Now that the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine has concluded, let’s look at the immediate ramifications it had on the values of the incoming rookie class. This is Wide Receiver Stock Up/Stock Down (2024 Combine Edition). It is a seven-part series covering the pertinent risers and fallers of the combine. If you want to see how these changes are reflected in our rookie rankings, check out our Rankings Page. This series will not feature offensive linemen since they are not part of the fantasy football landscape. If you want to see the testing numbers for the offensive lineman, they are available at NFL.com.
Stock Up
Xavier Worthy, Texas
Xavier Worthy was the highlight of the 40-yard Dash. On his first attempt, he ran 4.24 seconds and despite being the fastest time of the group he opted to run a second attempt to try and break the record of 4.22 seconds set by John Ross. His second attempt went off at exactly 4.22 seconds, good for a record-tying outing. It was announced later that his official time was 4.21 seconds and Worthy was now the record holder.
The downside to Wrothy’s 2024 NFL Scouting Combine was the weigh-in. He checked in under 6 feet and his 165 lbs weight is concerning. It is completely within the realm of possibilities that Worthy is on track to be a Devonta Smith-type player with even better speed. While that is certainly within his range of outcomes, let’s not set that as our expectation for him. Smith was an outlier at his limited weight and this particular path has been a longshot historically. His speed and explosiveness testing though does provide him with a unique upside that is sure to send his stock skyrocketing after this weekend.
Rome Odunze, Washington
Rome Odunze came into the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine as the consensus WR3 but may have thrust himself into the conversation in the top tier of receivers. His size of 6’2″ and 212 lbs graded out on the great side of the scale, as did his 40-yard Dash time of 4.45 seconds. He participated in more drills than most of the receivers and graded out as great in nearly all of them. His 20-yard Split, 10-yard Split, Shuttle, and Vertical Jump were all great. The worst drills for him were the Broad Jump and the 3-cone drill, but even those were just fine for him.
For me, the best part of Odunze’s combine came after all the players left the field for the day. Odunze struggled with the 3-cone Drill and was frustrated by his lack of success with it. Instead of resting on his time and calling it a day, he stayed on the field and ran the 3-cone Drill over and over until he was pleased with his result. This may be a small thing for most people, but I love this attribute in a player. His determination and perseverance put him into the top tier. If his work ethic level is this good and can match his talent level, he has limitless potential.
Stock Down
Javon Baker, UCF
Javon Baker was all the rage coming out of the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl, with a solid performance making him a trendy sleeper in rookie drafts. That momentum and hype took a significant hit this weekend as he had a less-than-successful combine. His size wasn’t an issue at all, he measured in at 6’1 and 202 lbs. His best drill was the Vertical Jump where he put up a solid score of 37.0″. The Vertical Jump was the only drill in which he was graded great, every other drill tested as good or average.
His 40-yard Dash time of 4.54 seconds was disappointing and he skipped the agility testing which wasn’t a great sign. Overall he didn’t have a terrible outing, he was just average. While an average week isn’t enough to damn him, it certainly showed that despite the hype, he was still much further down the draft board than the other options her was approaching.
Jacob Cowing, Arizona
Jacob Cowing was another early offseason sleeper gaining momentum in drafts. All offseason he has been getting compared to Houston Texans star rookie, Tank Dell. Size-wise this is spot on, and therein lies the problem. Dell was tiny coming out of college and the reason most fantasy managers passed on him was because of the long odds that size profile faces on the path to becoming fantasy-relevant. Cowing is 5’8″ and 168 lbs and will face an uphill battle to repeat what Dell did in 2023.
His 40-yard Dash time was blistering and that is a mark in the plus column for Cowing, but as I said before, regardless of how fast he is, the odds of another 5’8″ player turning into a fantasy gem are slim to none. His agility and explosiveness are also far worse than you would expect for a player of his limited size. Cowing is a speed guy who could be a monster threat out of the slot, unfortunately, the hype he is getting from the Dell comparisons is likely going to make him too expensive to provide a solid return on investment.
The RAS Score data is from ras.football and was the result of the hard work of Kent Lee Platte aka Math Bomb.
