Broncos Draft Watch: Day 3 Combine Underperformers

The NFL Combine always has its standouts, but it also has those who struggle. On Day 3 of the Combine, it was no different.

The Denver Broncos are looking hard at running backs and wide receivers, and could be in the market for a quarterback to compete with Jarrett Stidham.

While we looked at three players for each position for their measurements, athletic testing, and on-field drills, things are a little different for this group. There are only five quarterbacks between the three categories, but five receivers for each, as there are always so many receivers entering the NFL every year.

Measurements

Luke Altmyer | QB | Illinois

There is a correlation between quarterbacks with smaller hands and ball-security issues, and Altmyer came in under thresholds set by multiple teams.

Diego Pavia | QB | Vanderbilt

There is no other way to put it: Pavia is small for an NFL quarterback. At 5-foot-10, he plays the part and has quarterback skills, but he will have a tough time proving that size isn’t an issue at the next level.

Zachariah Branch | WR | Georgia

Fair warning: there is a trend among the receivers in this group. Branch is really small for the NFL, and there have been few receivers smaller than him to make it. The concern isn’t so much the height as it is his weight and build. Staying healthy in the NFL might be difficult.

Brenan Thompson | WR | Mississippi State

Thompson is even smaller and lighter than Branch. Thompson ran fast, but he may not offer more than gadget and returner abilities at the NFL level. Even then, the hand size raises concerns about ball security.

Aaron Anderson | WR | LSU

Anderson is only 5-foot-8, which is a concern, especially with shorter arms. What he does have going for him is a well put-together frame that carries 191 pounds, which can help him at the NFL level.

Caullin Lacy | WR | Louisville

The trend of smaller receivers continued, as Lacy is 5-foot-9 and 183 pounds, with sub-30-inch arms. He has big hands, but he needed to perform well to ease concerns about his size, and he dropped the ball.

Jordyn Tyson | WR | Arizona State

Tyson actually had solid size and a good build; the concern here is that his arm length, given his playstyle, could lead to some problems at the NFL level.

Jam Miller | RB | Alabama

Now, Miller actually came in with great size, except for his hands. Again, there is a link between hand size and ball security. The good news for Miller is that he can point to his collegiate history with ball security, averaging a fumble every 195 touches to help ease those concerns.

Desmond Reid | RB | Pittsburgh

Reid came in small across the board with a small frame, low weight, short arms, and small hands. With the hands, though, he can also point to college, where he averages one fumble every 614 touches. He's only fumbled once.

Noah Wittington | RB | Oregon

Another small back, but Whittington plays big, which helps ease concerns. With sub-9-inch hands like Miller and Reid, Whittington can also point to college, where he averaged a fumble every 124 touches to ease concerns.

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Athletic Testing

Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price (RB15) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Jalon Daniels | QB | Kansas

It wasn’t that Daniels tested poorly; he was the second-worst overall of the handful of quarterbacks who tested. The worst one will be discussed later, but the issue with Daniels is that the testing didn’t match the tape, which raises questions.

Emmanuel Henderson Jr. | WR | Kansas

Henderson is tall and lanky, and there was a lot of talk that he would run a 4.3, if not the record. His 4.44 is still a great time, but the 1.56 10-yard split is a concern and points to building up speed rather than instant speed, and that matters.

Malik Benson | WR | Oregon

Benson ran fast, but the explosive testing wasn’t great and raised some questions, especially with smaller-than-ideal hands and a build that isn't ideal for his frame.

Caleb Douglas | WR | Texas Tech

Douglas tested well overall, including a great 4.39-second 40-yard dash time. The issue is his 10-yard split was lower than you want to see, especially with the 40-time.

Chase Roberts | WR | BYU

It wasn’t a bad day for Roberts; it only happened to be the worst set of testing for the wide receivers on the day. The good news is, the jumps were good for him.

Malachi Fields | WR | Notre Dame

A lot of the athletic testing for Fields went well, but his 40 and 10-yard split are concerning. It's hard to be good, let alone great, at times when both are slow.

Emmett Johnson | RB | Nebraska

Johnson is a smaller, speedy, and explosive back, but his testing doesn’t reflect that. Whenever a player doesn’t check those threshold boxes, it raises some red flags.

Jadarian Price | RB | Notre Dame

Price is another one of those smaller backs, and while his 40 time was solid, a little slower than expected, but not a concerning time by any means, his explosives are a different story. The 1.61-second 10-yard split is a disaster number for explosive backs, as Price is supposed to be.

Robert Henry Jr. | RB | UTSA

Small backs with bad explosives don’t tend to last in the NFL, and Henry is another one. He was the only back with a slower 10-yard split than Price, had a slow 40 time, and the jumps were decent but below the average threshold for explosive backs.

On-Field Drills

Feb 28, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UConn quarterback Joe Fagnano (QB07) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Joe Fagnano | QB | UConn

When Fagnano was up to throw for the receivers, you almost felt bad for the receivers. His accuracy was a scatter plot, and there was always at least one receiver who needed to redo the drill because Fagnano wasn’t accurate enough on every drill they ran.

Cole Payton | QB | North Dakota State

There is a lot of talk about Payton moving to a different position, and the left-hander showed why during the drills. He can sling the ball, but his accuracy wasn’t there, and the receivers were having a tough time adjusting to how he passes, not only for the change in spin from a right-hander to a left-hander, but his passes don’t have touch.

Germie Bernard | WR | Alabama

Bernard did alright in the drills, and there were a good number of receivers worse than him, but they are already mentioned elsewhere in this list. A couple of hiccups in and out of breaks, and a not-so-good gauntlet landed him here.

Bryce Lance | WR | North Dakota State

The tall and lanky receiver is going to need to learn how to ease up and get low into his breaks. They weren’t crisp and clean-cut in the drills, but rounded, and in the NFL, rounded breaks lead to interceptions.

Elijah Sarratt | WR | Indiana

Sarratt was only doing the drills, and there were a few he actually did well in. The route running was fine, good even, but he was struggling to finish drills with the catch consistently. That isn’t all his fault, as some passes were bad throws, but his issues adjusting stood out as a concern as well.

J. Michael Sturdivant | WR | Florida

It was a rough day for Sturdivant in all the drills, and he was consistently called out by the coaches running them throughout the day for doing something wrong. The issues were consistent, and that raises even more red flags.

Demond Claiborne | RB | Wake Forest

There was some funky footwork from Claiborne that worked in college, but NFL coaches may hate it. He is very jumpy in and out of breaks, and taking both feet off the ground makes you easier to tackle.

Adam Randall | RB | Clemson

What is Randall? He was a receiver who moved to running back, struggled in the running drills, but did well in the receiving drills. There is great size to his game, so there is a solid chance he finds himself at fullback when it's all said and done.

CJ Donaldson | RB | Ohio State

Donaldson is tall and plays tall, which led to issues getting into his breaks in both running and receiving drills. Add in how uncomfortable he appeared in the receiving drills, and you have some serious concerns over his projection into the NFL.