INDIANAPOLIS -- Essentially, the NFL Combine is a fact-finding mission. Each measurement, test and drill has a purpose. It's about finding out the most information you can about a player whom you are going to potentially invest millions into. Some players have the luxury of having the benefit of the doubt because they played at a major program against top-level competition.
For players hailing from the FCS and below, they don't have that luxury. They have to get it right out of the gate because you never know when you'll get the next opportunity to showcase your skills. Also, a lot of questions about players -- whether FBS or smaller levels -- can be answered on film throughout their collegiate careers.
However, for a few of the prospects here in attendance at the combine, their film left a lot of pieces out of the puzzle, which leaves a lot of questions about certain aspects of their game.
Here are a few small-college prospects who have a chance to help put those missing puzzle pieces together here in Indianapolis.
Jaden Shirden, RB, Monmouth
What we know: Shirden should light up the 40-yard dash and the agility drills in Indianapolis. His speed, quickness, explosiveness and burst are evident, and they jump off the tape almost immediately.
What we should watch for: While he was such an amazing runner at Monmouth, what we didn't see a lot of is him catching the ball out of the backfield. He wasn't asked to do a lot in the passing game, so seeing him run routes and catch the ball away from his body will be something many scouts will be looking forward to. It'll be the on-field workouts that'll be huge for him, potentially catapulting his draft stock.
Anim Dankwah, OL, Howard
What we know: Dankwah is a neophyte at the game, having just picked up football within the last five to six years. So, we know he's a raw ball of clay from a prospect perspective. Even in his rawness, he was still a stellar player at Howard, showing dominance against MEAC opponents.
What we should watch for: How athletic he tests and shows during the workout portion of the combine. Dankwah measured in at 6-foot-7, 362 pounds at the East-West Shrine Bowl. He's definitely a large player, but had an inconsistent week during the all-star event. Since that game was about a month ago, there will be a lot of focus on where his body is physically and how well his footwork is during the drill work when the offensive linemen hit the field.
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Kiran Amegadjie, OL, Yale
What we know: Amegadjie has logged full season starts at both guard and tackle for the Yale Bulldogs, and was one of the more dominant offensive linemen in the FCS.
What we should watch for: Which position will his future home as an NFL player: guard or tackle? That is one of the major questions scouts had coming into the combine. Because he wasn't able to participate in the Senior Bowl practices, we never got a look at him playing both against upper-level competition. Now granted, you still won't get that here at the combine, but you can judge a lot based off his full measurements, athletic testing and on-field drills, getting a good gauge on where his best possible spot can be.
Myles Harden, CB, South Dakota
What we know: Harden was able to bounce back from a 2021 season-ending injury and post back-to-back stellar years at South Dakota. He's got very good instincts vs. both the run and the pass, while also showing a knack for creating turnover.
What we should watch for: Obviously coming from an FCS program, you want to see how he matches up athletically. And that's going to be key for him because he doesn't have the longest arms, so getting handsy with receivers could be a bit dicey. If that's going to be the case, his speed, fluidity and explosiveness needs to show up in Indy for teams to be able to trust that he can turn and run with pro level wideouts on a consistent basis.
Here are some other small-college prospects to watch out for participating in Indy:
