The NFL Combine is the best opportunity for some of the best NFL Draft prospects to show off in front of all 32 teams. Typically, this is where a ton of lesser-known players make a name for themselves, but while the combine is super important for the day two and day three picks, there are also a lot of first rounders with some questions that need answered.

With the combine officially kicking off this week, I went through and identified 10 elite prospects who have the most to prove at the 2026 NFL Combine.

DE Rueben Bain

Rueben Bain’s draft projections have been all over the place. If we’re going off pure talent, he’s easily a top five pick in the draft. Bain’s a disruptive edge rusher who can step into any defense and transform their pass rush. However, there are some major concerns about his arm length.

A prototypical pass rusher in the NFL has 33-inch or longer arms, but there are concerns that Bain could measure in much lower than that, with sub 32-inch arms being a possibility. As a pass rusher, arm length is key, because if you can’t use your arms to strike and gain leverage against a tackle, you’re going to be neutralized more often than not.

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I know it’s a completely different position, but Will Campbell’s situation doesn’t help Bain in the slightest. Last year, teams were concerned with Campbell’s arms being too short, and his performance in the playoffs (even though I think that was largely due to him rushing back from a knee injury) hasn’t done him any favors. Now, Bain’s arm length will be heavily analyzed by teams with a top-10 pick. If he comes in with sub 32-inch arms, his draft stock could tank.

WR Jordyn Tyson

If it weren’t for a lengthy injury history, Jordyn Tyson would probably be the consensus WR1 in this draft class. He’s 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and is an incredible deep ball threat. But like I said, he comes with some baggage.

Tyson has suffered multiple season-ending injuries in his career. In 2022, he tore his ACL, MCL and PCL, which then caused him to miss all of 2023. In 2024, Tyson suffered a broken collarbone, which also ended his season. And in 2025, Tyson injured his hamstring, causing him to miss over a month.

Medical exams are one of the most important parts of the combine, and they don’t get talked about enough. Prospects undergo an intense evaluation process, which gives teams a much better idea of a player’s past injuries and how it could effect them long term.

Much like Bain, how Tyson tests athletically won’t matter much. Everyone knows he’s an extremely gifted athlete. The biggest concerns teams will have about Tyson will be about his medical history. We’ll have to wait and see if any red flags are raised at the combine.

DT Peter Woods

Peter Woods is everything a team could want at the defensive tackle position athletically. He’s a freak athlete who is going to test extremely well at the combine, but there will be some questions to be answered about his production in college.

In three seasons at Clemson, Woods totaled just 49 pressures and five sacks. How does someone so gifted physically only put up those kinds of numbers in the ACC? And how does he expect his game to translate at the NFL level if it didn’t at the college level? Those are questions he’s going to have to answer during his workout and in his meetings with teams.

QB Ty Simpson

Fernando Mendoza is going to be the first quarterback off the board, and with Dante Moore and Trinidad Chambliss returning to college, it opens the door for Ty Simpson to take over the QB2 spot, but he has to prove he’s worthy of it.

Simpson started just one season in college, but he was incredibly intelligent and accurate. However, there are some questions about his arm strength, and his play really fell off towards the end of the year, particularly in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal against Indiana.

During workouts, Simpson is going to have to be deadly accurate in the short to intermediate game, but he’s also going to have to show off his arm strength. Scouts will want to see how he can push the ball downfield, but also how much zip he can put on shorter throws. He will be the top quarterback throwing at the combine, so all eyes will be on him during QB workouts. He just has to go out there and prove he can compete at the NFL level.

CB Jermod McCoy

Jermod McCoy might’ve been considered the consensus top cornerback in the draft if he played in 2025. He suffered a torn ACL in January of 2025, which caused him to miss all of last year. Teams will want to see what his medicals look like, but their main focus will be on how he performs in workouts.

All of these scouts and general managers haven’t seen McCoy play competitive football in over a year. Nobody really knows how his knee healed and if he’s still the same kind of athlete he was as a freshman and sophomore at Tennessee. How fast will he run the 40? How high will he jump in the vertical leap? What will his shuttle time be? Can he hold up with these top receivers in coverage? All of those questions will be answered at the combine, and his performance will heavily influence his draft position.

OT Kadyn Proctor

Kadyn Proctor is an absolute behemoth, coming in at around 6-foot-7 and 365 pounds. Everyone knows he has the size to be a starting tackle in the NFL, but he had some weaknesses at Alabama that are going to need to be worked out.

The main question is, is he too big? He struggled in space against faster, more athletic defensive ends, so teams will be very interested to see how he tests. The 40-yard dash, broad and vertical leaps and the shuttle drills will be very important for Proctor, but so will his workouts.

If Proctor tests well and proves he’s athletic enough to keep up with defensive ends at the NFL level, he’ll cement himself as a first-round pick. But if there are more questions than answers, then his stock may slide a bit.

DE Akheem Mesidor

Akheem Mesidor has been overshadowed by Rueben Bain a bit, but he has some questions to answer at the combine as well.

First, he’s a bit undersized, coming in at 6-foot-3 and about 265 pounds. Teams will be very interested to see how his arms measure, but he also needs to test well, and bench press will be a big one for him. He relies on his speed and athleticism to win a lot, so he needs to show teams that he can also win with his strength. If he can do that, watch for him to go in the first round.

S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren

According to a report by EssentiallySports NFL Draft expert Tony Pauline, Emmanuel McNeil-Warren did not take part in the Senior Bowl due to concerns about his speed. His tape is amazing, but he was concerned that he could get exposed a bit against some of the best receivers in the country.

Obviously, the 40-yard dash is going to be huge for McNeil-Warren. He doesn’t have to light up the timing sheet, but he needs to put in a respectable time to get rid of those red flags. But straight line speed isn’t all of it. Teams will be really interested to see how he fares in other speed/agility drills as well.

McNeil-Warren has first-round talent, so how he runs will play a huge factor in where he gets drafted.

DE R Thomas Mason

R Mason Thomas is viewed as one of the top pass rushers in this class. He recorded 6.5 sacks in 1o games in 2025 and he’s a freak athlete, but there are a lot of questions about his size heading into the NFL Combine.

The NFL’s average defensive end is about 6-foot-4 and 275 pounds. Prior to any combine measuring, Thomas is expected to weigh in at 6-foot-2 and 245ish pounds. Every quarter of an inch and every pound he can muster will be super important for him. But even if he weighs in lower than most expect, it’s not over.

The defensive end position has taken on a new look in recent years. Players are getting smaller, faster and more athletic, so if Thomas shows out with a fast 40 time and tests well in other areas, he could still be an early day two pick. He’s going to have to do everything he can to prove to NFL scouts that even though he’s undersized, he can still produce in the NFL.

RB Jadarian Price

Jeremiyah Love is the obvious RB1 in this draft class, but this is a very shallow running back class overall. The RB2 spot is still very much up for grabs, and Love’s teammate, Jadarian Price, is trying to prove he’s worthy of being the second running back off the board.

Price didn’t have the same stats as some of the other backs in his class, but it’s up to him to prove that’s because he was playing behind the best running back in college football. He’s going to have to set a blazing 40 time and score extremely well in all the other tests to prove to teams that it was the situation holding him back rather than his talent level.