• EDGE Nolan Smith, Georgia: Smith had dropped to a borderline second-rounder in PFF's simulator, but his strong showing in Indianapolis now sees him going around Pick No. 26.
• QB Tanner McKee, Stanford: Once a frequent top-20 pick, McKee is now struggling to see his name come off the board inside the top 35.
Estimated Reading Time: 2 mins
The NFL Scouting Combine always leads to some discussion about draft risers and fallers as players go through athletic drills. That gives us the opportunity to dig into PFF’s Mock Draft Simulator to highlight players who are rising and falling since the event finished last weekend.
Risers
EDGE Nolan Smith, Georgia
Smith dropped from a top-12 pick to a borderline second-rounder between January and the start of the NFL combine, but his strong showing in Indianapolis now sees him going around Pick No. 26 on average. Despite being undersized, Smith produced 90.6 and 82.4 PFF run-defense grades in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
CB Cam Smith, South Carolina
Once a borderline top-10 pick in the tool, Smith was going as late as Pick No. 72 in late February. Post-combine, he has climbed again, coming off the board around Pick No. 30 on average. Smith’s best season in college came in 2021 when he allowed just 15 receptions on 217 snaps in coverage.
CB Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State
A steady riser so far in 2023, Forbes has entered the first-round conversation after his combine showing. He’s now off the board around Pick No. 34 on average. Forbes is coming off a 2022 season where he recorded a combined 13 pass breakups and interceptions.
Fallers
DI Bryan Bresee, Clemson
Bresee has been on a tumble down the board in the Mock Draft Simulator since the turn of the year. At the start of January, he was being drafted regularly within the top seven or eight picks, but by mid-February that had dropped to between Pick Nos. 15 and 18. Since the combine, he has fallen to Pick No. 20 on average.
WR Jordan Addison, USC
Before the combine, Addison was coming off the board around Pick No. 17, but since then he has slipped down the board a couple of slots. While he goes around Pick No. 22 now, he can be found as late as Pick No. 25 in a quarter of drafts.
QB Tanner McKee, Stanford
Once a frequent top-20 pick, McKee is now struggling to see his name come off the board inside the top 35. Around Pick No. 47 is where he’s being drafted most often. McKee had just eight turnover-worthy plays last year but also recorded only 32 big-time throws over the past two seasons combined.
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