NFL Draft Prospects Who Wish They Had a Do-Over at the Scouting Combine

Another edition of the Underwear Olympics is complete.

Jokes aside, the NFL Scouting Combine is no laughing matter for the 300-plus players who were invited to work out in Indianapolis. After all, that's more players than there are selections in the draft. It's an incredibly valuable opportunity for athletes to showcase their speed and agility for NFL teams.

Many youngsters made the most of the week. Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor made his case as the draft's best tailback with a fantastic showing. Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons and Louisville tackle Mekhi Becton left jaws on the ground with outstanding 40 times.

However, as is the case every year, there were also players that would very much like a mulligan. Whether it was poor interviews, bad workouts or a combination of both, several prospects didn't help their draft stocks one bit over the past several days.

That isn't to say that these players can't still go on to have great NFL careers. But every player on this list would just as soon not be.

Jake Fromm, QB, Georgia

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Heading into the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, the big boards of most draftniks at the quarterback position looked a lot like Matt Miller's here at Bleacher Report—LSU's Joe Burrow, Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert of Oregon and Jordan Love as the top four (in that order).

All four could easily be drafted in the first half of Round 1.

The final spot in the top five, however, was up for grabs. Waiting for a prospect to rise up with a good workout and claim it.

Georgia's Jake Fromm didn't help his chances even a little.

Things got off to a rough start when Fromm's hand was measured at 8⅞ inches—small for NFL standards and under the 9-inch threshold many teams cite as the minimum acceptable size. As Joe Vitale wrote for UGA Wire, Fromm dismissed the notion that his hands are too small to have success at the professional level.

"It's an eighth of an inch away from being the desired nine inches, no big deal," Fromm said. "The same hands that went to three SEC championships, Rose Bowl, national championship and some Sugar Bowls. I think it's played plenty of football and done well enough so far."

The bigger problem is the right arm that played in all those games. As most expected, Fromm showed off good accuracy on short and intermediate throws. But Fromm didn't do anything to alleviate worries about his arm strength when he misfired on a number of deep throws.

It wasn't a shocking development by any stretch, but watching Fromm work out alongside players with bigger arms like Herbert and Washington's Jacob Eason only served to highlight the fact that Fromm's arm strength is average at best.

Jacob Eason, QB, Washington

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Fromm isn't the only quarterback who would likely prefer a do-over on the combine. The young signal-caller Fromm beat out for the starting job at the University of Georgia in 2017 is in the same boat—just for a different reason.

Jacob Eason is one of the biggest wild cards at football's most important position in 2020. At 6'6" and 231 pounds, Eason has prototypical size for his position. He also has one of the strongest arms in this year's class.

But throughout his time at both Georgia and the University of Washington, Eason struggled with consistency. For every highlight-reel throw, there was another that badly missed the mark. The same held true in drills at the combine—Eason's deep passes were mostly on target, but he was all over the place on short and intermediate throws.

The field wasn't the only area where Eason scuffled at times. Per Robbie Weinstein of 247Sports, ESPN's Todd McShay said on NFL Live that Eason was less than impressive in interview sessions with prospective employers.

"He was too comfortable," McShay said. "He thought that he owned the room. He doesn't understand the magnitude of all this. I saw him live against BYU. And it was one of the best-quarterbacked performances I saw live all season long. He has it in him. Then I studied the tape of his last five games, and it was up and down, up and down—inconsistent. Then I talked to a couple of people I really trust with quarterbacks in the last 48 hours, and the meetings are not going well."

Teams hoping that the combine would clarify the pecking order under center left Indianapolis disappointed.

Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Colorado

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The wide receiver class in the 2020 draft is equal parts deep and unsettled. There could easily be half a dozen wide receivers drafted in Round 1, but there's a wide difference of opinion as to which receiver will hear his name called first.

As Matt Parrino wrote for New York Upstate, Laviska Shenault Jr. of Colorado fashions himself the best of this year's crop—and a future NFL star in the making.

"I see myself being a star, honestly," Shenault told reporters.

Shenault certainly wasn't a star when the wide receivers took the field for workouts Thursday evening. First, the 6'1", 227-pounder ran a slower than expected 4.58-second 40-yard dash. Shenault didn't have a chance to improve that number or compete in other drills, either—he was shut down for the night after that.

Now, one bad 40 time isn't going to ruin Shenault's draft stock. Pop in tape of the youngster, and it shows a wildly athletic and sure-handed receiver who lined up all over the field for the Buffaloes and was a terror after the catch.

The tape, as they say, does not lie.

There was also apparently a reason for the poor time. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Shenault has been battling a core muscle injury that will require surgery that will sideline him 4-6 weeks.

That won't help his stock any more than the bad 40 time.

Jared Pinkney, TE, Vanderbilt

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Had Vanderbilt tight end Jared Pinkney declared for the NFL draft in 2019, he likely would have been a Day 2 pick.

After his performance in 2020 and showing at the combine, it's fair to wonder just how far into Day 3 the 6'4" 260-pounder will fall.

Pinkney already had work to do entering the combine—he caught just 20 passes as a senior and didn't hit 250 receiving yards. Instead, his week was mostly disastrous.

First, as Zach Cox reported for NESN, Pinkney drew the ire of the Patriots representatives in the interview sessions.

"It's interesting, because (with) a team that's been winning for as long as they have, you expect them to come in with a certain mentality and to share that mentality and to spread it and impart it on you," Pinkney said. "And that's exactly what happened. I gave a kind of wonky answer, and it was like, 'No, that's a loser's mentality.' And I was like, 'OK, my bad.' (Raises hands.) They were like, 'You need to be like this and that and that,' and I was like, 'Yes, sir. I'm better.' "

Who knows if the Patriots' assessment is fair, but it's not a good look.

But wait! It gets worse!

Pinkney's on-field work was even more choppy. His 40 time of 4.96 seconds was dead last among tight ends. He also struggled in pass-catching drills.

All told, it was a hot mess.

Although in fairness, at least Pinkney didn't catch a ball with his face.

Zack Moss, RB, Utah

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

From a productivity standpoint, it's hard to find fault with Utah running back Zack Moss. The 5'9", 223-pounder topped the 1,000-yard mark in each of the past three seasons for the Utes. And Moss thinks his game bears some similarities to two of the great backfield bruisers of the 21st century.

"I watched a lot of Marshawn Lynch growing up. I like [Cowboys running back] Ezekiel Elliott—big fan of a lot of guys, but those two predominantly were the guys for me," Moss told CBS Sports. "I think you can see a lot of Marshawn in the way I run and, you know, how I approach the game."

However, to pick up yards in the NFL, you have to be more than just a battering ram. You have to have wheels as well. Both Lynch and Elliott both posted sub-4.5 40-yard times at their respective combines.

Moss didn't.

Granted, it comes with the caveat that Moss reportedly injured his hamstring in the vertical jump but pressed through it, but the reality is that he'd have been better served to just shut it down. Instead, he ran a 4.65-second 40 and struggled changing direction in agility drills.

Moss will get an opportunity for redemption at Utah's pro day. Luckily, he has almost a month to prepare, because he did himself zero favors in Indy given that his long speed was probably the biggest question mark hanging over him.

Trey Adams, OT, Washington

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Washington tackle Trey Adams just can't catch a break.

Back in 2016, Adams was an All-Pac-12 selection as a true sophomore. When the 2017 season began, it was believed in more than a few circles that he could be one of the more coveted linemen in the 2018 NFL draft.

That he's entering the draft in 2020 is an inkling as to how things have gone since then. Adams' junior season was cut short by an ACL tear. He then missed most of the 2018 campaign with a back injury. Adams' fifth season was decent though, and the 6'8", 318-pounder admitted to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times that his winding road to the combine gave him a new perspective on the game.

"I think it did a lot for me, whether it be just being able to refocus or being able to see my life without football, which was kind of different, but good," Adams said. "I got to do that and got to realize that I really love the sport. And I wouldn’t be here (at the combine), I don’t think, if I didn’t get hurt."

Still, Adams was one of the offensive linemen at this year's combine who badly needed to do well in Indianapolis. He needed to show that he could still be that tackle who played so well a few years ago. That he's as good as he ever was.

Maybe he is—but we didn't see it in workouts.

A 5.6-second 40 was bad, but not a killer. The killer came with the 1.89-second 10-yard split (second-worst of his group) and a poor showing in agility drills.

Adams will still get drafted in 2020. But he'd best get comfy at the viewing party.

After this weekend, it may take a couple days.

A.J. Epenesa, EDGE, Iowa

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

There's no question in the eyes of the scouting community that Ohio State's Chase Young is the top edge-rusher in this draft class. But we didn't get to see Young show off his ridiculous athleticism in Indianapolis. He declined to participate in drills because he didn't want to "waste time trying to be a combine athlete."

Iowa's A.J. Epenesa is a contender to be the second edge-rusher selected and is very much in the mix to be a Round 1 pick. Per Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier, Michigan left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. singled out Epenesa as one of the more difficult opponents he faced in 2019.

"A.J. exploits the weakness of what I play," Runyan said. "I'm a vertical setter, and the weakness of a vertical set is what A.J. loves to do: bull rush with a one-armed stab. He's able to catch me leaning a lot, catch me off guard. Early in the [2019 Michigan vs. Iowa] game, the first three or four drives, I wasn't really keying on his shoulders. He started running downhill, and I wasn't able to get my hips down and react to the bull rush."

But while Epenesa's tape is impressive, his combine workouts were anything but. It wasn't just a sluggish 40 (5.04) and pedestrian 10-yard split (1.78). Epenesa also showed limited bend and flexibility in position drills.

The other leading contender to be the second edge-rusher drafted (Penn State's Yetur Gross-Matos) skipped the 40 but had a better day in positional drills than Epenesa.

It's not the end of the world, but the 6'5", 275-pound Epenesa may have cost himself some draft positioning—and cash.

Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Heading into the 2020 scouting combine, Auburn's Derrick Brown was widely considered one of the top overall prospects in this year's class. Draftniks like Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network raved about the power and athleticism the 6'5", 326-pounder possesses.

"Brown is one of the most complete interior defensive line prospects to pass through the draft process in recent memory," Crabbs said. "Odd fronts, even fronts, as a two-gap defender or a penetration player -- Brown is a dynamic force who wins in any way you could possibly need him to. His explosive power wins first contact or gaps with consistency and his upper body power, motor and instincts are all plus qualities. Plug and play starter with All-Pro potential at the NFL level."

Brown will more than likely be invited to Las Vegas to attend the draft in person. If he does, he's probably not going to have to wait long to hear his name called. But after his showing in Saturday's workouts, the big man may wind up waiting a little longer than before.

Brown's numbers in most drills ranged somewhere between below average and awful. His 5.16-second 40-yard dash was fourth-slowest among defensive linemen. His 27-inch vertical was also fourth-worst. His broad jump was sixth-worst. And his 8.22-second time in the three-cone drill was dead last at his position.

Now, some of those numbers don't mean a ton for an interior defender. And Brown's tape shows a dominant defensive force. He didn't forget how to play football over the weekend.

But there was buzz that Brown could be a top-five pick in April. And it's fair to wonder if his combine numbers gave teams like the Detroit Lions and New York Giants pause about making such a hefty investment.

Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State

Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Most of the pre-combine chatter at the cornerback position was directed at Ohio State's Jeffrey Okudah—and with good reason.

Dude is impressive.

But as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, Okudah made a point of singling out teammate Damon Arnette as another quality player on the back end.

"If you love a redemption story, you respect Damon Arnette a lot," Okudah said. "He’s someone that had a lot of doubters his first four years at Ohio State. … A lot of guys like to cower up, blame a lot of people. But he just put his head down and kept working. Through a broken wrist, he just put his head down and kept working. And I think he's really starting to reap the benefits of resiliency."

Arnette no doubt benefited greatly from returning to Columbus for one more season. But if the 6'0", 195-pounder was going to have any chance of sneaking into the back end of Day 1 he was going to need a great showing at the combine.

He didn't get it.

Granted, his workouts weren't a complete disaster; Arnette fared reasonably well in the on-field drills. But in the most important drill of them all for corners, he came up short—or slow, as the case may be.

A 4.56-second 40 time doesn't erase what Arnette put on tape over his collegiate career. But it did cement him as a Day 2 pick.

And if he can't better that time at OSU's pro day, it may be the back half of Day 2.