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In the NFL, athleticism matters. Big time. 

This is one of my favorite scouting-related quotes. It's a tweet I saw from analytics enthusiast and draftnik Zach Whitman on the subject of athleticism in professional football.

"Not all good athletes are good players. Very few poor athletes are good players. Most great players are great athletes."

When you think about it, that's so true, right? The NFL combine may get teased by some as an unnecessary event during the predraft process, but to me, it's incredibly valuable for a variety of reasons. With that in mind, let's examine some (likely) members of the 2018 draft class who look primed to piece together fantastic combine performances next year.

Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

Barkley's summer was filled with insane weightlifting sessions. Then more insane weight-lifting sessions. He can squat 525 pounds five times, and there's also video of him benching 225 pounds 30 times. Lastly, he reportedly was timed at 4.38 seconds in the 40-yard dash over the summer. Of course, those 40 times are always a tick faster when they're timed by a player's coaches, but, yeah, Barkley is a freak of nature. 

James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State

Washington has been college football's premier deep threat wideout for two seasons now, and on just about all of the home runs he's hit, he's demonstrated scintillating long speed before and after the catch. In high school, his best time in the 100-meter dash (not wind-aided) was 11.0. At 6-foot and around 200 pounds, it'll be interesting to see if Washington can break 4.45 in the 40. He'll likely crush the jumps too. 

Kendall Joseph, LB, Clemson

Joseph is 6-foot and 225 pounds, which is the en vogue weight for sideline-to-sideline linebackers in college and the NFL. Just watching him play, you can see he's a twitchy athlete when he's devouring running backs and running with tight ends down the seam. In high school, Joseph was a three-time state weightlifting champion in high school in South Carolina.

Ronald Jones II, RB, USC

In high school, Jones' fastest time in the 100-meter dash was 10.83 seconds. That's a blazing time. We've seen Jones showcase his elite gear-shifting ability and long speed numerous times during his USC career, especially this season. He'll likely post a crazy good 10-yard split.

Kalen Ballage, RB, Arizona State

Last year, Leonard Fournette ran 4.51 at 6-foot and 240 pounds. We might get a time better than that at a similar weight from Ballage in 2018. The Arizona State running back is 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds. Over the summer, he was clocked by GPS technology at practice running 23.3 miles per hour. That's outrageous for someone of his size.

Cody Thompson, WR, Toledo

Thompson was a two-star recruit but has blossomed into a tremendous deep-ball specialist for the Rockets during his career in Toledo. He averaged 22.3 yards per catch as a sophomore, 19.8 a season ago and 18.7 through four games in 2017. He's 6-foot-2 and is super-explosive. He should test awesomely in the 40 and the vertical. 

Dante Pettis, WR, Washington

Another sub-11 second speedster (10.98 in the 100-meter dash in high school), Pettis flies. His burst is most apparent when he's returning kicks. He's returned six punts for 233 yards with three touchdowns this season and has eight punt-return scores in his collegiate career. At 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, Pettis has ideal sprinter height and weight.

Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado

The Buffaloes cornerback runs track at Colorado too and competes in the long jump and hurdles. His personal best in the 100 is 10.7. Like Pettis, he's 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, so he has long legs but not a ton of weight to carry when he's sprinting.

Brandon Bryant, S, Mississippi State

According to the Bulldogs' testing this offseason, Bryant ran 4.29 in the 40-yard dash, which was the second time he's done that during his collegiate career. Apparently, a year ago, his 40 time was 4.24. Safeties typically don't time super-fast at the combine. Bryant could change that.  

Derrius Guice, RB, LSU

Guice was the player who rivaled Barkley's weightlifting videos on social media this summer. In June, he squatted 650 pounds. That's Barry Sanders stuff. While he may not run 4.22, Guice will show off his explosive lower half at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Derwin James, S, Florida State

James is the second coming of Jalen Ramsey. You know, the 6-foot-1, 209-pound defensive back who ran 4.41, had a 41 1/2-inch vertical, and a broad jump of 11-foot-3. James may actually be slightly taller and heavier than Ramsey, but he demonstrates similar dynamic athleticism to that of Ramsey every week for Florida State.

Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

The reigning Heisman trophy winner just might set a new athleticism standard for quarterback at the combine in 2018. Robert Griffin III ran 4.41 and 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds and had a 39-inch vertical in 2012. Jackson seems just as fast as RGIII was, and he has a chance to set records in the three-cone drill.