump (10’8”) among running backs.
Kiper wrote after the combine, “I’m not sure if any other prospect improved his stock in Indy as much as Washington,” and suggested he could be in the conversation for the third RB selected after Love and his Notre Dame teammate Jadarian Price, likely in the third round. Reid, also of ESPN, moved Washington up to the last pick of the second round, No. 64 to the Seattle Seahawks, in his revised mock draft.
5. Oregon S Dillon Thieneman
Entering the combine, opinions on the Oregon safety were fairly split. Kiper was bullish on Thieneman and had him going No. 18 to the Minnesota Vikings, while PFF projected him No. 26 to the Buffalo Bills and McShay left him out of the first round entirely.
Expect most of those projections to change after Thieneman showed he truly possesses the elite athleticism to back up his prolific production over three college seasons.
After back-to-back 100-tackle seasons at Purdue, Thieneman transferred to Oregon and racked up 96 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and 5 passes defended while helping the Ducks reach the College Football Playoff semifinals with their elite defense.
At the combine, the 6-foot, 201-pound Thieneman ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds while hitting 41 inches on his vertical jump, which was second-best among safeties behind Genesis Smith.
PFF’s post-combine mock draft moved Thieneman up to No. 12 to the Dallas Cowboys while ESPN’s Reid also has the Oregon star going to the Cowboys, but at No. 16 following a trade.
6. Arizona State OT Max Iheanachor
Iheanachor is going to be viewed as a raw prospect even though he started for two and a half seasons at Arizona State.
He moved to California with his family from Nigeria when he was 13, gave basketball a shot first and eventually found his way to football, needing two years in junior college to catch the eye of the Sun Devils.
But he’s 6-foot-6, 321 pounds and tied for the top 40-yard dash time among offensive tackles in Indianapolis at 4.91 seconds while tying for the second-best broad jump among OTs at 9 feet, 7 inches.
That size and athleticism combo, combined with the likelihood that his best football is still ahead of him as he continues to develop, has Iheanachor climbing up draft boards with at least a shot to sneak into the back of the first round.
Oh, and he was pretty darn good as is at Arizona State.
7. Cincinnati WR Jeff Caldwell
Being one of the top winners of the combine doesn’t require a first- or second-round draft projection.
Consider where Caldwell came from over the last year to where he is now, and there’s no doubt he deserves a spot on this list.
The 6-foot-5, 216-pound wide receiver spent three seasons at FCS-level Lindenwood so far out of the NFL draft spotlight — before transferring to Cincinnati for his final season. With the Bearcats, he caught 32 passes for 478 yards and 6 touchdowns. Even with solid production in the Big 12, most college football fans probably hadn’t even heard his name until last week.
Then Caldwell maximized his opportunity in front of NFL scouts, coaches and general managers with a head-turning testing performance.
Caldwell ran the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash among wide receivers at 4.31 seconds, with the fastest 10-yard split of any combine participant (1.48 seconds), tied for second among WRs in the vertical jump (42 inches) and was also second among WRs in the board jump (11’2”).
Surely, Caldwell at least cinched a spot somewhere in the draft after that, and all it takes is one highly intrigued NFL team to decide it can’t overlook his elite athleticism and decide to reach a little earlier than others to take him.
I mean …
8. Florida DT Caleb Banks
Banks’ draft stock was on the rise a year ago after the big defensive tackle had 4.5 sacks, 7 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles for Florida in 2024.
But the 6-foot-6, 327-pound wrecking ball broke his foot in mid-September of this past season and played only three games for the Gators with 6 tackles and 1 TFL. So he’s been rebuilding his draft stock in recent months at the Senior Bowl and then last week at the NFL Scouting Combine, where he impressed everyone with how well he moves for his size.
Before the combine, neither Kiper nor McShay projected Banks as a first-rounder while PFF had him at No. 19 in its pre-combine mock draft. Now?
PFF has moved him to No. 9 to the Kansas City Chiefs while ESPN’s Reid has him going No. 18 to the Minnesota Vikings and McShay had this to say:
9. Alabama QB Ty Simpson
Simpson solidified himself as the No. 2 quarterback in this draft behind Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza after an impressive throwing performance during field drills Saturday.
While that was already a near consensus before the combine, there was still plenty of question as to whether he’d go in the first round or fall into the second after just one season as a starter at Alabama (64.5% completion rate, 3,567 yards 28 TDs and 5 INTs).
McShay was always bullish on Simpson and had him projected at No. 13 to the Los Angeles Rams last month while Kiper had the Bama star going No. 21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers and PFF had him falling to the early second round in what has been considered a weak QB draft class.
Now, it would be a real surprise if Simpson isn’t scooped up on Day 1 of the draft.
Simpson’s Draft Stock On The Rise After NFL Combine Workout
McShay said this on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams on Monday: “I’m a big Ty Simpson fan, despite the 6-1, the injuries and the 15 starts. But I’m already starting to hear people like, ‘Could he go as high as Cleveland, sitting there at 6?’ And I hope for Ty Simpson he does not become a Cleveland Brown. They don’t have the protection, they don’t have the weapons. I’d love to see him with the Rams. They pick at 13 in the first of their two picks.”
PFF now has Simpson targeted to the Steelers at No. 21, while Reid at ESPN slotted him No. 28 to the Arizona Cardinals (after a trade of picks).
Simpson had plenty of strong tape with the Crimson Tide, even if his production tailed off late in the season. But standing out amongst the other top QB draft prospects with NFL team in the league present and watching first-hand is the kind of punctuation mark Simpson needed to drive up the bidding, so to speak, come draft day.
10. Penn State QB Drew Allar
There were a lot of ways to go with the final slot on this list — several of the honorable mentions at the bottom here could have warranted the No. 10 spot, certainly. We’re going with Allar because he has seemingly at least reopened the conversation and evaluation about where he fits in this draft.
There may not be a more polarizing player in the draft than Allar.
Earlier in his college career some thought he may be a future high first-round pick. He passed for 5,958 yards, 49 touchdowns and 10 interceptions over the 2023-24 seasons. Then he had a disastrous final season at Penn State, throwing for just 1,100 yards, 8 TDs and 3 INTs in six games before sustaining a broken ankle as the Nittany Lions tumbled from a preseason No. 2 ranking to out of the polls entirely.
Drew Allar Rekindles Some Of His Early-Career Hype At The Combine
Allar’s draft stock plummeted right along with the James Franklin Era in Happy Valley..
Or so it seemed.
There are still plenty of detractors and those warning not to be duped by the prototypical 6-foot-5 QB’s solid combine performance (relative to the concerns his game tape will raise), while some other very prominent NFL media personalities are all the way back in on Allar.
Like ESPN’s Peter Schrager, who suggested Allar excelled at the combine so much that he could be the No. 3 QB in this draft (behind Mendoza and Simpson) and could possibly even slide into the end of the first round or early second round.
Reid, meanwhile, didn’t put Allar in his 64-pick two-round mock draft this week, others still see him as a mid-round pick and 247Sports waited until Monday after the combine to post a headline “Inside Drew Allar’s historic 2026 NFL Draft fall.”
So again, opinions on the former Penn State QB are divisive to say the least!
But Allar makes our list here because he has spurred a lot of fresh conversation and evaluation, which is exactly what he needed to do after his draft stock had tanked so dramatically in the fall. To even have a noted ESPN NFL voice suggesting he’s a potential first-round pick again is quite a statement for Allar, all things considered.
Where he ultimately lands in the draft remains anyone’s guess, but given where Allar’s draft projection stood a week ago it’s a dramatic difference even in the hypothetical sense.
2026 NFL Draft Honorable Mention Performances
Alabama OT Kadyn Proctor, San Diego State CB Chris Johnson, Arkansas QB Taylen Green, UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence, Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II, Oklahoma WR Deion Burks, USC WR Ja’Kobi Lane, Pittsburgh LB Kyle Louis, Iowa C Logan Jones, Connecticut WR Skyler Bell.
