The Combine mainly verifies what we see in game action, but sometimes a player stands out and surprises us. Sometimes, a player has a terrible performance, making us seriously doubt what we see.
My rankings are pretty well locked in until we see draft capital and landing spots. But here are a few players making me lean one way or the other now.
Movin’ Up
Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech
A few RBs verified what we already knew. Quinshon Judkins is a freak. TreVeyon Henderson is a stud. Devin Neal is a great back, but not one of the fastest.
Tuten, however, could be the biggest winner among the running backs. He is 5’9″ and 206 pounds, which are considered poor composite size grades, but I think it’s an excellent size for an NFL back. In the game film, you can see he was a fast back, but I did not expect a 4.32 40-yard dash.
Tuten also posted phenomenal vertical and broad jumps, and even the shuttle didn’t surprise me. He’s not the type of back who makes people miss with short-area movement. Tuten has shiftiness in his running style but won’t make a massive jump cut and explode.
The biggest weaknesses in his game are inconsistent vision and, while he has good contact balance, Tuten isn’t going to run people over with power. He’s also an adept pass-catching back, but he doesn’t have an extensive route tree and isn’t as dangerous in open space as I would like to see.
The RAS Comps for Tuten include Barry Sanders, which is insane, but also includes Chase Brown. That’s a really good comp for what Tuten could be, in my opinion. Matt Breida also pops up on the comps, and I could see that in his range of outcomes.
In a loaded class, Tuten needed this Combine performance to stand out. He was a Day 3 Draft guy in my rankings, and now, he could sneak up into late second-day talks. The “draft echo chamber” is really loud on Tuten right now, but it’s hard to put him in the top twelve backs, even with this stellar performance.
Honorable Mentions
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, South Carolina
The athleticism and recruiting pedigree have always been evident, yet Rocket seemed to never fully put it all together. Our Athletic Comparison tool loves his profile; his Comps are really sweet. Running a 4.46 40-yard at 6’0″ and 217 pounds was sweet, and he’s a player I am rooting for to find a way to good draft capital and a shot in the NFL.
DJ Giddens, Kansas State
As an avid CFF player, Giddens has been one of my favorite players the past few seasons. It was nice to see this performance, which hopefully will get him some NFL love in this strong RB class. Giddens’ RAS Comps include Ahman Green and the great Adrian Peterson, but they also include Rachaad White—a more likely outcome for the former Wildcat.
Movin’ Down
Kyle Monangai, Rutgers
Don’t get me wrong, I love the player, but the draft community – not everyone – has been trying to get this young man into the early Day 3 discussions. I hope that this Combine puts to bed those rumblings and that Monangai settles in where he belongs.
Monangai was a fun college player, and he chalked up some phenomenal numbers in 2024. But you can see the limitations on his game film. He wasn’t able to create much on his own and lacked juice when he found green grass ahead of him. Monangai should find a nice complimentary role in the NFL as a later Day 3 pick,
Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks, USC
The draft community seems to have settled some on Marks, but after the college season, some draft pundits were touting Marks as a darkhorse back in this stellar class.
It’s just not there for me. On tape, he’s a really solid back and gained some experience as a runner in 2024. Marks had the full workload for the Trojans and was a better runner than I thought. He’s always been a phenomenal pass-catcher, which is where he will make his money on Sundays. Marks is excellent in space with the ball, but he lacks NFL athleticism and traits as a runner.
Honorable Mention
Trevor Etienne, Georgia
I’m honestly not sure how much real buzz is around Etienne, but occasionally, someone gets froggy about Etienne being a second-day pick. Or even an early Day 3 pick. Or some random Twitter analyst stating, “Trevor Etienne is my RB4.”
Get that BS out of here. He’s fast; I will give you that. And he’s small. But Etienne is a less-talented version of big brother Travis, and look at how that has worked out. He’s hovering in my RB15 range, so I am not touching him in rookie drafts.
