Let’s Debate: Who Will Benefit Most From the NFL Combine? Who Was Snubbed?

The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine begins this week, which means everybody’s favorite college football players from this past season will have a massive platform to showcase themselves to general managers, coaches and scouts.

It’s a huge deal to be invited, and it’s a great opportunity to prove yourself one way or another — through workouts, interviews and press conferences.

There have been plenty of examples of how important these four days can be in improving one’s stock or crushing draft hopefuls’ prospects. 

In this week’s roundtable discussion, our college football analysts debate who might benefit most from the combine and who was overlooked and not invited to participate at all:

Who needs to improve their draft stock at the combine?

Michael Cohen: Elijah Sarratt, WR, Indiana

Sarratt toyed with entering the NFL Draft last winter following a standout 2024 season in which he caught 53 passes for 957 yards and eight touchdowns in his first year with the Hoosiers. One reason he returned for another season was the chance to reach his personal goal of topping 1,000 yards, — a milestone he had already achieved at James Madison, but one he was eager to reach against Big Ten competition.

Nagging injuries sidelined Sarratt for multiple games midyear, costing him the chance to reach that milestone. The fact that he still finished with 65 catches for 830 yards and 15 touchdowns — including three in the College Football Playoff — speaks to how impactful Sarratt can be when healthy. A strong showing in Indianapolis this week could vault him higher in the wide receiver pecking order.

Laken Litman: Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama

Ty Simpson in the 2026 College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Simpson is hoping to be the second quarterback selected in April’s NFL Draft behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. There’s also chatter that while Simpson could be a first-round pick, he could also be taken later on. Simpson was at Alabama for four years, sitting patiently his first three behind the likes of Bryce Young and Jalen Milroe. He started the 2025 season and threw for 3,567 total yards (second in the SEC behind Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss) with 28 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He led the Crimson Tide to an 11-4 record and a spot in the Rose Bowl, where they lost to eventual national champion Indiana. 

However, Simpson’s stock took a hit as his performance dipped toward the end of the season. He reportedly turned down lucrative transfer offers to enter the draft because, he said, that playing at another school would “tarnish” his legacy. NFL brass has to like his loyalty and maturity in making that decision. Simpson is expected to throw at the combine, too, which could certainly boost his stock.

RJ Young: Joey Aguilar, QB, Tennessee

Up until last week, Aguilar believed he would start for Tennessee, leading the Vols toward a second CFP appearance in three years. Instead, he’s now part of a crowded job fair — competing with some of the best quarterback prospects in the world for a chance to make an NFL roster.

Aguilar isn’t the type of signal-caller teams typically target in the first two rounds. Still, his lone season at Tennessee was impressive: over 3,700 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions. Even more remarkable, he mastered Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s playbook in the summer and won the starting job in preseason after joining the program through the spring transfer portal.

Aguilar must not only perform on the field as an older rookie — he’ll turn 25 this year — but also demonstrate command of the game in one-on-one interviews, navigating formations and schemes with precision.

Who was wrongly snubbed from the combine?

RJ Young: Jaden Dugger, LB, Louisiana

Dugger was an absolute menace in the Sun Belt last year. Along with 125 total tackles in a conference that produced its first CFP invitee — James Madison — Dugger also accounted for 4.0 sacks, a forced fumble and an interception. Scouts love his measurables. As an inside linebacker, he stands at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, has an 84-inch wingspan and arms that are almost 35 inches in length.

Dugger is the kind of specimen at the position Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. was coming out of Oklahoma but with better production at the collegiate level. Some teams will see him and recognize supreme value in a player who didn’t get an invitation to the combine in a deep linebacker draft.

Litman: Kaelon Black, RB, Indiana

Kaelon Black in action vs. Oregon at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

Black, another transfer who followed Cignetti from JMU, led Indiana last season with 10 rushing touchdowns and was second in total rushing yards with 1,040. He had 80 fewer yards than Hoosiers’ teammate Roman Hemby, who was invited to the combine. Black is a talented downhill and patient runner. He ran for 241 yards and three touchdowns across three CFP games, including the 79 yards that led Indiana in the title game. 

There were 21 running backs invited to the combine. Because he was overlooked, Black will have to impress NFL general managers and head coaches at Indiana’s Pro Day on April 1.

Cohen: James Brockermeyer, C, Miami (Fla.)

The interior offensive line is far from the most glamorous position in football, but Brockermeyer has been viewed as a blue-chip player for quite some time. He was a four-star prospect and the No. 194 overall recruit when he committed to Alabama in the 2021 cycle, ultimately spending two seasons with the Crimson Tide in a reserve role. He transferred to TCU ahead of the 2024 campaign and quickly won the starting center job, allowing just a single sack in 500 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. That was enough to propel Brockermeyer to Miami this past fall, where he anchored one of the strongest offensive lines in the country and helped the Hurricanes reach the national championship game. He did not allow a single sack across 558 pass-blocking snaps, according to PFF, and earned third-team All-ACC honors from the league’s coaches. There should have been a spot for him in Indianapolis.

In Let’s Debate, our experts tackle and explain the hot-button issues fans care about.