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For most, the annual NFL Combine is the kickoff event for draft season. It’s when nearly every single prospect heads to Indianapolis for several days to get checked out by team doctors, coaches, assistants, and executives.
Think of it as a job fair, except those looking for jobs are in their underwear most of the time.
Fantasy managers in dynasty leagues tend to pay close attention to the Combine, but the reality is that every Fantasy manager should be dialed in. This is an introduction to how well every player moves. Stuff like the bench press and 40-yard dash are important for obvious reasons, but lesser-known drills like the three-cone, short shuttle, and gauntlet are arguably more important.
In all, every player’s athleticism is what’s being tested. The results of the drills are then essentially used as tiebreakers between two or more players with similar skill sets.
This year’s draft class is viewed differently than other recent classes: There are a lot of solid players who can contribute on Sundays, but it’s light on playmakers. That goes for all positions, not just quarterbacks. Still, Fantasy managers are going to draft these guys, so getting to know them now and understanding where they might best excel is important.
We’ll do that with players expected to be top-60 picks come late April.
Quarterbacks
Cam Ward, Miami
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Ward is an experienced college football quarterback possessing a lot of the physical traits NFL teams look for in a starter. His career had been defined by its volatility until this season when he began to dial it back a bit more. Ward displays good pocket mobility and throws with touch and anticipation to all three levels of the field. He tends to stick to his reads, and his ball security has not yet, but could, become a problem at the next level for the natural playmaker.
CBS Sports comparison: Jordan Love
2024 stats: 4,313 passing yards, 67.2% completion rate, 39 TDs, 7 INTs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Giants. Keeping it realistic, Ward is set to be a top-three pick in the draft and become a team’s franchise quarterback. If it’s Tennessee, he’ll be paired with Brian Callahan behind an offensive line with some potential but not a ton in the way of downfield threats. Same thing in Cleveland, maybe with a better O-line but also with a coaching staff that could be a year away from being fired. New York’s coaching staff is also one bad year away from being history, and their O-line isn’t great, but at least they have Malik Nabers. That connection across all three levels could carry the Giants’ offense for 10-plus years.
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Sanders has a solid frame and stature to become an NFL quarterback. He has been highly efficient throughout his collegiate career completing more than 70% of his pass attempts. His decision-making has been generally good but waned in the latter half of the 2024 regular season. He is a patient passer with a smooth release but needs a better feel for when to rip it. Sanders does a good job moving around in the pocket and keeping his eyes downfield when pressured but is known to hold onto the ball too long.
CBS Sports comparison: Geno Smith
2024 stats: 4,134 passing yards, 74% completion rate, 37 TDs, 10 INTs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Raiders. New coach Pete Carroll has zero reservations about starting rookies in Week 1, even quarterbacks. Sanders is a little more mature of a passer than Ward but without as many intangibles, so surrounding him with targets like Brock Bowers and Jakobi Meyers is perfect since they’re both capable of extending plays after the catch.
Running backs
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Jeanty is a stocky but fast RB prospect with the best contact balance I’ve ever scouted. He’s essentially impossible to take down on first contact. He can play in a zone or power scheme because he can be a smooth North-South runner or make defenders miss with lateral jukes in the hole. He’s very elusive with light feet. His speed is great but not spectacular, and it won’t be surprising to see him hit some long runs in the NFL. Jeanty’s vision is an asset, too, often running between the tackles and finding tiny creases to squeeze through. He doesn’t provide plus ability as a receiver and had some drops in his final season, but of course, he can be a weapon in the screen game, though. Altogether, this is one of the finest RB prospects we’ve seen over the past decade.
CBS Sports comparison: Marshawn Lynch
2024 stats: 374 carries, 2,601 yards, 29 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Cowboys. We’ve come to love Dallas RBs if only because they tend to get massive opportunities. Although the Cowboys are evolving, they still have a solid offensive line and can justify taking Jeanty as a way to take pressure off of Dak Prescott and provide some balance and explosiveness.
Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Hampton has a prototypical feature-back frame with plus suddenness in his feet, allowing him to bounce off tacklers with minimal effort. He’s more of a subtle lateral cutter than a smooth, gliding runner, making him a better fit for a gap or power scheme than a pure zone-blocking system. His dynamic footwork lets him string together multiple cuts in a single run to maximize yardage. He offers above-average burst and solid long speed — neither a defining strength nor a weakness. His vision is strong both between the tackles and on outside runs, and he doesn’t rely too heavily on bouncing plays outside. … Hampton is a reliable pass-catcher with dependable hands and functional receiving ability. His contact balance is very good, though not elite. While not the most elusive runner, he has enough looseness and flexibility to make defenders miss in space.
CBS Sports comparison: Brian Robinson Jr.
2024 stats: 281 carries, 1,660 yards, 15 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Chargers. The Bolts got by with J.K. Dobbins last year, but even he wasn’t as effective as they had hoped, and his lack of availability left them in trouble late in the regular season. L.A. loves being physical up front and could use a hammer like Hampton. By the way, Michigan offered Hampton a scholarship back in 2020, so it’s not like Jim Harbaugh doesn’t know who he is.
Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Johnson is a big, North-South runner with plus speed once he reaches the second and third levels. He has more build-up speed than true burst but isn’t sluggish at the hand-off. Occasionally flashes a skip move in the hole, but lateral agility isn’t a big part of his game. Instead, he relies on patience, letting his blockers create lanes before hitting the accelerator. His vision is outstanding — he slithers through tight creases on zone plays as if the game is unfolding in slow motion. He’s best in a zone-blocking scheme. … However, he has a tendency to bounce poorly blocked runs outside, which might work against slower defenses but will be far less effective in the NFL… He wasn’t heavily used in the passing game in college, which limits his three-down upside.
CBS Sports comparison: Jaylen Wright
2024 stats: 240 carries, 1,537 yards, 21 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Bears. If Ben Johnson wants to attempt to build a strong run game with a power back and a speed back, then he’s found a fit for the former in Johnson. He fits the scheme and could easily play in the David Montgomery role right away, losing out on third-down work.
Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: An All-State running back out of high school (Pike Road H.S. in Alabama), Judkins set single-season records at Ole Miss in rushing yards (1,567) and touchdowns (16) as a true freshman before leaving for Ohio State two seasons later. Judkins is more than capable of working as a “1A” back in either zone or gap schemes as a patient, strong, well-balanced runner. There’s room for development as far as receiving goes, and he should be encouraged to use his agility more often, but his overall speed, while competitive, keeps him from being a dynamic breakaway gamebreaker worth a Round 1 selection.
CBS Sports comparison: Joe Mixon
2024 stats: 194 carries, 1,060 yards, 14 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Steelers. Any runner who goes to Pittsburgh will get attention from the Fantasy community, but Judkins is young (22 when the season starts) and physical with a great track record from his past few seasons. He could easily replace Najee Harris as part of a tandem with the potential to become an every-down back for Pittsburgh in time.
TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Henderson is a three-down running back with good size, as well as good top-end speed and burst. He can do a better job of landing his punches to engage defenders. Henderson boasts good production as a pass catcher and showed a willingness to stand in to block in critical moments. He can do a better job of pressing the hole before making his cut and his legs can get too wide when making that cut, which leads to a loss of balance. Henderson makes defenders miss in open space but has battled with injuries throughout his collegiate career.
CBS Sports comparison: Kareem Hunt
2024 stats: 144 carries, 1,016 yards, 10 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Chiefs. Henderson’s speed, versatility, and three-down potential would give him a shot to be Andy Reid’s next runner. But Kansas City wouldn’t have to press Henderson into a big role right away — they could use him on a part-time basis in 2025 before handing over the keys to the offense in 2026 after Pacheco leaves in free agency.
Wide receivers
Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: At 6-foot-5, McMillan is a towering, intimidating boundary WR with a sleek overall body type and good weight on his frame. His burst off the line is good, but he’s not overly explosive. His speed is fine for his size. Occasionally, he runs into trouble against press because he doesn’t have incredible lateral agility but fights through it with good regularity because of his size and strength. … After the catch, McMillan is an absolute menace as his speed seems to hit a new level and he demonstrated tremendous contact balance, plus vision and spatial awareness. Plays just about to his size at the catch point, as he’s a decent leaper and can pluck the ball away from his frame, but he’s not ridiculously sure-handed. He probably won’t be a separator on intricate routes in the NFL. On a more linear route tree, he can become a true No. 1 in time because of his deceptive fluidity, long limbs, quality speed, and ferocious YAC talent.
CBS Sports comparison: Tee Higgins
2024 stats: 84 receptions, 1,319 yards, 8 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Patriots. The Panthers and Saints make sense for McMillan too, but pairing him up with Drake Maye in a Josh McDaniels offense where there’s hardly anyone else to compete for targets suggests the most upside right away and long-term for McMillan.
Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Egbuka is a very experienced, relatively explosive wideout with quality size for a speedster. His burst off the line and during his route is very noticeable, and he’s savvy changing speeds to create separation. He’s more linear than super flexible, but there’s minimal stiffness to his athletic profile. His top-end long speed seems good, but it’s not unbelievable. Egbuka is most impressive off the line and blazing through the intermediate level, running crisp routes. He’ll have enough route-running skill to be a quality separator at the next level, yet it won’t be a pure specialty. He has enough size to battle through press and bumps at the line, but occasionally it knocks him off kilter. He could stand to get a tick stronger. He tracks the football downfield awesomely in tight spaces and over his shoulder, although he’s not really a leaper/rebounder type who’ll win in traffic to secure the catch. Overall, his hands are reliable and he doesn’t have many drops on film. Despite overall impressive athletic traits, he doesn’t provide much by way of juking or contact balance after the catch, but his speed can generate some extra yardage post-catch. Egbuka is a reliable receiver type with WR1 upside.
CBS Sports comparison: Terry McLaurin
2024 stats: 81 receptions, 1,011 yards, 10 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Texans. With Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell’s future very up in the air, Burden would fit right in Houston’s West Coast offense, one that desperately needs a reliable long-term fix at receiver on short and intermediate routes. It would help that C.J. Stroud and Egbuka worked together at Ohio State back in 2021.
Luther Burden III, Missouri
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Burden has a thick lower body that allows him to run through arm tackles in the open field. He is able to accelerate upfield quickly and has good body control to contort himself downfield. The Illinois native has primarily lined up in the slot, which means he does not have much exposure to getting off press coverage. His route-running must continue to improve. A reason for encouragement is Burden’s improved drop rate from his freshman season (9.3%) to 2024 (3.8%).
CBS Sports comparison: Deebo Samuel
2024 stats: 61 receptions, 676 yards, 6 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Commanders. Think about the short, shifty receivers Jayden Daniels leaned on as secondary options throughout the season. Burden could come in and immediately replace them all as a short-area weapon with explosiveness.
Tight ends
Tyler Warren, Penn State
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Warren is a tall, well-built tight end who has shown off his versatility fulfilling a variety of roles this season. Warren has shown improvement as a run blocker driving his feet on contact but must continue working on block retention and engaging as a puller across the formation. The Virginia native does a good job flattening his routes relative to his height and has a wide catch radius to make plays outside of his frame.
CBS Sports comparison: Luke Musgrave
2024 stats: 104 receptions, 1,233 yards, 8 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Panthers. The Bengals would be the best fit but it’s unlikely he ends up there unless Cincy moves up from 17th overall. So the Panthers are the best fit among the teams in the top 10 because he’ll give Bryce Young a reliable short and intermediate target for the foreseeable future, and there isn’t a locked-in No. 1 receiving threat in Carolina. He could have a Bowers-like impact in that spot.
Colston Loveland, Michigan
CBS Sports Draft Profile Summary: Loveland has good size to be an NFL tight end but can continue adding mass to his frame. Loveland has a good catch radius to make plays outside of his frame and good acceleration to turn upfield post-catch. He drives his feet on contact in the run game, but pad level gets a bit high in pass protection. Loveland has shown the versatility to move around the formation but can continue addressing his play strength and footwork to defeat press coverage.
CBS Sports comparison: Greg Olsen
2024 stats: 56 receptions, 582 yards, 5 TDs
Favorite Fantasy fit: Bengals. OK, if Cincy can’t get Warren then adding Loveland is a terrific fallback option. Obviously, the landing spot would be excellent if the Bengals do not keep Higgins long-term, paving the way for Loveland to be Joe Burrow’s No. 2 target-getter for the foreseeable future. Denver would also be an intriguing landing spot.
