Biggest risers and fallers from the 2023 NFL Combine

Tight ends

Old Dominion's Zack Kuntz

Riser: Zack Kuntz, Old Dominion

This is one of the easier choices on this entire list. How could it not be Old Dominion’s Zack Kuntz? He was just one-hundredth of a second in the 40 and four-hundredths in the short shuttle away from sweeping the board for tight ends. So, to quickly bring up the numbers for this guy at 6-7, 255 – 4.55 in the 40, a 40-inch vert, a 10-8, broad jump, a 6.87 three-cone, a 4.12 short shuttle and 23 reps on the bench press.

In terms of the on-field drills, I thought he could have gotten out of his breaks a little bit quicker maybe. But he is coming off an undisclosed injury, where watching it again, he got his leg twisted underneath a tackler – so either an MCL sprain or an ankle probably – maybe still getting back to 100% confidence, being able to plant off that foot.

Other than that, he consistently extended away from his frame and showed soft hands, along with instantly tucking it away, which was apparent with how easily he made it through the gauntlet. To be such an athletic outlier with high-level production when given a chance to contribute after transferring from Penn State – albeit against slightly lesser competition – even in a very strong TE class to be fair, this kid may have thrown his name in the ring as a surprise pick late on Day Two.

For as crafty as he is already and how well he catches the ball, Iowa’s Sam LaPorta running a 4.59 at 245 pounds, having top three numbers in both the agility drills and how fluid he looked on the field, not even breaking a sweat it felt like, that definitely helped him.

And, of course, just seeing the monstrous measurements of Georgia’s Darnell Washington running a 4.64 at 264 pounds, with the largest wingspan for TEs at the combine (83 3/8 inches) and that sick one-handed grab on a goal-line fade, it puts you in awe. But maybe most impressive: his 4.08 in the short shuttle was third-best at the combine, regardless of position, and the two guys ahead of him were both less than 200 pounds.

Cincinnati's Josh Whyle

Fallers: Josh Whyle and Leonard Taylor, Cincinnati

There’s not really one guy I feel worthy of being outlined here in a negative way, but since I did want to mention somebody at each position, I will go with a combination of the two Cincinnati TEs.

Josh Whyle’s 4.69 in the 40 was below average for the group, along with having the fourth-worst vertical jump at 33.5 inches, and he was tied for the worst broad at 9-7. Also, having only 31½ -inch arms at 6-6½ isn’t great, either. Running routes and catching the ball, he was thankfully able to make up for some of that.

Meanwhile, Leonard Taylor didn’t take part in any of the testing, but his on-field workout simply wasn’t very good. He wasn’t crisp on a couple of breaks, and just the way he addressed the football down the field was poor. The first pass on a slot fade route slipped right through his hands, because he didn’t keep his pinkies together, and the same thing happened on the other side of the field on more of a wheel route later.

To end the day, he made a nice-looking pirouette catch on a goal-line fade, but unfortunately didn’t survive the ground, because he didn’t pull the ball into his body in time. During the gauntlet was actually where he looked best in that regard.

Also, while trying to secure the title as TE1, especially with Utah's Dalton Kincaid not partaking, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer couldn’t really put up any of the athletic marks you’d like to see. A 4.7 flat in the 40 and just a 32.5-inch vert aren’t great endorsements.