4 WR/RB for Chargers fans to watch at the NFL Combine

The Chargers need another impact wideout to go with first-year standout Ladd McConkey.

We’re back again with four more players for you all to keep an eye on at this year’s NFL Combine. On Saturday, wideouts and running backs will take the field alongside quarterbacks.

Let’s dive in.

Ole Miss WR Tre Harris

I’ve seen a lot of people talk about Harris as an ideal Chargers draft pick on day two. He’s currently listed as WR6 at the NFL Combine per NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. His 6’3, 210-pound build is physically ready to be an outside presence in the NFL and he’s apparently got the ideal juice, as well.

If McConkey is set to be the Chargers’ top wideout, Harris’ skillset would fit very well as a complementary pass-catcher outside the numbers. His contested catch numbers weren’t anything special and scouts would still like to see him expand on his route-tree, but all the physical traits are there to feel confident that his best football is ahead of him.

Iowa State WR Jayden Higgins

The thing that stands out the most to me while watching Higgins is simply how smooth he looks running around on the field. It’s even more impressive at 6’3 and 217 pounds. He had a really strong week at the Senior Bowl where he won a lot of his one-on-one reps in practice. Unlike Harris above, Higgins excels at the catch point and wins with impressive ball skills through contact.

Great ball skills and tracking in the air are two very translatable traits from the college game and that’s just two more reasons why I’m so high on Higgins. If he can somehow last until the third round, the Chargers should be ecstatic.

Kansas RB Devin Neal

A successful runner for the Jayhawks for four solid seasons. He does not offer any notable athletic traits as far as speed and agility goes, but he’s a good football player who did his job well for a long time. He’s also a legitimate three-down back who should easily find a home in the NFL.

At 5’9 and 220 pounds, he’s a bit of a bowling ball physique-wise. Fortunately he knows it and it shows on his film as he’s consistently falling forward and converting on short-yardage situations. If a team wants a rusher with one of the highest-floors in the draft class, I think Neal is an excellent pick.

Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II

Gordon did not have a 2024 season up to his own standards but that shouldn’t overshadow the fact that he’s less two calendar years removed from winning the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back after rushing for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns. This past season, he rushed for just 880 yards and 13 scores, but the Cowboys were simply a bad team around him.

At 6’1 and 233 pounds, Gordon is a big back that runs with the proper power behind his pads. Saturday’s combine testing will tell us just how athletic he is for his size, but unless he truly bombs the entire gambit of tests, my expectation is that he’ll come off the board on day two for a team looking to add to their stable of backs.

Gordon may be redundant in year one with Gus Edwards on the roster, but it’s not likely that Edwards stays with the Chargers past the 2025 season as the team continues building their roster for the future.