SI MMQB: The Combine Reset

What did we learn in Indianapolis and how it can reshape the 2026 NFL draft

Welcome back to The MMQB newsletter. The four-day NFL combine is now over. Leaving Indianapolis, league executives and coaches have more insight into their plans for the 2026 season. The draft direction and free-agency plans are being finalized. Now, let the smokescreen season begin as prospects are being scrutinized between now and April's NFL draft. Albert Breer gives some advice to franchises, noting that this year's draft has the kind of personnel the Lions had in their 2023 haul.  The combine has recalibrated the draft, and some trades have been executed as the franchise looks to tweak rosters. On to the newsletter. Albert Breer's Notes  Lon Horwedel/Imagn Images Albert Breer's Takeaways: Heeding the Lessons of the Lions' 2023 Draft Class By Albert Breer The 2026 NFL combine, my 18th, is now in the books. And we have a little bit of everything coming out of the week on the ground in the Circle City. Detroit Lions My overarching thought on this year's draft class actually relates to the Lions' 2023 draft class. Follow me on this one. Three years ago, Detroit GM Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell stunned the NFL world by taking running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick and off-ball linebacker Jack Campbell with the 18th selection. The conversation wasn't that the Lions got bad players. Rather, it was that, amid a league becoming increasingly focused on players at premium positions, particularly in the first round of the NFL draft, Detroit's approach was entirely different. Gibbs is now a three-time Pro Bowler, and Campbell made first-team All-Pro in 2025. Meanwhile, the premium-position guys available at the time to the Lions in that range show what sort of crapshoot the draft can be: Edge rushers Lukas Van Ness and Will McDonald IV, tackle Broderick Jones, corners Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Christian Gonzalez and Deonte Banks, and receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison. Maybe Detroit would've ended up with Gonzalez or JSN instead. Maybe not. Either way, Gibbs and Campbell were the best football players on the board for the Lions, and strong cultural fits for their program. The same went for tight end Sam LaPorta and tweener DB Brian Branch, whom the Lions landed in the second round. So how do those four Detroit picks relate to this year's draft? Think of Notre Dame do-everything back Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State off-ball linebacker Sonny Styles and all-world safety Caleb Downs, or even Oregon's uber-athletic tight end Kenyon Sadiq. All of them are really good football players, and probably surer things than some of the tackles, edge guys and receivers that'll be selected around them in this year's draft. And when those guys are sitting there on the board in late April, it'll be interesting to see if teams heed the lessons that the Lions' 2023 draft class could give all of them. READ MORE FROM BREER Kirby Lee/Imagn Images QBs Among the Prospects Who Helped Themselves the Most at the NFL Combine By Daniel Flick The week, perhaps the longest of the year for scouts, executives and media members, has reached an end. There are no more 40-yard dashes to run, no more cones to run around, no more meetings to attend and no more questions to answer—for now. The NFL combine came, saw and conquered Indianapolis once more, delivering a week full of valuable information for teams with the 2026 NFL Draft on the horizon. Pro days, official 30 visits and private workouts may now commence. But some left Indianapolis different than when they arrived. There were risers and fallers, winners and losers, and several in between. Here's what we learned from another week spent in the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium and everywhere between and around. READ MORE FROM FLICK Kirby Lee/Imagn Images NFL Combine Risers and Fallers 2026: Intel on the Offensive Linemen Who Stood Out By Daniel Flick After a Saturday centered around flash, flare and sizzle, Sunday at the NFL scouting combine offered a heavy dose of grit and physicality. Offensive linemen split into two groups for athletic testing and position drills full of side-shuffles, kick-slides and several other footwork-based drills in the Indianapolis Colts' home stadium. The combine's final day of on-field work offered a glimpse at the future of the NFL's offensive line. Several top 100 prospects participated in drills, and a handful boosted their stock with only pro days and team meetings separating them from the draft. Here's who's rising and falling along the offensive line after Sunday in Indianapolis. READ MORE FROM FLICK Cody Scanlan/Imagn Images Who Is Gennings Dunker? What to Know About the Iowa OL Who Went Viral at the NFL Combine By Mike Kadlick Gennings Dunker took the football world by storm on Sunday afternoon by working out in front of 32 NFL teams from Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium with what Rich Eisen deemed "the greatest mullet in the history of the combine" flowing from his head. But he's so much more than that. The 22-year-old Lena, Ill. native measured in at 6' 5", 319 pounds this week (a frame built for Sundays), was a first-team All-Big Ten electee this past season, and is a consensus second-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Oh yeah—and the most on-brand fact of them all? He won back-to-back hay toss competitions during his time in Iowa City. Here's everything else you need to know about former Hawkeyes offensive lineman Gennings Dunker. READ MORE FROM KADLICK Kirby Lee/Imagn Images Lions-Texans Trade Grades: Houston Flips Draft Picks, O-Lineman for Stud RB By Mike Kadlick The NFL trade market is already working overtime one week out from the start of the league's legal tampering period. According to multiple reports, the Lions are sending running back David Montgomery to the Texans in exchange for fourth- and seventh-round picks and offensive lineman Juice Scruggs. The move marks the Texans' second deal of the day after they traded tackle Tytus Howard to the Browns for a fifth-round selection. While it was floated this weekend by ESPN that Montgomery "wants out" of Detroit, the 28-year-old seemed to try shutting down the rumor with a tweet on Sunday morning. However, he's now headed to his third NFL team since being selected by the Bears in the third round of the 2019 draft. Here's what the Montgomery trade means for the Lions and the Texans. READ MORE FROM KADLICK Troy Taormina/Imagn Images Browns-Texans Trade Grades: C.J. Stroud Loses Another Starting Offensive Lineman By Mike Kadlick The Texans and Browns have started the post-NFL combine week off with a bang. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the two sides have agreed to terms on a trade that will send right tackle Tytus Howard from Houston to Cleveland in exchange for a fifth-round pick. In addition, Howard will receive a new three-year, $63 million contract extension.  Here's a look at what the move means for both clubs. READ MORE FROM KADLICK Around the league • Michael Fabiano: Five Best Fantasy Football Landing Spots For Malik Willis in 2026 • Daniel Flick: NFL Combine Risers and Fallers Day 3: Jeremiyah Love Cements Spot As Top RB Get the print edition of Sports Illustrated delivered to your door Click to subscribe! We may receive compensation for some links to products and services included in this email. Sports Publishing Solutions Inc. 625 Broadway, 10th floor New York, NY. 10012 You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the MMQB newsletter. You can unsubscribe here . Privacy Policy – Terms & Conditions © 2026 Sports Publishing Solutions Inc. All rights reserved. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. All betting and gambling content included in the MMQB newsletter is intended for individuals 21+ (18+ in DC, KY, NH, RI, and WY). 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