Who said the NFL scouting combine is just for draft prospects?
Some of the biggest names in the NFL — Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Maxx Crosby, to name a few — will be the focus of discussions between coaches, executives, agents and media when the combine gets underway Tuesday.
With the No. 1 pick essentially set in stone, rising draft stocks actually might take a backseat to setting the stage for free agency, franchise tag and trade frenzy.
Here is a look at eight storylines for the week:
QB carousel
Most head coaches and general managers meet the media Tuesday and Wednesday.
Will Rodgers retire or reunite with new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy?
Are the Ravens close, after weeks of talks, to getting an extension done with Jackson to lower his $74.5 million salary cap charge in 2026?
Will Kyler Murray (Cardinals) and Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins) be released at huge dead salary cap costs if they can’t be traded?
Do the Colts have a Plan B if hard-line negotiator Daniel Jones pushes things too far while recovering from a torn Achilles?
It might not be 2023 No. 4 pick Anthony Richardson if he requests a trade, as some expect.
Is Kirk Cousins going to be released by the Falcons to start a final chapter elsewhere?
How much is Packers free agent Malik Willis worth on the market?
Are backups Mac Jones (49ers), Tanner McKee (Eagles) and Davis Mills (Texans) available in trades?
Better to receiver
Two years ago, teams were splitting hairs between receivers Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze.
Is it going to be that way again with Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon?
It could be pick-your-flavor (size, speed, route-running, hands, etc.) unless one of the three separates from the pack over the next week.
NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout, gave top-three-round grades to 19 receivers.
The teams in the receiver market could change over the next couple of weeks based on what happens with Brian Thomas Jr. (Jaguars), A.J. Brown (Eagles), D.J. Moore (Bears), Brandon Aiyuk (49ers) and Keon Coleman (Bills).
Mad Maxx
With all due respect to the receivers listed above, Crosby is the biggest name on the trade block.
Crosby is also at the center of the NFL’s tanking debate after he angrily left the Raiders when he was shut down against his wishes (for injury protection) at the end of last season.
Is the relationship salvageable?
Game of tag
Receiver George Pickens (Cowboys) and tight end Kyle Pitts (Falcons) are going to be franchise tagged to buy more time in extension talks.
Will running back Breece Hall (Jets) or linebacker Devin Lloyd (Jaguars) be tagged?
Will the Colts be so extreme as to use both the transition tag and the franchise tag on Jones and receiver Alec Pierce?
Fresh starts
Two of the 14 winningest coaches of all time — McCarthy and John Harbaugh (Giants) — are in new places.
Two franchises defined by their last head coaches — Steelers (Mike Tomlin) and Ravens (Harbaugh) — begin new eras.
Robert Saleh (Titans) and Kevin Stefanski (Falcons) get second chances.
In all, 10 teams changed head coaches and 21 changed offensive coordinators.
Mendoza Mania
It was hard to knock anything about Fernando Mendoza’s play at Indiana last season.
In the search for something, critics poked fun at the Heisman Trophy winner’s high-enthusiasm, family- and faith-based, “nerdy” on-field interviews.
So, how does he handle the big media crowd that he will face Friday?
And the inevitability of some coaches trying to make him uncomfortable during private formal interviews?
Mendoza will not throw for scouts until his pro day.
Will he take meetings with teams other than the Raiders (No. 1 pick) and Jets (No. 2)?
Will Raiders general manager John Spytek rule out accepting a Godfather trade offer?
QB2 in RD1?
There hasn’t been a first round where the only quarterback taken was No. 1 since 2001 (Michael Vick).
What looked like a promising quarterback class entering last season plummeted when Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Penn State’s Drew Allar and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier regressed. Add in a broken ankle for Allar.
Alabama’s Ty Simpson has only 15 career starts (all last season).
He is the consensus No. 2 quarterback.
Can he interview and throw well enough to sneak into the back end of the first round (beginning at No. 16 with the Jets)?
How high is too high?
Let the debate on the value of non-premium positions (running back and safety) continue.
Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love is the best non-quarterback offensive prospect.
There have been five running backs drafted with top 10 picks since 2017 to varied results, but Ashton Jeanty (No. 6 in 2025) underwhelmed as a rookie.
Will that hurt Love?
Ohio State’s Caleb Downs might be the best defensive prospect.
The last safety drafted within the top 10 was Jamal Adams in 2017.
Minkah Fitzpatrick and Kyle Hamilton paid the price.
Who has the edge?
If you prefer been-there-done-that film, there are pass rushers for you — led by Texas Tech’s David Bailey (14.5 sacks last season) and Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. (9.5).
If you prefer potential and projections, there is Ohio State’s Arvell Reese, who started just one season.
Reese spent most of his career at off-ball linebacker (there’s positional value again) but is projected as a full-time edge rusher in the NFL.
Micah Parsons made that same NFL adjustment seamlessly.
Others have tried and failed.
Reese, Bailey and Bain could be drafted No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 in any order.
