2024 NFL Combine notes: Drake Maye's wavering draft stock, future of scouting combine in Indianapolis and more
As we put the final touches on the 2024 NFL Combine, there was still news days after departing Indianapolis. Talk of moving the draft from the Circle City has renewed, and there was a lot of chatter about a prospect not invited to the combine. Yet the biggest news surrounded mixed feelings on one of the top passers available in the draft.
NFL Combine's future in Indianapolis
Could the draft be on the move? Talk of moving the event out of Indianapolis was again a hot topic inside league circles last week. The cities being mentioned as potential destinations include Las Vegas, Nashville, Detroit and Arizona. This isn’t the first time there’s been discussion of moving the Combine away from Indianapolis, which has a contract to hold the event through 2025.
I previously reported on future destinations the league was considering prior to the COVID pandemic, yet every time the league tries to move the combine to a different city, teams throw up a wall of resistance and demand it remain in the Circle City. Teams like the fact that Indianapolis is centrally located and everything is connected, which means walking inside a climate-controlled convention center is the only transportation necessary to get from the hotel to interview rooms to workouts.
Drake Maye's swaying draft stock and Patriots' stance on QB
The big news coming out of Indianapolis is the way teams are hot and cold on quarterback Drake Maye, who was expected to be a top-three pick. I was told at the combine that the New England Patriots would trade back if Jayden Daniels did not drop to their slot, the third pick of the draft. Just today, I heard further that several scouts from the Patriots organization are not fans of Maye, who really struggled down the stretch of the season. The fact that several people mentioned in conversation, not all, are sold on Maye makes this significant.
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TE Erick All garnering interest from multiple Super Bowl contenders
Tight end Erick All of Iowa did not workout at the Combine, as he’s still rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered last October, yet that did not stop teams from throwing a lot of love his way. There are some teams who still believe All could end up as the fourth tight end selected in the draft, somewhere in Round 3. The tape on All, who measures in the area of 6-foot-4, 252 pounds and is estimated to run in the 4.65-second range, is outstanding, yet it’s limited the past two years. All played in seven games last season before going down with the knee injury and just three the prior year at Michigan before suffering an injury that sidelined him.
Four teams have shown a lot of interest in All, including the Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. In a bit of irony, just a few days ago I mentioned Miami, San Francisco and Kansas City as potential suitors for Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders at the end of Round 1.
Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd was mentioned as my No. 1 combine snub just after the official invitations were made public. And even though Boyd was not in Indianapolis, that did not stop teams from talking about him. The way I hear it, teams grade Boyd as early as a third-round prospect with few if any teams rating him below the fifth round. Most have a fourth-round grade on the big defensive tackle, who dominated Shrine Bowl practices. Boyd already has seven official top-30 visits scheduled and will meet with the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints before his pro day on March 18.