Top 10 NFL Combine Snubs include Tua Tagovailoa's brother and a handful of running back prospects

Every year there are great NFL Draft prospects who get snubbed when it comes time to receive their NFL Combine invite. From Chargers running back Austin Ekeler to All-Pro Eagles safety Kevin Byard, some players just get overlooked heading into NFL Draft season. Who are this year's top NFL Combine snubs that missed the cut […]

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor
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Nov 18, 2023; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa (3) intentionally grounds the ball resulting in a safety against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half at SECU Stadium.
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Every year there are great NFL Draft prospects who get snubbed when it comes time to receive their NFL Combine invite. From Chargers running back Austin Ekeler to All-Pro Eagles safety Kevin Byard, some players just get overlooked heading into NFL Draft season.

Who are this year's top NFL Combine snubs that missed the cut to be a part of the 321 players invited? Let's dive in.

NFL Combine Snubs

  1. Grayson Murphy, EDGE UCLA
  2. Taulia Tagovailoa, QB Maryland
  3. Carter Bradley, QB South Alabama
  4. Joshua Cephus, WR UTSA
  5. Omar Speights, LB LSU
  6. Carson Steele, RB UCLA
  7. Jabari Small, RB Tennessee
  8. Blake Watson, RB Memphis
  9. Isaac Rex, TE BYU
  10. Austin McNamara, P Texas Tech

Grayson Murphy, EDGE UCLA

Grayson Murphy is the most egregious snub of them all. Murphy's twin brother Gabriel and (of course) their UCLA teammate Laiatu Latu both received invites. When I interviewed Latu at the Senior Bowl, he spoke highly of both Grayson and Gabriel Murphy as crucial parts of UCLA's NASCAR pass rush package.

Grayson had slightly lower rate stats than his brother Gabriel, but all three UCLA edge defenders posted top ten pass rush pressure rates among this year's NFL Draft class. Grayson Murphy is the easiest slam dunk pick to find NFL success among all the NFL Combine snubs this year.

Taulia Tagovailoa, QB Maryland

Yes, Taulia Tagovailoa is the brother of Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But Taulia is more than just a name. Last fall he set the record for most career passing yards in Big Ten conference history. It was quite surprising not finding his name on the NFL Combine Invites list, especially when he made plays like the one in this post below regularly in college.

Best of the Rest

Carter Bradley, QB Alabama was a Senior Bowl participant who performed well on the second and third days of practice down in Mobile, Alabama. Many believed he would be invited to the NFL Combine after that week.

Joshua Cephus, WR UTSA is likely being black balled here due to some off-field concerns. He was clearly the best wide receiver at the Hula Bowl. Cephus finished his career holding both the single-season and all-time receiving records for UTSA.

Omar Speights tallied nearly 400 tackles in his time playing for the LSU Tigers. It's unbelievable the SEC veteran linebacker wasn't invited.

Carson Steele, Jabari Small, and Blake Watson were all immensely productive running backs for top notch schools with great histories of sending playmakers to the league. Steele was an especially surprising absence given that he posted over 1700 yards from scrimmage in 2022 and nearly 4000 total yards throughout his college career.

At least one of these NFL Combine snubs likely finds their way onto a roster and succeeds. Hopefully this league oversight puts a chip on the shoulder for every one of these NFL Draft hopefuls as they prepare to prove themselves in the coming months.

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