Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze lead our list of winners from the NFL Scouting Combine.
The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine wrapped up in Indianapolis over the weekend, and now we begin the six-week march to the NFL Draft. For the most part there weren’t many surprises out of Indy, both good and bad. Nobody suffered a draft-altering injury, or did something so poorly they tanked their stock — nor did we see a position order get drastically shaken by a mind-boggling performance.
Still, we definitely had a fair share of players who really helped their stock or at the very least kept it the same.
One guy who really managed to surprise was Caleb Williams, which is impressive considering he didn’t take part in any of the workouts. What Williams did manage, however, was to effectively counter the “diva” narrative, which has been swirling around him for the better part of six months.
Williams met with interested teams at the top of the draft, while also speaking to the media. He knocked this element out of the park. It might be easy to downplay this element of the process, but a lot of football people around the league love hearing old-school platitudes about competitiveness and work ethic. Throughout the weekend Williams sounded genuinely like someone who cares about winning over everything else, comfortably solidified his willingness to play anywhere in the NFL, and was unflappable, even when asked difficult questions.
Entering combine week there were legitimate questions whether Williams or Drake Maye would be the No. 1 pick in April. We leave and every sign points to the Chicago Bears taking Caleb Williams with the first pick. That is an extremely successful trip if you’re in his camp, and you’re thrilled with how the USC quarterback handled everything.
Loser: Drake Maye
Drake Maye didn’t do anything wrong in Indy, but nothing boosted him either — and that’s a bit of a problem. Following in Williams’ footsteps, Maye elected not to work out in Indy and instead just meet with teams and get his measurements taken.
Maye is my QB1 in the 2024 class, but a prevailing sentiment over, and over, and over again swirling around Indianapolis is that teams just aren’t that excited by Drake Maye. Hype is often overrated, but there’s something to be said for capturing the imaginations of teams who can’t wait to build an offense around you, or plug you in with the rest of their weapons.
We heard this with Caleb Williams. We heard it with Jayden Daniels. We heard it with J.J. McCarthy. It honestly got bizarre how little anyone was really talking about Drake Maye. Sure, this could all be teams holding their cards to nab him — but if this week was any indication it’s becoming more and more likely that Maye is the third QB off the board behind Williams and Daniels. That’s a big fall from going into the combine looking to lock up the No. 1 overall pick.
Winner: Rome Odunze
Rom Odunze went into the week cemented as a top-10 pick, and nothing changed there. However, the way he carried himself in Indianapolis definitely turned heads in a way that I think some teams will move him up on their boards over LSU’s Malik Nabers.
Odunze was effortlessly charming on the podium, blending a mix of comfort in front of the media with welcome self-deprecation. Then, whether a calculated move or not, Odunze turned heads when he refused to leave the field and call it a weekend, instead practicing his three-cone drill over, and over, and over again.
This was an INCREDIBLE moment unlike anything I’ve ever seen at the combine when it comes to elite talent like Rome Odunze.
He was the last prospect on the field. The day was done for everyone else. Not Rome. He vowed to complete EVERY aspect of testing. 3-Cone testing was last… pic.twitter.com/cNNr06jqUG
— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) March 3, 2024
It’s the kind of work ethic that football guys salivate about. At the very least he solidified himself as a top-10 pick, but don’t be surprised if we see a big push for WR2 from Odunze.
Loser: Spencer Rattler
The story with Spencer Rattler has always been inconsistency. People just wanted something to show why Rattler is worth a gamble in the draft, and he really struggled.
Rattler finished last among every QB in testing, in almost every drill. He had the slowest 40, the shortest broad jump, the slowest 3-cone, and the slowest shuttle. When you’re in a position where you want to make a statement there needs to be a key measurable to hang your hat on — and we didn’t get one.
If you hoped to see Rattler go on day two, he’ll likely be available deep into day three.
Winner: Xavier Worthy
When you break the all-time record in the 40, and finish tied for the fastest 10-yard split of 2024, it’s going to turn some heads.
Worthy is really a one-trick pony as a prospect, but speed is a hell of a trick. If his times were just okay then Worthy would be a mid-to-late round pick, but with this kind of speed I think there’s a very real chance we could see him go on day two.
Teams that covet speed will imagine ways to create opportunities for him, and this circles back to the Drake Maye discussion. When you start capturing imaginations you get drafted a lot higher than people expect, and with a 4.21 in the 40 there will be a lot of boards where Worthy is placed, just to see if he can have a Tyreek Hill-like effect on the league.
