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.

Dylan Sampson (Tennessee)

Sampson is one of the more dynamic ball carriers in this class. He should time extremely well and I think his stock will gain helium because of it. He should be one of the top testers across the board, because that juice shows up in a straight line as well as side-to-side on his lateral cuts.

Jaydon Blue (Texas)

Watch a Blue highlight tape and you can envision why he will likely be one of hte top testers at the position. He’s an electric playmaker who they created great opportunity for in their pass game as well as in the run game. He should dazzle this week.

Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)

A runaway freight train in the open field, Johnson’s blend of size and speed popped up on tape this year as one of the nation’s leading rushers. Teammates described him as a ‘John Deere’ who was always able to outrun defenders in pursuit, and that juice should show up in the 40 and in the jumps this week.

Trey Henderson (Ohio State)

Henderson was one of the most dynamic pass catchers in the country for the entirety of his career, and he put that big-play upside on display often this year, specifically down the stretch and in the College Football Playoff. He should be one of the better testers in the class.

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.

In today’s game, running backs have to be able to impact the passing game if they’re to be viewed as truly dynamic playmakers worthy of high draft choices. This week, we’ll watch these running backs run a series of routes at all three levels of the field. A couple of things you may notice on these routes:

• Are they natural at the catch point? Does he have the ability to adjust to the throw, pull in the reception, gather himself, and transition to a runner immediately to generate positive yardage upfield?
• What level of receiver is he? Is he just a check down option, can he work in the screen game, or can he be flexed out and run routes at a high level as if he were a receiver?

Here are the players who have a chance to shine in these drills.