Projecting 10 Players Who Will Shock Scouts at the 2017 NFL Combine

It feels like James White just scored to win the New England Patriots Super Bowl LI, but the 2017 NFL offseason is already about to take off.

For all intents and purposes, that starts with the NFL Scouting Combine, which gets underway in Indianapolis on Feb. 28. That's where we'll get an initial national look at many of the game's next stars, and it's always an event at which several draft hopefuls dramatically increase their stock. 

Let's take a look at 10 prospects who have the athletic prowess to cause jaws to drop at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Just Missed the Cut

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Kermit Whitfield, WR, FSU: He's an absolute burner who was a Florida state champion in the 100 and 200 meters as a senior.

Greg Ward, WR, Houston: The former dual-threat quarterback has serious speed and could follow a trail that's been blazed by the likes of Terrelle Pryor and Braxton Miller. 

Brendan Langley, CB, Lamar: The former basketball player is big, fast and has major hops. He's raw, but he has a chance to own several combine drills. 

Takkarist McKinley, DE, UCLA: The 265-pounder is expected to rock the 40-yard dash while also showing off his impressive wingspan in Indy. 

Jordan Morgan, G, Kutztown: With big arms and hands, he's a phenomenal athlete for a 313-pound interior offensive lineman. 

KD Cannon, WR, Baylor: He runs a sub-4.5 40-yard dash and has put up a 40-inch vertical jump along with a 128-inch broad jump. 

Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan: He was close to inclusion for obvious reasons. He's a 205-pound Big Ten linebacker with 4.3 speed. That's just ridiculous, even if he has a safety's body. The thing is, though, Peppers—like Leonard Fournette and Myles Garrett—is expected to dominate the combine. Nobody will be shocked unless he falls flat on his face.

David Njoku, TE, Miami

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We're used to seeing Miami tight ends dominate the draft process, but David Njoku is special when it comes to physical attributes. He has tight end size and strength combined with wide receiver speed, and his personal-best high jump of 2.09 meters ranks second in school history. 

The 20-year-old is forgoing two years of eligibility in order to enter the draft, and it's fair to wonder about his experience at the tight end position. But that won't be an issue at the combine, where he'll have a chance to dominate his peers in a wide variety of drills.

"He's a freak," senior tight end Stan Dobard said of the 6'4", 245-pound Njoku last summer, according to Matt Porter of the Palm Beach Post. "He does a lot of things well, and now he's becoming one of the great blockers too, not just a pass-catcher, so he's coming all around."

Watch for him to run a sub-4.6 40-yard dash while destroying the jump-based exercises. 

John Ross, WR, Washington

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How athletic is Washington wide receiver John Ross? The guy started three games at cornerback as a sophomore, breaking up two passes and recording an interception in the process. 

It helps that he's a blazer who, according to Christian Caple of the News Tribune, ran a hand-timed 4.25-second 40-yard dash despite coming off a major knee injury last offseason. In October, an NFC scout told NFL Media's Lance Zierlein that Ross "is probably the fastest player in college football right now," predicting that he'd become a better player than Brandin Cooks. 

He's not big (5'11" and 190 lbs), but that speed is hard to ignore. It was a key reason he scored 19 touchdowns in 2016. 

Marshon Lattimore, CB, Ohio State

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Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore can do everything, which is why he'll have a chance to put on a physical show in Indianapolis. 

"I've studied the top cornerbacks coming out, and he's the best I've seen," a pro personnel director for an AFC team told Zierlein. "He's so athletic that he can just post up under the receiver's chin and shadow him all over the field. And he's tough too. He'll be one of the top cornerbacks pretty quickly."

A lot of that shows up on tape, but Lattimore—who dealt with hamstring problems early in his career at Ohio State—can give scouts a full look at his athletic skill set at the combine. Don't be surprised if the strong, fast and flexible corner finishes near the top in most drills.

Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama

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Some of these are simple. When you're a two-year starter on arguably the best defense in the country and also an Olympic-level hurdler, you're likely going to cause jaws to drop at an event like the NFL Scouting Combine.

That's what Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey will have going for him in Indy.

Humphrey won a silver medal in the 110 meters hurdles at the 2013 World Youth Championships. Two years later, he had three interceptions and 45 tackles in the Alabama secondary, and he followed that up with a two-pick, 36-tackle season as a redshirt sophomore in 2016. 

The 6'1", 196-pound defensive back was also a state champion sprinter in high school. And his dad, Bobby, was a Pro Bowl running back, so he has the pedigree.

Coming from Nick Saban's system, look for Humphrey to stand out in positional drills while displaying his sheer athleticism with strong splits, shuttles and jumps.

Budda Baker, S, Washington

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John Ross isn't the only uber-athlete from Washington poised to make headlines at this year's combine. On the other side of the ball, safety Budda Baker will have a chance to show off the jets that helped him become the state's high school 100 meters sprinting champion just a few years ago. 

He's undersized at 5'10" and 180 pounds, but Baker will make up for that with his explosiveness, acceleration and drive in combine drills. Washington defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake clocked his forty at 4.32 seconds last spring. 

There's more to the kid's game than that. The three-year starter was a two-time first-team All-Pac-12 safety and a consensus All-American in 2016, finishing his college career with five interceptions and 199 tackles.

Taywan Taylor, WR, Western Kentucky

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Coming from Western Kentucky, where the scheme inflated his broad numbers and his opponents made life easier, wide receiver Taywan Taylor will have plenty of questions to answer over the coming months.

It helps that he caught nine passes for 121 yards against Alabama in his senior season, but it'd also help if Taylor can live up to his potential as a runner and a jumper at the combine. 

"The Hilltoppers star can broad jump 137 inches, which would have been the best broad jump of anyone at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine," Chase Goodbread wrote for the league's official site last spring. "He's also been clocked at 4.33 in the 40-yard dash and can vertical jump 39 ½ inches."

That'll do.

D'Onta Foreman, RB, Texas

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Texas running back D'Onta Foreman has a ways to go as a pass-blocker and needs to prove he won't always be plagued by the fumble problems that might have hurt his stock in 2016. But in Foreman's defense, that was his first full season as a starter with the Longhorns, and he was playing with a broken hand. 

The good news is you don't have to do a lot of pass blocking at the combine. Nor do you have many opportunities to fumble. 

Instead, the consensus All-American and Doak Walker Award winner can focus on running a blazing 40-yard dash. He's reportedly posted sub-4.5 times despite weighing nearly 250 pounds. Nobody weighing more than 232 pounds posted a sub-4.5 40 last year, so Foreman has a chance to turn some heads.

Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn

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A lot of folks might be overlooking Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson because he missed the 2014 season as a result of an ACL tear and sat out six games in 2015 with hip injury.

But he had a 9.5-sack, 14-tackle-for-loss 2016 campaign, and in Indy, the junior will have a chance to prove he's one of the most powerful and explosive defensive prospects in this year's draft. 

Can he stay healthy at the next level? Is he flexible enough to succeed in the NFL? Those are questions Lawson will deal with on tape, but at the combine, he'll have a chance to boost his own stock by showing off the strength and aggressiveness that helped him dominate in spurts as a junior.

Michael Roberts, TE, Toledo

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Toledo tight end Michael Roberts is more of a wild card. It's no guarantee he'll put up monster numbers in the 40-yard dash or other popular drills, and there are always going to be questions about a MAC senior with only one big season under his belt.

That said, I keep hearing about his measurables. 

The 6'4", 261-pound physical specimen has massive hands (11 ⅝ inches) and arms (33 ¼ inches). He projects as a blocking tight end in the NFL, but he has the size and strength and a 16-touchdown senior season on his resume.

Watch for Roberts to dazzle scouts, not only with those measurables but also by exhibiting surprising finesse for his size.

Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford

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Stanford defensive end Solomon Thomas might not be a high-end draft pick because of concerns that he's a "tweener" and thus might not dominate one particular drill at the combine. Instead, don't be shocked if the versatile, strong, explosive and downright speedy rusher ranks near the top in almost every workout he partakes in.

Thomas had 8.5 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss in 2016, mainly because he was able to use that speed and his 6'3", 273-pound frame to overcome less than stellar technique against smaller, weaker pass-blockers.

That'll be harder to do at the next level, but Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports tweeted in January that Stanford head coach David Shaw expects Thomas "to wow NFL folks" at the combine with a sub-4.6 40-yard dash and a vertical jump in the 40-inch range.