Nfl Combine 2026: What to watch as prospects head to Lucas Oil Stadium
The nfl combine 2026 begins Thursday, Feb. 26, in Indianapolis and runs through Sunday, March 1, delivering four days of athletic testing, medical checks and position drills that will shape evaluations before the 2026 NFL Draft.
Nfl Combine 2026: dates, times and where it will play out
Live coverage is scheduled to begin at 3 p. m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 26 and to run until 5 p. m. ET on Sunday, March 1, with events staged at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts, in Indianapolis; the combine has been held in Indianapolis annually since 1987.
How many prospects and how to watch
NFL. com lists 319 invited prospects for the event this year, and one other outlet references 318 prospects in Indianapolis this week, a discrepancy in overall invite counts. Streaming coverage and on-field analysis will be available on NFL+ and across the NFL Network, with content on drills, live press conferences and breakdowns—NFL+ promotion includes Microsoft Copilot as a presenting partner.
Names and storylines scouts will track
Several high-profile invitees named for attention include Fernando Mendoza, Jeremiyah Love, Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles; other prospects drawing pre-combine focus come from a separate set of rankings and previews that highlight players such as Thompson, Tate, Thieneman, Simpson, Bain, Mesidor and Cisse.
Specific testing and medical questions to resolve
Thompson arrives as a speed candidate: he ran a 10. 18-second 100-meter dash in high school, led the FBS with five catches of 50-plus yards in 2025, and is projected by a draft expert to time the 40-yard dash at 4. 28 seconds while also likely measuring about 5 feet, 9 inches and around 170 pounds. Others listed as possible sub-4. 35 performers include Barion Brown (LSU), Chris Hilton (LSU), Deion Burks (Oklahoma), Eric Rivers (Georgia Tech), Desmond Reid (Pittsburgh) and Malik Benson (Oregon).
Positional and medical narratives that could change draft boards
Tate is currently viewed as a favorite to be the first wide receiver taken, with a projected 40 time closer to 4. 4 than 4. 5; Thieneman is noted for scheme versatility that can show up in athletic testing numbers and influence a top-25 projection. For quarterbacks and other positions, the combine will verify height, weight and hand size for prospects like Simpson, and his medicals and passing-workouts will be pivotal after a late-season issue—team interviews are expected to go well for him because he is a coach's son.
Edge, interior rushers and injury questions
Bain had dominant moments on his 2025 tape but remains polarizing because of a non-traditional body type and shorter arms, with some teams viewing him as an interior three-tech rather than an edge rusher; his verified measurements and testing could shift that view. Mesidor, often labeled the "other" Miami pass rusher, played out of Bain's shadow this season but comes to Indianapolis with multiple foot injuries on his medical history, making his combine medicals critical.
Film, rankings and draft-room chatter before drills start
Draft analysis and rankings updates are already rolling: Daniel Jeremiah updated his prospect rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft with three new players and cited a tight end among the biggest risers, Charles Davis highlighted seven HBCU Legacy Bowl standouts, and analysts including Bucky Brooks, Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr published early mock projections and positional breakdowns ahead of combine week.
Travel disruption, perspective pieces and what to expect on the ground
Albert Breer says he was stranded on the East Coast and unable to get to the combine because many team personnel and agents who live in the I-95 corridor were being drilled by the Blizzard of 2026; most players, however, do not train in the Northeast, so getting prospects to Indianapolis should be less affected even as the event may have a different feel this year. Breer also worked with Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network and Todd McShay of the Ringer to assemble pre-combine takeaways, noting the class may lack top-tier freakish prototypes but offers depth, drama and unpredictability—particularly at receiver and edge rusher.
Additional pre-combine material includes a long-form list of 21 prospects that one expert singled out to watch in Indianapolis and a reminder that position groups will appear on designated days within the Feb. 26–March 1 window; the day-by-day schedule is set but not reproduced here.
Photo detail in a preseason piece notes that Zachariah Branch made 81 receptions during his lone season at Georgia after transferring from USC; that preseason item carried a photo credit to Chris Graythen / Getty Images. One draft writer says he plans a set of takeaways plus a bonus section to navigate non-draft topics over the next seven days.
Next on the calendar: drills and position sessions begin Thursday, Feb. 26 at Lucas Oil Stadium, with live coverage starting at 3 p. m. ET and continuing through the end of the combine at 5 p. m. ET on Sunday, March 1.
