Rival Views: Which 2018 prospect will be an NFL combine freak?

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney don’t always see eye to eye. In this edition of Rival Views, the two debate about which 2018 prospect is a future NFL combine freak.

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Putting current testing numbers aside, because I don’t really know how accurate high school testing numbers are or have proven to be, I’m going to go with my gut on this one and say defensive end Micah Parsons. Just watching him on film and seeing how explosively athletic he is off the edge in person, I think he’s a kid who is going to be 275 pounds by the time he hits the combine and will have linebacker athleticism and speed with defensive end explosion.

I can see Parsons lighting up the combine in a few years perhaps in the way Myles Garrett did if he continues to develop and add speed and quickness to his game. His versatility could have everyone drooling. There are many others I could pick, like cornerback Patrick Surtain and cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart or cornerback Tyson Campbell as well as wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, but I’ll go with Parsons. He reminds me of a bigger and more athletic Noah Spence at the same stage. Spence never lived up to his potential because of off-field issues and didn’t kill the combine, but he still landed at the top of round two because of his athleticism and ability as a versatile edge rusher. Parsons has top five or 10 pick potential if he keeps his head on straight because he’s already better at the same stage.

Washington’s John Ross was a fringe first-round pick before the NFL Scouting Combine, and after setting the record in the 40-yard dash he moved all the way up to the ninth pick.

I talked to Iman Marshall’s dad, Tony, at the USC Rising Stars Camp a couple weeks ago and he said he wasn’t surprised by Ross’ performance because he was that fast and talented during his Pop Warner days but didn’t get the exposure needed to be a national recruit in high school. Now Ross is a top 10 pick mainly because of his combine showing.

The guy I think a few years from now who will do the same thing – blow away people at the combine and possibly be a top 10 pick – is four-star cornerback Isaac Taylor-Stuart. He backed up his ability this summer by winning the Fastest on the Field event at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas and proving to be the fastest player at The Opening as well.

With his size and cover ability, coupled with his skills in a combine setting, there’s no way he shouldn’t be one of the top corners drafted.

I also think Anthony Schwartz, a four-star speedster out of Florida, and four-star WR Brennan Eagles could turn in phenomenal combine showings to boost their draft stock as well.