Kansas City Chiefs should consider these NFL Combine standouts on offense

Running Backs

Miles Sanders, Penn State

• 5-foot-11, 211 pounds
• 40 Yard Dash – 4.49 seconds (tied for 6th)
• Bench Press – 20 reps (14th)
• Vertical – 36.0 inches (6th)
• Broad Jump – 124.0 inches (6th)
• 3 Cone Drill – 6.89 seconds (1st)
• 20 Yard Shuttle – 4.19 seconds (3rd)

Of the three backs on this list, Penn State’s Miles Sanders probably entered the combine with the best draft stock. That stock only went up after his impressive combine performance. Sanders was consistently at the top of the rankings in almost every category. His lowest ranking was in the bench press where he still put up 20 reps at only 5-foot-11 and 211 pounds.

When you watch Sanders on film you definitely see the elusiveness that those scores would back up. Sanders could definitely give incumbent starter Damien Williams some competition if the Chiefs were to take him in the middle rounds. The primary drawback I saw from Sanders film was that he occasionally dances around a little too much. He’s at his best when he hits the hole quickly. He also showed some signs of ball security issues, so the coaches may want to take a closer look at that area, too.

Justice Hill, Oklahoma State

• 5-foot-10, 198 pounds
• 40 Yard Dash – 4.40 seconds (1st)
• Bench Press – 21 reps (tied for 10th)
• Vertical – 40.0 inches (1st)
• Broad Jump – 130.0 inches (tied for 1st)

Justice Hill from Oklahoma State didn’t participate in all of the running back drills, but the ones he did he flat out dominated. Hill put up the top scores in the 40 yard dash as well as both the vertical and broad jumps. His game tape definitely shows that same explosion too.

He’s definitely not a power back and there might be some concern about putting 20+ touches a week on his smaller frame. However, I think he’d make an excellent addition to the Chiefs running back corps where he could help spell Damien Williams and give Kansas City another matchup nightmare for opposing defenses.

Alex Barnes, Kansas State

• 6-foot-0, 226 pounds
• 40 Yard Dash – 4.59 seconds (16th)
• Bench Press – 34 reps (1st and a new RB record)
• Vertical – 38.5 inches (3rd)
• Broad Jump – 126.0 inches (5th)
• 3 Cone Drill – 6.95 seconds (2nd)
• 20 Yard Shuttle – 4.10 seconds (1st)

While some local fans may be aware of Kansas State’s Alex Barnes, he was not a big name draft prospect. He definitely got the attention of a lot of people at the combine though.

If you watch Barnes on tape, you aren’t surprised that he measured in at a hefty 6-foot-0 and 226 pounds and probably weren’t shocked at his fantastic bench press showing either. Where Barnes did shock most people is how well he performed in agility drills like the 3 cone and 20 yard shuttle. Those were the numbers that were sure to send scouts back to the tape to see what they missed.

Unfortunately for Barnes, those agility numbers don’t show up when he’s running the ball. He simply doesn’t have the explosion or elusiveness on film of either Sanders or Hill. The one place where you do see it some is in how well he moves when he runs routes out of the backfield. Barnes has good hands and is also a great blocking back. This could make him an ideal late round pick that could come off the bench as both a short yardage power back and a third down back that can pass protect and catch some passes. There aren’t a lot of backs that can fill both of those rolls and that gives Barnes some value.

Next up, let’s look at some wide receivers that helped themselves at the combine.