NFL Combine 2012: Mid-Round Wide Receivers with a Need for Speed at the Combine

Among the hundreds of players who are descending upon Indianapolis for this week's NFL Scouting Combine are some of college football's top pass-catchers, from two-time Biletnikoff Award winner Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State to Michael Floyd of Notre Dame and Baylor's Kendall Wright.

However, the Combine will also play host to a number of lesser-known wide receivers, and it's vitally important for these players that they post a strong showing at the Combine, as the impression those receivers leave on scouts and coaches will have a huge impact on when those wideouts are drafted in April.

For many of those wide receivers (including the trio listed here), the biggest question mark circling them is in regards to straight-line speed, so when it's time to make the "Dash for Cash," as the combine's 40-yard dash has come to be known, these players need to make sure they have their sprinting shoes laced up tight.

T.Y. Hilton, Florida International

Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton had a big season for Florida International in 2011, as the 5'10" 183-pound speedster reeled in over 70 passes, topped 1,000 receiving yards and hauled in seven touchdown passes as a senior.

Hilton lacks ideal size, but possesses blazing speed and is a dangerous return man as well, and should Hilton run the 40-yard dash at the combine in the low 4.4 range as expected, then odds are some NFL team is going to roll the dice on the Panthers standout in the draft's third or fourth round.

With Hilton, it's not so much a matter of the need for speed as it is the need to show his off, and it's very important that he showcase his biggest asset in Indianapolis.

Jordan White, Western Michigan

No receiver in college football was more productive in 2011 than wideout Jordan White of Western Michigan, who caught a ridiculous 140 passes for over 1,900 yards and 17 touchdowns last year in Kalamazoo.

The 6'0", 215-pound sixth-year senior will have plenty of naysayers to address at the combine both in regards to his durability after missing most of two seasons with knee injuries and his straight-line speed and ability to separate at the next level.

Since White is somewhat diminutive in stature, it's vital to his draft stock that he impress coaches and scouts with his quickness, and every tenth of a second that White can shave from his 40 time at the Combine will boost that stock that much more.

Jeff Fuller, Texas A&M

2011 was something of a snakebitten year for Texas A&M wide receiver Jeff Fuller, as the senior struggled with injuries all season long en route to making 70 catches for 828 yards and four touchdowns.

At 6'4" and 220 pounds, size isn't a concern for Fuller, but speed certainly is as many scouts reportedly have serious doubts regarding Fuller's ability to get open in the National Football League.

The easiest way that Fuller can alleviate those fears is by running a 40-yard dash in the mid-4.5 second range, which should get teams drooling over his size a bit more and worrying about his top gear a bit less.