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Top 5 Athletes to Watch in This Year's NFL Combine


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    More than 300 athletes will pour into Indianapolis next week, all biding for the top spots at this years NFL combine. There will only be let down for many, but it will be an amazing life changing moment for some. This is the next step in their path to be an NFL football player. Over the past few months especially, all of these athletes have been trying their best to add value to themselves. The more a player shows himself to be valuable in as many aspects as possible, the greater chance they have of getting picked for the team they want.

    With that said, there are a few players this year that have been successful at adding tremendous value to themselves.

    Here are my top 5 prospects at this year's NFL combine:

    1. Leonard Fournette: RB at LSU. It's no question that Leonard Fournette is high on everyone's list. He is one of the most talented runners we have seen in at least a few years. That combined with size, gives him an edge over other players.

    2. Christian McCaffrey: RB at Stanford. One word sums up McCaffrey, and that word is versatile. I'm really excited to see what he does at the combine. Should be entertaining.

    3. Dalvin Cooke: RB at Florida State. The best thing about Cooke is that he is becoming known as an explosive runner. Though on the other hand, that can be a downside. Not every coach wants to coach a player that is "explosive". They can be difficult to coach.

    4. Alvin Kamara: RB at Tennessee. Kamara is an excellent route runner. That is really sought after when selecting someone who will fit in to your playbook. Not to mention, he is also quite dynamic.

    5. James Conner: RB at Pittsburgh. What to say about James Conner.... I genuinely enjoy watching this guy. He is returning to the field after beating cancer. That right there is enough said, for me. But I should also mention that he is one of the most physical runners in this class, with little worry about his overall long run time. But I see him being super useful in terms of short burst TD runs.

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    Good list. All running backs.. I agree with that. I'm not as impressed with the other offensive skill position prospects this vs other years.

    I think it's interesting to look at the 1st round teams on the docket for the NFL draft, and see who can land one of these 5 guys by need.

    The Browns are #1. They need lots of help everywhere. Hard to see them going rb. Looking down I don't see a team in real need until you get to the #8 slot with the Panthers. They need a new bell cow. Jonathan Stewart is not healthy enough to ever last a full season. Fournette or McCaffrey would be great in that system I think.

    The Browns also have the #12 pick. That's a great slot to go running back. Then my favorite is the Colts at #14. They are in excellent position to back up and replace Frank Gore, who can't possibly have much more juice left.

    Only other I see in the top 25 is the Ravens at #16.

    So that is theoretically -

    Panthers - #8
    Browns - #12
    Colts - #14
    Ravens - #16

    Seemingly teams can land a great value with one of these rbs in the first or even second round this year. Definitely will be watching to see how the rankings change for these guys after the combine. I would really like to see McCaffrey in Indy.

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    NFL mock draft 2017: Four round mock draft has Colts taking Christian McCaffrey in first round

    Googled it to see if any pundits agreed with me. Seems like there are a few, but it's debatable. Of note for McCaffrey though that I think makes him very appealing is he's really good at catching the ball along with running. Think Matt Forte (maybe). Luck could seriously use a Matt Forte-like player to put them over the edge.