INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL scouting combine lands in Indianapolis this week. While it’s not the end-all-be-all of the draft evaluation process, it does play a huge role in the eventual tying of the knot between teams and prospects.
This year is no different, as all 32 clubs get a buffet-style up-close look at the top prospects in the draft and begin building their draft boards.
For added value, countless late-night free agency and trade discussions are happening at any one of the great steakhouses in downtown Indianapolis.
(Photo by Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post) Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Can Ty Simpson push his way up the draft board?
When Oregon’s Dante Moore opted to remain in Eugene for one more season, it left a major quarterback void behind Fernando Mendoza, the reigning Heisman trophy winner and consensus top signal caller in the draft.
Moore was always a wild card; everyone understood that his 20 career starts were not ideal for NFL development, and that whoever drafted him needed to exercise extreme patience in bringing him along, perhaps even redshirting him in his rookie season.
But all you had to do was watch him play a few times to understand the arm, intellect, legs, athletic ability and confidence were highly projectable to the NFL. In other words, he would be worth the wait for the team that drafted him, even if they used the second overall pick on him.
With Moore out of the picture, Alabama’s Ty Simpson becomes the de facto No. 2 quarterback, with Penn State’s Drew Allar, Miami’s Carson Beck, Arkansas’ Taylen Green, Georgia Tech’s Haynes King, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier falling somewhere behind him.
The question facing Simpson is how much ground he can gain on Mendoza, starting this week in Indianapolis. With the quarterback tax being a very real thing in the NFL, can he perform and interview well enough to crack the first round, and perhaps even the top 15?
Simpson looked like a sure-fire first round pick, especially earlier in the season, but his lack of experience, some nagging injuries and just an okay supporting cast caught up to him.
Over the final eight games of the season, he posted a completion percentage of 60 or below four times, and he threw for just 67 yards in a second-round playoff loss to Indiana.
Ideally, he would have returned for one more season at Alabama, giving himself back-to-back starting seasons to smooth out some of his rough spots. Remember, he has just 15 career starts, all in 2025. But he opted to enter the draft, believing the exposure to NFL football and coaching could expedite his development and sharpen a skill set that translates to Sundays.
But can he intrigue enough teams this week in Indianapolis — and let’s be honest, it takes just one of them to fall in love with him — to be a first-round pick?
Who is the best player in the draft?
We can debate for days whether or not Mendoza is the best football player in the draft. What’s indisputable is he’s by far the best quarterback of this crop of prospects, would be a top 10 pick in just about any other draft, and the Raiders, who hold the top overall pick, desperately need a franchise-changing presence behind center.
That makes Mendoza a lock to go first overall.
It gets interesting behind the Indiana signal caller, with a bevy of super-talented players jockeying for position to go to the Jets at No. 2.
Here’s the issue: with no other quarterback worthy of that type of investment, and most of the best players in the discussion not playing a premium position, projecting selections two through five gets very interesting.
And it creates a great opportunity for a handful of players this week in Indianapolis.
Pound-for-pound, Ohio State’s Caleb Downs and Arvell Reese could be the best football players in the draft. But Downs plays safety and Reese is an off-ball linebacker, two positions that don’t typically get a lot of love within the top five compared to premium positions like quarterback, cornerback and edge rusher.
You could make a case for Miami offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa, or edge rushers David Bailey (Texas Tech) or Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami). While all three are NFL-ready prospects, they also aren’t your typical can’t-misses.
Mauigoa played exclusively at right tackle at Miami, and is a candidate to eventually move to guard. Bailey is the best pass rusher, but to be a true three-down NFL defender he needs to show he can stand up in the run game. Bain’s less-than-ideal arm and body length create some questions about his viability as an every-down edge player, or if he’s better suited moving inside.
This is an important week for each of those players as they make their case to be the second overall pick, and be selected within the top five overall.
The Love train to K.C.?
If we’re really asking who the best player is in the draft, you would get very little argument about Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, the one-true home run threat in the draft, and a player who can lift any offense with his ability to lead a run game and be a force as a pass catcher.
Love just happens to be playing in an era when running backs are no longer viewed fondly as as first-round investments, let alone within the top 10.
Sure, there have been outliers recently with the Raiders selecting Ashston Jeanty seventh overall last year and the Falcons taking Bijan Robinson with the eighth pick in 2023.
Through no fault of their own, their teams have not had much success — yet. By the time they do, Robinson and Jeanty could be closing in on their second contracts, meaning all their peak years of positional and monetary value could have been wasted.
Love could face a similar fate depending on when he gets drafted, and by whom.
The Heisman Trophy finalist has a chance to shut down any concerns by putting on a great performance this week. He clearly has all the necessary tools to steal the show and solidify himself as a top-10 pick, positional value be damned.
And wouldn’t you know it, Love’s draft year just happens to coincide with the Chiefs first bad season in what seems like a decade. Their reward: The ninth overall pick in the draft.
Unlike most teams drafting that high, the Chiefs didn’t necessarily earn their way to that position as much as the football powers-that-be doused them with some bad-luck dust. Unlike your traditional bad team with a high draft pick, it’s not like the Chiefs would be adding Love, then spending the next couple of years rebuilding around him.
Lest anyone thinks they have fallen into an abyss, you can pretty much count on the Chiefs being right back where they belong once quarterback Patrick Mahomes fully recovers from the knee injury he suffered last year. By all accounts, he is ahead of schedule.
Can you imagine Mahomes and the Chiefs welcoming Love into the fold, and sliding him right into their attack? Talk about a one-two punch.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
