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.

Harold Fannin (Bowling Green)

You don’t catch 117 passes in a season as a tight end if you don’t have the athleticism to be a dynamic mismatch in the NFL. Fannin is aa smooth, fluid mover at the position with speed to get down the field. In that Falcon offense he was used very often on vertical routes and big crossers while also catching those layup throws underneath and turning them into big gains. It would be a disappointment if he didn’t test well.

Tyler Warren (Penn State)

I don’t know that Warren is going to set the stopwatch on fire with the 40-yard dash, but he’s a powerful athlete with impressive lateral quickness. If he comes in around 260 pounds and brings those movement skills from the film onto the turf, he should be one of the top overall athletic profiles in the class.

Jalin Conyers (Texas Tech)

Conyers is built like a small forward and his natural athleticism stood out to me with the very first rep I saw of him live in Dallas at the Shrine Bowl. I would be a bit surprised if he didn’t have one of the better overall athletic profiles at the position.

Jake Briningstool (Clemson)

Briningstool is a sneaky addition here, because people don’t often talk about him as a high-end athlete in this loaded group, but when I studied him on tape and saw him live in Mobile at the Senior Bowl I saw a guy who could present problems for the defense. The senior has good speed down the seam, lined up out wide and threatened DBs vertically, and was very smooth in and out of breaks to boot.

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.