2026 NFL combine winners, losers: Which players are trending up, down?

The NFL scouting combine had no shortage of standouts. Which players are trending up or down with less than two months until the draft?

INDIANAPOLIS – Don't get carried away with the idea of NFL draft boards shifting dramatically in the wake of scouting combine workouts.

“I don’t know that we are going to change the board very much coming out of this,” Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek said. “I take this for what it’s worth. It’s a big part of the process, but it’s just a part of the process. Our only goal is to get the board right by late April.”

With that message echoed by other decision-makers throughout the week, a familiar refrain was reinforced: The combine tends to prompt tweaks, not wholesale changes.

Paling in comparison to the importance of team interviews and medical checks, on-field testing and workouts tend to be a matter of confirming what was largely already known. Many of this year's biggest standouts, for instance, were highlighted by USA TODAY Sports going into the event.

This year's event also had a self-selecting element that needs to be accounted for, as participation in testing and drills was severely limited in some instances. Many of the players who had concerns in certain areas decided to abstain from recording marks, instead waiting for more favorable conditions at their pro days. That not only inflated the averages for each position group – with record 40 times nearly across the board – but also limited the number of concerning measurements.