The 2026 NFL Combine is underway, and the prospects across the country are trying their best to boost their draft stock. However, as top invitees like Fernando Mendoza and Caleb Downs declined invitations, the former Chargers DT Breiden Fehoko feels that, as a result, the soul of the evaluation process is being lost.

NFL veteran Breiden Fehoko feels that the Combine was supposed to be the crucial platform that decided the player’s future, but now has become a joke. He wanted the NFL to invite talents that truly value it and are not looking at it as an option.

“Stop inviting dudes to the combine who won’t test,” Breiden Fehoko wrote on X. “There’s hundreds of hungry dudes out there who are starving for a sliver of opportunity to test at the combine. It’s become a joke. The combine used to be the biggest interview of your life. Now it’s become a beauty pageant.”

Fehoko’s outburst of frustration came after projected top NFL Draft picks like Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State DB Caleb Downs, Tennessee DB Jermod McCoy, LSU DB Mansoor Delane, and other invited members declined participation in the on-field drills.

Fernando Mendoza, the projected No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, chose Indiana’s Pro Day over the Combine. Since Mendoza’s stock looked great after the 2025 season, it seemingly became an option for him.

“At the combine, you’re throwing to different receivers; it’s a whole different thing,” Mendoza said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I want to make sure that I give my guys the best chance, so I want to throw at pro day with my guys, with my running backs, and be there with the boys.”

It is important to note that the Raiders, who have the No. 1 draft pick, will be in attendance at Indiana’s pro day to watch out for Mendoza on April 1, with reports suggesting that he will have a private workout there.

At the same time, Caleb Downs did have a visit to Indianapolis but skipped his workout at the Combine, as he opted to wait until the Ohio State Pro Day. It was believed that Downs being projected as the round 1 pick was the reason for the absence. On the other hand, Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy skipped the workout, claiming that he “just didn’t feel ready” since being cleared from a torn ACL last January.

Fehoko does have a point of top players skipping drills having an effect on the prestige of the Combine’s history and legacy. We all remember during the 2024 NFL draft combine, Xavier Worthy breaking the 40-yard-dash record when he completed it in just 4.21 seconds. The speedy wide receiver out of Texas, ultimately was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs at number 28 in the first round.

Then comes the broad jump drill. In 2015, Byron Jones, the cornerback from Connecticut jumped for 12 feet, 3 inches, breaking the world record by 1 inch. This beat the previous combine record by an amazing 8 inches. Jones was then drafted at number 27 overall by the Dallas Cowboys and he’s currently played seven seasons in the NFL.

Such stories add to the athletic supremacy of the sport and serve as an important bridge in the transition between college and the pro game. But just like the pro bowl games from recent years, the shine has gone down with major players opting out, due to fear of a bad score tanking their draft stock.

This isn’t a one-time occurrence, as the last three years’ projected No. 1 picks skipped the Combine drills. As this seems to be turning into a habit of top draft picks, the NFL can instead invite some other talents longing for an opportunity.

Biggest 2026 NFL Combine snubs

Some of the top talents this past season were omitted from the NFL Combine, and they must now lean heavily on pro days and private workouts. However, this isn’t the end. The NFL has a history of non-invited talents turning out to be successful pros, and some overlooked players being undrafted. Here are some of the biggest talents omitted in this year’s Combine.

Indiana’s edge, Mikail Kamara, who led the Big Ten in pressures and was a key force in the Hoosiers’ national title run, was not invited. Although pass rushers are in demand in the NFL, he has to rely heavily on Indiana’s pro day to prove he belongs in the early rounds.

On the other hand, the Hoosiers’ RB Kaelon Black, who rushed for 1,040 yards for 10 touchdowns with a dominating performance in the CFP, was not invited. He was one of the most underrated players in the Hoosiers’ national title run, and the Combine would have set the platform for the draft boost.

Even Wisconsin’s OT Riley Mahlman who played 2,800 snaps in his collegiate run was not invited. He played a crucial role in the East-West Shrine Bowl. This fact become even more strange when we realize that OTs are a position group which is in high demand.

Ultimately this kind of selection bias needs to be addressed by the organizers and fixed for the upcoming years. There is no use for top draft picks to just sit around while players who can actually benefit are left out. It can be something similar to how the Senior Bowl is played by players who can use that extra game to boos their draft stock.