2018 NFL Combine: 6 Players With the Most to Gain

Kalen Ballage, RB, Arizona State

A few weeks ago, NFL.com quoted one anonymous director of college scouting that picked Ballage to become the hot name following the combine. Last month's Senior Bowl may have helped influence that prediction. Ballage measured in as the tallest running back (6'2") and was very fast in practice. He also had the biggest hands and longest arms among all running backs at that event.

Back in July during a practice at Arizona State, Ballage was clocked via a GPS tracking technology used by the Sun Devils at Tyreek Hill-level speed.

However, when outstanding athleticism fails to translate into on-field production, it should spark a few warning flares. And unfortunately, that's the case with Ballage. Over four seasons, he averaged a modest 161.3 touches yet was able to eke out 1,000 yards from scrimmage only once. That came during a junior season in which he scored 15 touchdowns, 8 of which came in one game. Yes, eight touchdowns in one game.

In the same junior season, a pair of late-season 100-yard receiving games helped to inflate Ballage's yards per reception up to 10.7. But he barely broke 90 receiving yards on the 20 catches he made all of last year, earning a lowly 4.6 yards per reception.

It's also concerning that Ballage never separated himself at Arizona State to command the vast majority of the backfield touches. The offense featured a two-back rotation with Ballage and bruiser Demario Richard (who’s also in this draft class) as well a quarterback that ran 138 times last year.

For all his physical gifts and flashes of production, Ballage can look like a hot mess when coaches turn on the tape. Combine results, landing spot, and draft capital are all going to play a major factor in deciding what looks like an extremely wide range of outcomes for the former Sun Devil.