4 Wisconsin Football Players Invited to NFL Combine

Draft season is here, and with that, the NFL Combine is now just a few weeks away. On Wednesday, it was announced that 324 college players were invited to the combine, including four members of the Wisconsin Football team.

At the combine, players will be put through different athletic testing drills, including the bench press, 40-yard dash, 3-cone, the broad jump, among several other drills. Invitees will also be put through drills specific to their position, and it’s also where many pre-draft meetings will take place with interested franchises.

While the film that each player has put out is King when it comes to evaluating, a strong performance at the combine can result in someone shooting up a draft board. Or a poor performance can have the opposite effect.

For the Wisconsin Football program, the four players with invitations this year are Jake Ferguson, Leo Chenal, Logan Bruss, and Jack Sanborn.

Jake Ferguson

For four seasons and with a few different quarterbacks, Ferguson was an integral part of the Wisconsin passing game. During that span, he was targeted 183 times, catching 73 percent of those passes at 11.0 yards per reception with 12 touchdowns.

Ferguson was also PFF’s eighth highest-graded tight end in 2021 and their 18th highest-graded tight end in 2020. Whichever team selects Ferguson will be getting a versatile tight end who plays from a number of different alignments and a potential red-zone weapon.

For a closer look at how Ferguson is viewed within the draft community, here is a snippet of what Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network had to say about him in his scouting report:

"“Wisconsin has moved him around a lot before the snap, too; he’s aligned in the slot, in a sniffer alignment, with his hand in the dirt, in the backfield as a fullback and he’s gotten to each of these alignments with both shifts and motions; he’s clearly got the pallet for a vast array of calls and pre-snap responsibilities.”"

Leo Chenal 

Leo Chenal capped his Wisconsin career as one of the most dominant linebackers in the Big Ten, and he was named a second-team All-American.

In 559 defensive snaps this past season, Chenal logged 21 pressures, including nine sacks, according to PFF ($$). He also recorded 92 total tackles and 58 stops–or plays that result in a loss for the offense. In coverage, Chenal allowed 19 receptions at 11.2 yards per catch.

In 2020, Chenal was PFF’s fourth-highest graded linebacker, and he finished second in that category this season. He also led the Badgers in both tackles for loss and sacks these last two seasons as well.

Here is a look at what Crabbs has to say about Chenal in his pre-draft report:

"“He’s featured in an abnormally high role as a pressure player, showcasing some alignment versatility to play mugged up in interior gaps or firing off the second level as a green-dog pressure add-on later in reps. Chenal gets high marks for his football character and is a visible catalyst of energy for his teammates. With a rocked-up frame and some level of potential on passing downs, Chenal will have the opportunity to swoon an NFL franchise about his potential to become a more dynamic player in all phases.”"

Logan Bruss

Logan Bruss is a very experienced player, with nearly 2,100 snaps over his four-year playing career with Wisconsin. Bruss took a majority of his snaps at right tackle, but he does have some right guard experience as well.

According to PFF, Bruss allowed just one sack over his career and only 20 total pressures. As a Badger, he was, of course, a part of one of the more dominant run-blocking units in all of college football.

Jack Sanborn

Another dominant Wisconsin linebacker. Jack Sanborn has 1,677 career snaps, with a majority of them coming over the last three seasons. In 2021 specifically, Sanborn logged 32 pressures, including three sacks and 81 total tackles. He also finished with 48 stops per PFF and allowed only 8.1 yards per catch with a pass breakup in coverage.

Over the last two seasons, Sanborn has been one of PFF’s top-graded linebackers, finishing sixth in 2020 and fifth in 2021.

For more on Sanborn, here is what Crabbs had to say about him heading into the pre-draft process:

"“Sanborn offers a fair level of versatility as compared to his teammate Chenal, too—you see Sanborn scraping and offering sideline challenges and he’s been able to make a modest number of plays on the ball in coverage as well. He doesn’t profile as a dynamic athlete in space or as a bonafide three-down option against NFL competition, but I don’t think it is unreasonable to see a path for him playing as a starter in base personnel in the league.”"