BY FRAN DUFFY

I find the National Football Scouting Combine to be a test of expectations. Fast players should look fast. Slow players should look slow. When the results don’t match the expectations, that is when more work must be done.

Below you’ll find my expectations for this position group this week in Indianapolis. Who do I expect to stand out? Who does this week mean the most for? What are the drills I prioritize most? Here are my thoughts on all of that and more!

Workout Warriors:

These are the players who I expect to perform best in the athletic testing portion of the workout.

Travis Hunter (Colorado)

As of this writing we do not know the extent of which Hunter will work out this week in Indianapolis. Will he go through athletic testing? I would assume that he is going to go through position drills, and even though he’s with the DBs this week I would venture to guess that he will do a full receiver workout as well on Friday. If he does test, I would expect that he’s going to dazzle with some of his numbers.

Darien Porter (Iowa State)

Porter has excellent size, standing over 6-foot-2 with outstanding length (over 33’’ arms), and his speed is outstanding. The fastest player at Senior Bowl practices, Porter began his career as a wideout for the Cyclones before moving to defense in 2022 on a full-time basis. Still a backup this season as a sixth-year senior, he’s played more special teams snaps than any corner drafted in the last decade, so the floor is high. This week we’ll get a real sense of how high the ceiling is, as well.

Max Hairston (Kentucky)

Hairston is a smoooooth athlete. A fluid corner who can turn and run with ease and close fast on throws, he should be one of the better testers at the position when it comes to just raw numbers. He came in at just 179 pounds at the Senior Bowl, which will be a knock against him, but I expect that he’ll be one of the better workouts.

Cody Lindenberg (Minnesota)

An impressive athlete with explosive bursts on tape to go along with good length (33’’ long arms), Lindenberg is built like Tarzan and really looks the part. The tape is a bit up-and-down, but teams draft length and athleticism at this position, so however early you think he’ll get selected in April, it’s probably not early enough.

Jacob Parrish (Kansas State)

I don’t have confirmed numbers on Parrish from a testing standpoint, but watching his quickness from the slot and ability to close downhill on plays in front of him and I feel good about his ability to look good on the stopwatch.

The Drill To Watch:

I am a big proponent of studying the position work at this event. That is my focus when I’m inside Lucas Oil Stadium - not the athletic tests! Here’s the drill I weigh the heaviest and who I expect to shine when it’s that time of the night.

One of my favorite drills for the DBs is called the ‘Box’ drill, where a player will backpedal, drive forward, come to balance, run back as if he’s reacting to a vertical route, then break again to find the football. A couple of things to note in this drill:

• As always, these drills are designed to put stress on the prospects. After executing a couple of athletic moves on command from a coach on the field, can the player find the ball and finish at the catch point for an interception? This will indicate his comfort in reeling in any pass that comes their way in coverage.
• Before that point, however, you want to see easy change of direction and body control. Can the prospects execute these movements with good pad level, light, active feet, and a change in speed on the break. This all speaks to a player’s overall athleticism, which is obviously very important when it comes to his ability to stay in a receiver’s hip pocket in man-to-man coverage.