In a week’s time, the league will descend upon Indianapolis for the 2026 NFL Combine. General managers, coaches, scouts, medical staff, and a host of other front office personnel from all 32 franchises will be on hand to poke, prod, and test 319 prospects.

Huge amounts of media and a large number of fans will also filter throughout the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium for the event. As is the case every year, there’s controversy as to those who were invited to the all-important pre-draft event. Here’s a handful of surprise invitations:

Quintayvious Hutchins/Edge/Boston College

The love for Hutchins in some areas of the community is baffling. He’s an edge rusher who measured 6-foot-2.5 and 229 pounds at the Senior Bowl, where he showed little impact. The situation was similar at Boston College, where Hutchins was part of the starting lineup the past two years, totaling a combined 5.5 sacks and seven TFLs, numbers that don’t pass the eyeball test for a next-level pass rusher during a single season.

Hutchins doesn’t show great ability in space to be used as an off-ball linebacker, either. Ethan Burke of Texas, who is bigger, was much more productive on the college level and received a draftable grade entering the season, was a much more worthy candidate.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

George Gumbs Jr./Edge/Florida

Gumbs’ situation is similar to Hutchins’, as he’s a smaller edge rusher with minimal college production. The transfer from Northern Illinois started 13 games for the Gators in the past two seasons, totaling 7.5 sacks and 14.5 TFLs, underwhelming numbers.

Gumbs was only occasionally used in space. Rather, he was an edge rusher who primarily stood over tackle and struggled to disengage from blocks once locked up with opponents. Burke or Keyshawn James-Newby of New Mexico, who was handed late-round grades prior to the season, then finished with nine sacks and 15 TFLs, should have received an invitation before Gumbs.

Lorenzo Styles Jr./CB/Ohio State

Brotherly connection? Maybe. Lorenzo is the brother of linebacker Sonny Styles, an expected top-12 pick in April’s draft. Yet unlike his brother, Lorenzo was not highly rated in the scouting community last season at Ohio State or years before that when he played for Notre Dame.

He was a solid contributor in a Buckeyes secondary that lined up stars, yet he wasn’t dominant. Zero interceptions and just two PBUs make him an interesting evaluation.

Jeff Caldwell/WR/Cincinnati

Caldwell is a terrific story, as the transfer from Lindenwood, a Division 2 school, where he was a 1,000-yard receiver in 2024. He had a solid season for the Bearcats last year, yet it wasn’t anything spectacular.

He’s tall, measuring almost 6-foot-5, with long arms and a big catch radius. Ungraded by scouts before the season, his totals in 2025 included 32 receptions, 478 yards, and six TDs. How Caldwell received an invitation when Lewis Bond, a legitimate Day 3 pick, was left off the list is inconceivable.

Khalil Dinkins/TE/Penn State

Last year, the Nittany Lions sent tight end prospect Tyler Warren to the draft, who landed in the middle of Round 1 after not working out at all prior to the event. This year, Dinkins is expected to do the exact opposite: work out before the draft, then go unselected.

He comes with average size, and his production leaves a lot to be desired, as he’s caught 14 passes each of the past two seasons, totaling a career-best 167 receiving yards as a senior. Stats don’t tell the story when grading NFL prospects, yet with productive tight ends such as Seydou Traore of Mississippi State and even Jeremiah Franklin of Boston College, who were both graded as draftable prospects before the season, left on the outside looking in, Dinkins’ invitation to the combine is questionable.

When the invites raise eyebrows, the Combine becomes the trial. Indianapolis will expose who earned it and who slipped through.