NFL Scouting Combine Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers: What to know about 8 draft prospects

The Scouting Combine is the main showcase for the incoming NFL hopefuls each season. Through a series of physical tests, the combine results in some players shining and raising their stock, while being a dent in others. Analyst Joel Smyth breaks down how eight notable players performed over the weekend using Math Bomb’s RAS.  

RB Mike Washington Jr.

After a strong week at the Senior Bowl, Washington dominated the combine, becoming the highest-rated running back of all-time from the testing he completed. What sticks out most is his 4.33 40 time, not because it’s the most important test for an RB, but because he ran it at 223 pounds. Most RBs running a 40 in the 99.6th percentile are not also in the top-15th percentile for weight.​

Washington should be drafted near the beginning of Day 3, an area where many fantasy RBs have surprised from before, most recently Bucky Irving, Chase Brown and Cam Skattebo.

RB Emmett Johnson

Johnson entered as a potential top-five RB prospect after rushing for 1,451 yards in 2025. However, his combine performance was subpar compared to his peers, with his three-cone ranking in the 29th percentile. Past running backs such as Irving and Kyren Williams also failed to perform well in testing, but the lowest score among qualified RBs this year isn’t a good sign.​

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RB Jadarian Price

Jeremiyah Love ran a blazing 4.36 40-time, but his running mate from Notre Dame performed solidly as well. Price is a little undersized, but 21 reps on the bench press at 225 pounds is a solid mark to counter. There is a good chance Notre Dame can have the top-two running backs taken in the 2026 NFL Draft, both with very little wear on their tires.​

WR Malachi Fields

At 6-foot-4, Fields’ slower 40 time is not the worst thing in the world. Plenty of receivers, such as Davante Adams, Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Wayne and Keenan Allen ran slow 40 times compared to other top WRs. Fields’ other testing was good enough to keep him as a Day 2 pick after his impressive Senior Bowl week.​ If he can stick in that draft range, he fits a classic sleeper position of talented rookie WRs being selected late in fantasy drafts.

WR Jeff Caldwell

Only one receiver in the history of the combine had a higher score than Jeff Caldwell: Calvin Johnson. We saw Isaac TeSlaa rise to a surprise Day 2 selection after he ranked in the 99th percentile at the combine last offseason. Caldwell only had 32 receptions in 13 games last season, but will likely be selected higher than his seventh-round projection from pre-combine.​

QB Taylen Green

Green was not the most proficient passer throughout his college career, but his combine performance puts him next to names such as Cam Newton, Daunte Culpepper and Anthony Richardson. A 6-foot-6 QB who ran a 4.37 40 time was only the beginning. Green’s vertical and broad jumps were both the best the combine has seen by a quarterback in its history.​

Green is expected to stick at the quarterback position, making a more intriguing fantasy option than NFL option due to his rushing upside. If he ever has a singular start, he’ll immediately be intriguing in Superflex leagues.

TEs Kenyon Sadiq & Eli Stowers

The top-two tight ends in the 2026 NFL Draft had similar stories at the combine. Yes, they may be undersized, but their athletic testing elsewhere was dominant. Sadiq ran the fastest 40 by a TE in history, while Stowers jumped over 45 inches high to add to his historical-best broad jump. 

Rookie tight ends have dominated fantasy in recent years, with Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta as back-to-back overall TE1s, and Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren performing well last season.