NFL Combine 2012: Trent Richardson Injury, Failure to Work out Won't Hurt Stock

There are players at the NFL Combine who stand to make or lose a whole lot of money depending upon their performance.

Trent Richardson is not one of those players.

Despite a knee injury that will keep the running back from showing off his awe-inspiring strength and athleticism at the event, Richardson's draft stock won't be adversely affected in the least.

For my money, he's the most dynamic running back to hit the draft since Adrian Peterson was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overall in 2007.

Richardson doesn't present many weaknesses. He's unbelievably strong, and likely would have wowed teams with his bench press at the combine. He has good size and speed, excellent agility and bounces off would-be tacklers. His vision is top notch and he hits the hole quickly.

In his lone season as the starter at Alabama, he rattled off 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns. Having only started for one full season (he previously played behind Mark Ingram), he didn't sustain the wear-and-tear of many other running backs entering the draft.

That's always appealing to NFL teams. Honestly, it's hard to find a weakness on this guy.

Despite all of the above, Richardson could slip in this draft. If you look at the top of the board, it seems unlikely he'll be selected in the Top 10 unless Cleveland snags him with the fourth pick.

Running backs are rarely drafted that highly, so Richardson might drop simply due to the NFL's devaluing of the position and teams at the top of the draft lacking the need for a running back.

It's possible he could slip all the way to the 17th pick, where the Cincinnati Bengals would do a little dance and select him immediately.

However, if he does slide, his lack of performance at the combine will be a non-factor.

At this point, Richardson has little else to prove.

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