The 2019 NFL Combine has come and gone, time to see who put on a show in Indianapolis.
When the NFL offseason kicks off after the Super Bowl, the event that draws most of the NFL world is the combine. The annual invite-only event in Indianapolis is attended by every head coach and general manager plus the majority of their staff. It is a place where hand-shake deals are made, and the top brass watch college kids try their best to impress. Media members flock there in droves to hope and grab a scoop from a late-night out or walking through the hallways of the stadium.
Every year the combine is a reminder of two things. The first is that business in the NFL happens outside the public eye and this is one of the biggest place for that to occur. The other is that the combine is a fun job interview but in the grand scheme of thing adds a piece to the puzzle, not the solution. People who freak out over the combine get lost in the hype of it all. Players will help and hurt themselves with their performance but a first round pick entering the combine does not all the sudden become undraftable after they stink it up in Indianapolis.
This year’s iteration featured extremely impressive performances across the board. It is safe to assume that this draft class may have more “physical freaks” than any in recent memory. Almost as if there is a prospect at every position that can be nicknamed “The Freak”.
Here are the ten players that helped themselves the most at the 2019 NFL Combine this past weekend.
Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
There will not be a list out there that discusses combine winners that does not feature Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman trophy winner, Kyler Murray. Despite not doing a single drill or test, Murray comes out of Indianapolis with his stock as high as ever.
Murray’s victory came well before he was on the field cheering on the other quarterbacks. He won with a simple measurement. The concerns around the Heisman-winner were that he was too small to play quarterback in the NFL. Hopes were high that he would come in above 200 pounds and 5-foot-9. Well Murray did just that, measuring 5-foot-10 and weighing 207 pounds. Those numbers are only a tick over what was “asked” by scouts, but checking off those boxes are big. Murray would still be the shortest quarterback taken in the first round since at least 2003.
After his height and weight were measured, scouts and media members eagerly awaited Murray to measure one other part of his body; his hands. Hand size has been discussed about other recent prospects like Baker Mayfield or Jared Goff (both former first overall picks). Murray would measure in at 9.5 inch hands, bigger than both Goff and Mayfield. That was another box checked by the former Sooner.
All-in-all Murray comes out of the combine a winner. Like Lamar Jackson last year, we may never get to see him run a 40. However, Murray will compete in events at the Oklahoma pro-day. That event will be attended by all of the NFL world. For now he can be considered a winner of the weekend and in the running to be the first quarterback selected in April.