Scouting Combine Winners on Offense

Here are two Scouting Combine winners at each position on offense, first a premier prospect and then one who is under the radar.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Here are two Scouting Combine winners at each position on offense, first a premier prospect and then one who is under the radar. In the video, we focus on a Combine loser.

QB: Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa suffered a devastating injured hip on Nov. 16 against Mississippi State. However, the injury reportedly passed medical checks and he expects to be ready for a personal pro day in April. Before the injury, he was the presumptive No. 1 overall pick. And for good reason. Tagovailoa threw for 3,966 yards with 43 touchdowns and six interceptions on 69.0 percent accuracy in 2018 and 2,840 yards with 33 touchdowns and three interceptions on 69.3 percent accuracy in 2019.

QB: Florida International’s James Morgan. Morgan grew up down the road from Lambeau Field. In two seasons at FIU, he threw for 5,312 yards with 40 touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions during those two years. He’s had a strong offseason, starting with the East-West game.

RB: Florida State’s Cam Akers. Among the backs, Akers finished fifth in the 40 (4.47) at 217 pounds. More than the testing, he showed sublime footwork in drills. With size, speed and hands, he’ll be in the equation to be one of the top three or four backs off the board. He had the best season of his career in 2019 with 1,144 rushing yards (5.0 average) and 14 touchdowns, plus 30 receptions for 225 yards and four more scores.

RELATED: SCOUTING COMBINE WINNERS ON DEFENSE

RB: Boston College’s A.J. Dillon. At 247 pounds, Dillon put up jaw-dropping numbers with a 4.53 in the 40 and No. 1 numbers among the backs in the vertical and broad jumps. He caught only 21 passes in three seasons, an obvious blemish, but big, fast and productive (1,685 rushing yards in 2019) will never go out of style.

WR: Baylor’s Denzel Mims. Just about all the top receiver prospects performed like they were top prospects. Perhaps nobody has a better scouting season than Mims, who was sensational at the Senior Bowl, then finished third in the 40, eighth in the vertical jump, fourth in the vertical jump and won the three-cone drill by more than one-fourth of a second. Oh, and he can play. As a senior, he had 66 receptions for 1,020 yards and 12 touchdowns.

WR: Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool. Before the Combine, scouts wanted to see Claypool go through drills at tight end. After all, at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, he has tight end size. Instead, he put on a show worthy of any receiver with a 4.42 in the 40 and a 40.5-inch vertical. Claypool caught 66 passes for 1,037 yards (15.7 average) and 13 touchdowns as a senior.

TE: Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam. Without a real blue-chip tight end in this year’s class, the one and only obvious winner was Okwuegbunam, whose 4.49 in the 40-yard dash was 0.17 seconds faster than any other prospect. Of his three-year total in 23 touchdowns, 11 came as a freshman.

OT: Iowa’s Tristan Wirfs. At 6-foot-5 and 320 pounds, Wirfs set the Combine record among offensive linemen in the vertical jump and tied the record in the broad jump. He won the 40 with a 4.85 – better than three tight ends. Playing for the highly regarded Hawkeyes, Wirfs was a two-year starter, mostly at right tackle but with three starts at left tackle during an All-American final season. He was voted the Big Ten’s best offensive lineman.

OT: Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland. With six offensive tackles in contention for a first-round pick, Cleveland might be atop the second tier. Among offensive linemen at the Combine, he finished third in the 40, fifth in the bench, first in the three-cone drill and first in the 20-yard shuttle. Cleveland was a three-year starter, including first-team all-Mountain West Conference honors at left tackle as a sophomore and junior.

IOL: Michigan’s Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz might have locked up the No. 1 center. A two-time all-Big Ten pick, he was the best pass-blocking center in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus. Among all offensive linemen, he was in the top seven in the 40, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump and 20-yard shuttle.

IOL: Ball State’s Danny Pinter. Among all offensive linemen, he was second in the 40 and third in the 20-yard shuttle. Pinter started 11 games at tight end as a freshman and sophomore before making the move to right tackle for his final two seasons. With 31 7/8-inch arms, he’s destined for a move to guard.