A few years back, I thought it would be neat to make predictions on where NFL draftees would end up getting drafted based on how they did at the NFL Combine. I watch college football and know of the big name players, but I really don’t know about all these college players who are trying to make it in the NFL.

The NFL Combine is so popular nowadays, I thought I would try to pick the round one player per position (except for quarterback) would get drafted based on his performance at the combine. I try to pick someone that performed well that you haven’t heard of before and avoid the famous obvious people.

Today, I will give my offensive predictions. Thursday, I will give my defensive predictions and then on Monday I’ll give a summary of how I did.

Let’s get started:

Running Back – There weren’t a lot of speedsters out of the running backs that performed at the combine, so I looked for an overall good performance. I’m looking at David Wilson from Virginia Tech. He is 5′ 10″ and 206 pounds, decent size for an NFL running back. His 40 time was a 4.49, but he has incredible leg power as he popped out position bests in the vertical jump (41 inches) and broad jump (11 feet). His 20 yard shuttle was excellent, but the 3 cone drill a little suspect. Based on the devaluing of running backs, I could see him going in the third round.

Wide Receiver – If you are a receiver that runs in the 4.4’s or below in the 40, you have a great chance of getting drafted. Chris Owusu is a 6′, 196 pound receiver from Stanford. The guy ran a 4.36 in the 40, plus showed great leg explosiveness with a broad jump of 129 inches and vertical of 40.5. His 20 yard shuttle was a 4.11 and had decent strength bench pressing 225 19 times. Because of his size and the fact I’ve never heard of him, I think he’ll get drafted late fourth round, early fifth.

Tight End – Athletic tight ends are really attractive to NFL teams nowadays. They don’t come more athletic than James Hanna from Oklahoma. Hanna had the best 40 (4.49) and vertical jump (36) among tight ends. He also has great size standing 6′ 4″ and 252 pounds. Coming from the same school as former first rounder, Jermaine Gresham, and posting better numbers from the combine, this guy might hit pay dirt. I’m going to go third round for Mr. Hanna.

Tackle – Tackles need to show athleticism, but I think the emphasis is more on the speed and bench press. Let’s look at another Oklahoma player, Donald Stephenson standing 6′ 6″ and 312 pounds. This is good size for a tackle. He ran the fastest 40 (4.94) and had the best jumps of both the broad jump (114) and vertical jump (35.5). The issue is the bench press because he only had 19 reps at 225. The previous two combines, one other player had fewer than 20 reps, Selvish Capers had 19 as well, and he was drafted in the seventh round. Stephenson is faster and has better leg power, so I’m going to say fifth round.

Guard – Guards aren’t super valued and rarely get drafted in the top 3. I’m going the other way with this pick and will tell you someone who won’t be drafted. I think that player is Johnnie Troutman. I hope he does get drafted, but he ran a 5.67 in the 40 and his 20 yard shuttle was 5 seconds. Despite good size and bench pressing a bunch, guards who had numbers like his in the 40 and 20 shuttle did not get drafted. I hope Troutman can buck that trend.

Center – There weren’t many centers I had numbers on. Once again, centers aren’t drafted extremely high unless they are studs. I’m going to pick David Molk of Michigan. The guy stands 6′ 1″ and weighs 298. He did one event at the combine, the bench press, and crushed it 41 times. Based on that alone, I’m assuming someone will place a late round flier on the guy. I will say sixth round for David Molk.

I understand there is a lot more into it then just what they do at the combine: team they played for, competition, heart, etc. Since they run the combine, we might as well take advantage of what people do there so enjoy these picks, leave your comments below and let’s see how they do.