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NFL Combine, winners and losers from Day 1: Henry Ruggs stars, Jake Fromm struggles

By Cody Williams

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 27: Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III of Alabama runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 27, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 27: Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III of Alabama runs the 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 27, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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NFL Combine (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
NFL Combine (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Day 1 of the NFL Combine with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends testing and these are the winners and losers from Thursday.

Thursday, Feb. 27 marked the first day of athletic testing at the 2020 NFL Combine in Indianapolis, the first venture into primetime, as the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends were out on the field putting in the work. All of the guys on the field were trying to improve or affirm their stock for the 2020 NFL Draft.

It’s been said so many times but the NFL Combine only means so much. Anyone who bases their draft stock solely on what players run in the 40-yard dash or how they can jump isn’t paying attention. When it comes to NFL Draft stock, the Combine should be used as another piece in the overall picture, taking athletic testing with what you see on film and forming opinions.

With that said, some of the testing does matter if it conflicts with what you see on tape or shows something that you didn’t see previously. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Day 1 of the 2020 NFL Combine.

Winner: Henry Ruggs III, WR, Alabama

Henry Ruggs III came into the 2020 NFL Combine with all the hype in the world that he could possibly break John Ross’ record in the 40-yard dash. Ultimately, he came up just short with a best time of 4.27 seconds. However, he showed all we needed to see.

The Alabama standout had a 42-inch vertical jump, 131-inch broad jump and shined in the drills. He was absolutely fantastic throughout all of it and separated himself as an elite athlete in a different class as the rest of this group and should be a top-15 pick in the NFL Draft.

Loser: Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Colorado

The wide receiver class in the 2020 NFL Draft class is loaded and we saw plenty of that on Thursday with all of the incredible testing that was on display. However, one of my personal favorites, Laviska Shenault Jr., did not do himself any favors.

Shenault only ran the 40-yard dash once and posted a slow 4.58-second time, even for his size. He then didn’t run again and held himself out of the rest of drills. Maybe it was an injury, which was rumored coming into the NFL Combine, but even then, Shenault separated himself in the wrong direction from the top-tier wideouts in the class.

Winner: Justin Herbert, QB, Oregon

If you were watching the NFL Network broadcast, Daniel Jeremiah and the rest of the analysts in Indianapolis continued to speak about Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert having the opportunity to cement himself as QB3 and a top-10 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft class. To me, he did just that.

Herbert wasn’t blazing but he ran and tested well as an athlete and then put on a show in the throwing drills. He had a live arm and was on point throughout it all, filling the role of a silent assassin that he needs to for teams to fall in love with him. It was a great day for the Duck.

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