National Football League

2022 NFL Combine: Chris Olave, Malik Willis, Breece Hall top list of winners

Updated Mar. 9, 2022 1:45 p.m. ET

By RJ Young
FOX Sports College Football Writer

With the 2022 NFL Combine in the books, I thought it was time to take a look at the biggest winners and losers following the Underwear Olympics.

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Winner: Ohio State WR Chris Olave

Perhaps the most polished wideout in the NFL Draft has legitimate 4.3 speed — barely — at 4.39. However, Olave’s top-end speed is now in the 1% of the fastest men to play this game. If teams needed a reason to value him ahead of other wideouts, such as Alabama’s Jameson Williams, Olave has given them one. The combine also made clearer why Olave remained ahead of Williams on the depth chart at Ohio State.

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Winner: Iowa State RB Breece Hall

A work-horse back with sub-4.4 speed, elite explosion and the ability to put an offense on his back, Hall left the combine as RB1. On top of that, Hall is the first unanimous All-American in school history and helped lead the Cyclones to their first major bowl victory against Oregon in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl.

Hall ran 4.39, while Kenneth Walker III ran 4.38. But Hall vertically leaped 40 inches, while Walker hit just 34. Hall also had the second-longest broad jump of any running back. After a career that ended with 3,941 rush yards for 5.5 yards per carry, I give Hall the edge over Walker, who rushed for 1,636 yards last season. (Add to this the knowledge that former Baylor running back Abram Smith rushed for 1,601 in 2021.)

Loser: Notre Dame RB Kyren Williams

Williams ran slowly in the 40 (4.65 seconds) for a player Brian Kelly once claimed he nearly asked to play slot receiver, rather than running back. What makes this even more difficult to fathom is that Williams didn't weigh as much as he might've appeared while running over defenders in South Bend. He weighed just 194 pounds and measured 5-foot-9. UGA outside linebacker Travon Walker ran 4.51 at 6-foot-5, 272 pounds.

Consider that South Dakota State back Pierre Strong rushed for 1,673 yards at 7 yards per carry and ran the fastest 40 of any tailback at the combine (4.37), and you can see why Williams has work to do at Notre Dame's Pro Day.

Winner: Liberty QB Malik Willis

He is the favorite (-149) to be the first quarterback off the board in April, according to FOX Bet. Willis started 23 games at Liberty, going 17-6 with more than 5,100 pass yards, 1,800 rush yards and 74 total TDs.

He also is a recorded Good Samaritan and boasts a healthy understanding of self.

"Somebody’s always gonna think you’re trash," Willis said. "Everybody’s gonna have an opinion of you, so if you focus so hard on whatever everybody’s opinion is of you, you’re never gonna be happy. I want to be happy, so I’m not gonna think about it. You can say what you want to. I’m going to let the opinion of people I trust and can respect affect me."

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Winner: Cincinnati WR Alec Pierce

The Reggie Cleveland All-Star hit 4.41 in the 40 and 40.5 inches in the vertical leap at 6-foot-3, 211 pounds. I imagine he's nicknamed John Wick at his local Y.

Billy Hoyle is over there somewhere yelling "I TOLD Y'ALL!" Now all I want is to throw it off the glass for him at the first annual 2-on-2 For Brotherhood Basketball Tournament.

Loser: Ole Miss QB Matt Corral

Corral suffered an injury at the Sugar Bowl that could be aggravated in workouts. But he is scheduled to perform at Ole Miss’ Pro Day.

That begs the question: Why not put on for the many scouts in attendance at the league’s annual company convention? Corral could've moved to QB1 with a good showing in Indy.

Winner: Virginia TE Jelani Woods

At 6-foot-7, Woods ran 4.61 in the 40, pumped out 24 reps on bench press and caught 44 passes for 598 yards with eight touchdowns at UVA in 2021. He's a bigger, stronger, faster Luke Cage (though he's not heavier — Cage weighs 425 pounds).

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Winner: 12 OLs running sub-five seconds in the 40

That's the most since 2003. I can easily imagine many of these 300-plus-pound men running downfield to pick off smaller humans on a running back’s or receiver’s way to the end zone. And that is a terrifying thought. And there were 12 of them at the combine alone. Sheesh.

Winner: Three more large humans

Alabama OT Evan Neal is 350 pounds that moves like 310.

UGA DT Jordan Davis, at 341 pounds, ran a faster 40-yard dash (4.78) than each of the past three QBs to win the Super Bowl: Matt Stafford (4.81), Tom Brady (5.28) and Patrick Mahomes (4.78).

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At 6-foot-8, 384 pounds, Minnesota OT Daniel Faalele — the heaviest player at the combine since Wisconsin's Aaron Gibson in 1999 — had the largest hand recorded at the combine since 1999. If pro football doesn't work out for Faalele, Vince McMahon better give the man a call.

Winner: North Dakota State WR Christian Watson and Kalon Barnes

Watson ran 4.36 in the 40, broad jumped 11-foot-4 and has the kind of hand size — 10.25 inches — that reminds me of the catcher's mitt Clint Courtney used to catch knuckle balls from Hoyt Wilhelm. Watson could be NDSU’s third first-round selection since 2016.

The Bison could also become the second FCS program with three first-round picks in a 10-year span. (Jackson state had Lester Odom in '93 and Sylvester Morris and Rashard Anderson in 2000.)

Also worth noting, Baylor's Kalon Barnes ran the fastest 40 by a DB in combine history on Sunday (4.23).

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The No. 1 Ranked Show with RJ Young." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young, and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.