On Friday night, several of the draft's main headliners showed why they are ranked ahead of most of their peers during the running back and offensive linemen on-field portion of the 2020 NFL combine from Indianapolis. And while this year's crop of quarterbacks and receivers is receiving most of the pre-draft hub, the offensive tackles in this year's draft showed why they should also be receiving some attention in the weeks leading up to the draft.
Below you can find some notable 40-yard dash times and a few takeaways from the night. We'll be back with live coverage on Saturday starting at 4 p.m. ET.
RB Jonathan Taylor: 4.39
RB Darrynton Evans: 4.41
RB Raymond Calais: 4.42
RB Anthony McFarland: 4.44
RB Cam Akers: 4.47
RB D'Andre Swift: 4.48
RB Joshua Kelley: 4.49
RB Eno Benjamin: 4.57
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 4.60
RB Zack Moss: 4.65
OT Tristan Wirfs: 4.85
G Danny Pinter: 4.91
OT Ezra Cleveland: 4.93
OT Jack Driscoll: 5.02
OT Terence Steele: 5.03
OT Jedrick Wills: 5.05
OT Saahdiq Charles: 5.05
OT Matt Peart: 5.06
OT Austin Jackson: 5.07
C Cesar Ruiz: 5.08
G Jon Runyan: 5.08
OT Alex Taylor: 5.09
OT Mekhi Becton: 5.10
C Nick Harris: 5.10
G Shane Lemieux: 5.11
OT Andrew Thomas: 5.22
Heading into the combine, Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor was tabbed as the second best running back in CBS Sports' pre-draft rankings. On Friday night, Taylor only strengthened his case to be either the first or second running back selected in this year's draft.
Taylor, who rushed for 6,174 yards and 50 touchdowns during his three seasons with the Badgers, led all running backs by running a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash. Taylor then put together a strong on-field performance that included several impressive catches out of the backfield, an encouraging sign considering Taylor only caught 42 passes at Wisconsin. Taylor also showed his agility, cutback ability and speed in the open field while putting forth arguably the best performance by a running back on Friday night.
While Taylor stood out from the pack, fellow running backs D'Andre Swift and Cam Akers also enjoyed solid showings that should only help their respective draft stocks. Swift, CBS Sports' top running back prospect heading into the combine, was sixth amongst the running backs in the 40, while Akers, the fifth best back in CBS Sports' rankings, finished just ahead of Swift in the 40. Both players also enjoyed solid on-field work, with Swift especially standout out with his seemingly effortless cutbacks and speed in the open field.
Another running back to keep an eye on is Louisiana-Lafayette's Raymond Calais, who complemented his strong 40 time with solid on-field work.
Iowa offensive tackle Tristian Wirfs showed why he came into the draft as one of the top linemen in CBS Sports' prospect rankings. After starting his day by repping 225 pounds 24 times, Wirfs then posted a 36.5-inch vertical jump, the best by a lineman since at least 2003. For an encore, Wirfs topped the field in the 40-yard dash, clocking a time of 4.85.
Oh, Wirfs also tallied a 10-foot-1 broad jump, tying the combine record for a lineman. His performance reinforced the notion that Wirfs is a consensus first half of the first round pick. Hours before his performance on Friday, CBS Sports draft analyst Josh Edwards, in his brand new mock draft, had Wirfs going to the Dolphins with the 18th overall pick in the draft.
While he was unable to complete his on-field work due to an injury, Louisville's Mekhi Becton made headlines by running his 40-yard dash in 5.10 seconds, a very impressive time for the 364-pounder. Other offensive linemen that enjoyed solid evenings included Boise State's Ezra Cleveland, Washington's Nick Harris, Oregon's Shane Lemieux, and Michigan's Jon Runyan. Cleveland had one of the best 40 times run by a linemen, while Harris' constant motor was on display during the on-field drills.
Relive Friday night's action of the combine by checking out or live blog below. Saturday's coverage of the combine starts at 4 p.m. ET, and you can watch on NFL Network or stream on fuboTV (Try for free).
Looks like that's it for the on-field work. We'll be back tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET with the front-seven defenders. You can check back in the space above for our takeaway of today's performances from the RBs and OLs. Thanks for joining us tonight!
Ke'Shawn Vaughn with a nice over-the-shoulder catch.
RBs now working on some deep routes up the sidelines.
Jonathan Taylor just lost a shoe trying to get into the route and had no shot at catching the ball.
McFarland able to handle a tough pass well, but Moss can only get one hand on a pass that was too high and away from him. Not a great run of passes here from these QBs.
Evans bobbles an easy pass after CEH is overthrown by a mile.
RBs now running flare routes. Akers with another strong catch and turn up field. Eno Benjamin can't haul in a ball that looked off the mark.
Akers with another catch on the swing route.
D'Andre Swift with a great move to get by the man on the option route but couldn't haul it in. Jonathan Taylor however snags another ball away from his body.
Tony Jones has shown a nice knack for making clean catches tonight. The ball hits his gloves, and that's that.
Joshua Kelley has to deal with a poorly placed ball and still hauls it in low and away from his body. Nice catch for him there.
Hasty hits the ground on his option route.
Akers with another nice catch on the option route drill. He's having a really strong day.
Swift a good job looking the ball into his hands. Jonathan Taylor with a smooth catch on the quick out as well.
Swift looking smooth on another route, but J.J. Taylor drops another ball.
Edwards-Helaire just looks like a natural in the passing game with the way he runs routes.
Eno Benjamin making a nice extended catch away from his body on the angle drill.
Small thing, but I like how J.J. Taylor ran out the drill even though he was unable to snare in the pass.
D'Andre Swift showing excellent burst after the catch. Jonathan Taylor gets a bit of a high ball but still snags it without issue.
Same for Lamical Perine. Scottie Phillips has to deal with a low pass but still makes it look easy.
LeMay with a strong catch away from his body.
This receiving drill is probably what Dobbins regrets missing most. Wants to show people he can catch the ball after a few tough Fiesta Bowl drops. Will have to wait until OSU's Pro Day.
Yeah safe to say he backed up his stellar college stats.
Wow. Jonathan Taylor's official 40 time comes in at 4.39 seconds. At 226 pounds.
Nice spin move from AJ Dillon.
