NFL Draft 2026: 5 underrated offensive prospects from the Combine

Say all you want about the “Underwear Olympics” and the usefulness of the scouting combine — there’s a lot of value to the NFL every year in Indianapolis, because if there weren’t, the NFL wouldn’t keep doing it every year. Beyond the medical evaluations and in-person interviews with prospects, which are the real reasons teams value it so much, the combine also allows evaluators to take what they know about draft prospects based on tape and asking around about them to another level.

Now, they have another athleticism point from which to reference when they go back to the tape post-combine to see how it all plays out. Now, they’re one step closer to deciding who ranks where on one of 32 Big Boards. And now, they’ll all have names of prospects who either blew up the combine drills and will have different shades of potential in a positive sense, or lagged behind… making those teams wonder if the tape really tells the whole story.

Based on who did what at the 2026 combine, here are five offensive prospects who were already underrated in the eyes of the general public, and quite possibly in a lot of NFL facilities, who won’t be anymore based on what they did on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium last week.

I wasn’t exactly surprised by the fact that Payton tested well athletically at the combine — his 4.56-second 40-yard dash was third among quarterbacks behind Arkansas’ Taylen Green and Georgia Tech’s Haynes King — and his 1.57-second 10-yard split also ranked third. Payton’s 40.00-inch vertical jump, 10’10” broad jump, and 7.12-second three-cone drill all ranked second, and his 4.36-second short shuttle ranked third.

This is a guy, after all, who was used by North Dakota State as a package-play running back before he finally got his shot in 2025 as the Bison’s starting quarterback. Payton showed his arm talent with 161 completions in 226 attempts for 2,719 yards, 16 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a passer rating of 127.8. Given Payton’s excellence under pressure, in and out of the pocket, and with the deep ball, there’s a credible argument to be made that in the right system, he could be this class’s QB2 behind Fernando Mendoza ahead of Alabama’s Ty Simpson.

If you want your offense to have the quarterback be the epicenter of the run game — think of what the Eagles ideally should do with Jalen Hurts, or what the New York Giants would like to do with Jaxson Dart — Payton could be the perfect fit over time. Both his 2025 tape and 2026 combine showed that there aren’t a lot of holes in his game.

The 2026 running back class is very similar to the quarterback class in that there’s one guy — Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love — atop everybody’s lists, and everybody else is fighting for second place. Well, Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr. made his case in Indy with a combine performance that will have every NFL team going back to his tape with a quickness.

At 6’1” and 223 pounds, Washington led all running backs with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, a 1.51-second 10-yard split; his 39.00-inch vertical jump and 10.8” broad jump both ranked second behind Kentucky’s Seth McGowan.

Washington’s tape proves the combination of power and explosiveness one would expect from this athletic profile. Last season, he gained 1,066 yards and scored eight touchdowns on 167 carries, with 34 forced missed tackles, and 17 runs of 15 of more yards. Washington’s tape is an appealing combination of Steve Prefontaine straight-line speed and Pantera mosh pit, and that it does show up on tape should have Mr. Washington’s draft stock rising appropriately.

Several receivers blew the NFL away with pure speed, but few did better for their height/weight than Cincinnati’s Jeff Caldwell, and we all know that when you’re a smaller-school prospect, nailing the combine is a really big deal. At 6’5” and 216 pounds, Caldwell’s 4.31-second 40, 1.48-second 10-yard split, 42.00” vertical jump, and 11’2” broad jump were right up there with a lot of smaller receivers who don’t have to haul as much around.

The question is, of course, whether he’s that fast on the field. I’d say so. In 2025, his first season with the Bearcats after three at Lindenwood University, Caldwell caught 32 passes on 58 targets for 478 yards and six touchdowns. The catch rate speaks to the development Caldwell still needs when it comes to the nuances of the position, but as a bigger target with impressive speed and a willingness to get dirty in contested-catch situations, there’s a lot to like as a prospect on the move.

Caldwell probably projects as a third-day pick with a receiver class this loaded, but the combine could well have him jumping up a round or more in the eyes of the NFL.

It’s not that Thompson’s combine was THAT much of a shock; there were those who were wondering whether he would break or match Xavier Worthy’s all-time 40-yard dash of 4.21 seconds before things got underway. Still, his 4.26-second time was impressive enough, and it will have people going back to the tape to see if the speed shows up.

Needless to say, it does. Last season, the 5’9”, 164-pound Thompson caught 57 passes on 87 targets for 1,054 yards and six touchdowns, and 11 of those catches on 26 targets came on passes of 20 or more air yards for 478 yards and five touchdowns. But what makes him more than just a fast guy in a straight line is how he’s able to work defenders with subtle movements with his routes. Which means that if you blink or take one false step in coverage, you’re toast.

That combination of attributes could make Thompson quite a bit of money in the draft.

Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq’s 4.39 40-yard dash was a big number, especially since Sadiq really didn’t show that kind of long speed in a Ducks career that has him as the unquestioned TE1 in this class. So, that bumped him up even more. Among the tight end prospects trying to ascend to TE2 is Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers, whose 4.51-second 40, 1.59-second 10-yard split, 45.5” vertical, and 11’03” broad jump were right in range, or better.

Dude’s hops were something to see.

Last season, the 6’4”, 239-pound Stowers caught 62 passes on 85 targets for 769 yards and four touchdowns, and while his deep receiving numbers (four catches on eight targets of 20 or more air yards for 161 yards and a touchdown) don’t reflect this athleticism, the tape does. If Stowers gets with an NFL team that weaponizes their tight ends with pre-snap motion and intelligent formation deployment, he could be even more of a dangerous individual.