Why Boston College Football's Bond Deserved 2026 NFL Combine Invite: Just a Minute

The term “snubbed” is thrown around often in sports. In a vast majority of cases, the use of the word emerges from the viewpoint of a biased fan when one of their favorite players is not considered for an award, left off a list, or eliminated from contention for something they believe was deserved.

The same can be said for teams left out of a tournament or postseason field due to subjective seeding, such as the College Football Playoff.

In the case of former Boston College football wide receiver Lewis Bond, who was not invited to the 2026 NFL Combine, this was very much the former scenario.

On Wednesday morning, the National Football League released its list of draft prospects who were invited to this year’s Combine, which takes place annually in Indianapolis, Ind., at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The 2026 field consists of 319 total players, including 46 wide receivers — six who came from programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

While the Combine is intended to give a platform to the top draft-eligible players in the country, it clearly failed to do so by leaving out Bond, who finished fifth in the NCAA in total receptions (88) in 2025, including in the top-25 in receiving yards (993).

The season that Bond had as a redshirt senior this past year was quite literally one for the ages from a program standpoint.

The Chicago, Ill., native, who was recruited to Chestnut Hill, Mass., in 2021 from Kenwood Academy, did not just lead the Eagles’ wideout corps in every statistical category besides touchdowns, which he had just one of.

He comfortably broke the program record for career receptions with 213 — 13 more than Zay Flowers, BC’s previous record holder who is now the top option for the Baltimore Ravens’ offense — and the 88 catches he hauled in last season alone was the most by a BC wide receiver in a single season as well.

The most obvious place to look in order to determine if Bond was really snubbed from the Combine or not is the rest of the field.

But it does not even require browsing through all 46 receivers to see the mistake that the NFL made. Just take a look at the ACC wideouts to see why.

Louisville’s Chris Bell, for instance, had fewer receiving yards (917) than Bond and fewer receptions (72), but he averaged just 1.4 more yards per catch — 12.7 compared to 11.3.

Miami’s CJ Daniels, who reached the 2026 National Championship, only reeled in 50 receptions for 557 receiving yards, albeit with seven touchdowns.

While the two aforementioned players have a size advantage over Bond, which NFL scouts are keen on, the other four were simply egregious choices over him.

Here is a table to prove just how much Bond distanced himself from the six-man ACC pack — not just this past year, but throughout his entire collegiate career as well.

Players, in order: Lewis Bond (BC), Chris Bell (Louisville), CJ Daniels (Miami), Eric Rivers (Georgia Tech), Jordan Hudson (SMU), Antonio Williams (Clemson), Caullin Lacy (Louisville)

Graphic: Graham Dietz / Boston College Eagles On SI — Graham Dietz / Boston College Eagles On SI

*(Daniels) - Played four seasons at Liberty and one at LSU before transferring to Miami.
*(Rivers) - Played two seasons at FIU before transferring to Georgia Tech.
*(Hudson) - Played one season at TCU before transferring to SMU.
*(Lacy) - Played four seasons at South Alabama before transferring to Louisville.

Performing in the combine does not make or break a players’ draft stock, but it certainly gives the ones who are invited a leg up. Luckily for Bond, his most impressive attribute is route running, which really only film can show.

Afterall, the combine does not account for what happens when the helmets and pads go on.

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