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.

Jalen Milroe (Alabama)

If Milroe decides to run, he will put on an absolute show. He’s one of the most explosive athletes I’ve ever studied at the position, and at ‘just’ 220 pounds I would expect that he should be able to get into the 4.3s in the 40-yard dash. He’s that kind of fast.

Riley Leonard (Notre Dame)

He won’t post numbers anything close to Milroe, but Leonard is a good athlete with running capabilities in the NFL. A good day at the office in passing drills will help him this week, but the athletic testing portion should be a mark in his favor.

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.

For the quarterbacks, what we get to see on television ultimately comes down to their throwing session with the wide receivers in attendance. Overall, the quarterbacks will throw slant routes, out routes, curl routes, dig routes, post-corner routes, and deep go routes. Those last three routes call for the quarterback to push the ball down the field, and here are things you may notice on those passes.

• Velocity and Accuracy are important for any quarterback; see which passers are able to combine both elements on these throws.
• It’s hard for quarterbacks to make these throws - which require a bit of timing with the receiver - to guys they’ve likely never worked with before. It’s always interesting to see which quarterbacks are just willing to cut it loose in this situation. Sometimes a pass is thrown right where it should be but it falls incomplete, it’s important to note that those disconnects are not always on the quarterback.

Here are the players who everyone is hoping to see and who have a chance to shine in these drills.

Cam Ward (Miami)

As of this writing we don’t have any news on whether Ward is going to work out or not. If I had to guess .. I think he goes for it, and I think the ball will pop out of his hand better than most of the other guys in attendance. Ward is a good athlete, so he should test well if he decides to run, but I think the passing aspect of the workout may catch some people by surprise.

Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss)

I don’t think Dart’s arm is as good as Ward’s, and I don’t think it’s as strong as others in the class. That said, there are a couple of things working in his favor for these vertical reps. The ball gets out of his hands fast. He’s a very aggressive downfield thrower in-game, so I’m hoping he’ll carry that same mindset to this environment. Lastly, his downfield accuracy is pretty good. I think he should look pretty good on these reps.