Brycen Hopkins shines at the NFL Combine

Brycen Hopkins will be following in the footsteps of his father when he hears his name called during the 2020 NFL Draft in late April. He was the first of two Boilermakers who will be showcasing their skills at the 2020 NFL Combine this year. Hopkins was one of 17 tight ends who participated in the combine and showed he belonged while working out in front of NFL scouts, coaches, and front offices.

Before going onto the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, Hopkins was measured and is now listed at 6’4”, 245 pounds while his hand size was 10 1/8” and his arms were 32 1/8”. These appear to be just a tad below average based on the other tight end prospects in this draft but he is also very athletic which can make up for being a little undersized.

His best result of the day was his 40-yard dash time as he ran a 4.66, which was good for the second-fastest among tight ends who worked out in Indy behind only Albert Okwuegbunam of Missouri. The average 40-yard dash time for a tight end is around 4.70, so Brycen was above average in that regard.

The other test he excelled in was bench press where he pumped out 21 reps of 225 pounds. This placed him tied for fourth among tight ends behind Josiah Deguara, Hunter Bryant and Jared Pinkey who had 25, 23 and 23 reps respectively. The combination of speed and power will undoubtedly appeal to NFL front offices around the league.

Hopkins was in the upper half of tight ends in both the broad jump and the 3 cone drill. His broad jump was 116.0 inches (9.67 feet), which placed him 8th for his position group. He did slightly better in the 3 cone drill as he posted the 6th best time in this drill of 7.25 seconds.

He did not have the best outcomes in the 20-yard shuttle or the vertical jump as he placed 10th in both tests. These are not the most important drills that scouts look at so fans should not read too much into them.

This also applies to the NFL Combine as a whole as there have been prospects who had outstanding performances in Indianapolis but were unable to translate it to the gridiron. There are some prospects did not have very good showings and ended up having very successful careers in the NFL.

Regardless, Brycen’s success should not be overlooked as he could have gotten the attention of many scouts. He revealed earlier this week that he had met with 29 of the 32 teams in the league which is a great sign. The reports I have seen recently have the Bears, Steelers and Colts as the most likely landing spots for the Tennessee native.

The other Boilermaker that is in Indianapolis is Markus Bailey who will work out on Saturday with the DL, EDGE and LB group.

Highlights from Hopkins’ combine performance and information can be found on NFL.com

Who would you like to see Brycen suit up for this fall?