The combine gave us Anthony Richardson’s all-time quarterback workout, a squadron of superfast cornerbacks and Dan Campbell telling the truth.

“I guess there is somewhat of a spectacle,” Campbell, the coach of the Detroit Lions, said during his obligatory podium appearance in Indianapolis. “But to me, you grade them off the tape. You don’t grade them off somebody out here in pajamas, running the 40 with no defender around. The meetings are really pivotal. All the other stuff? Whatever.”

In this two-part series examining the projected top 55 players in the NFL draft, personnel people offered their evaluations of players a week or two before the combine. Their comments were based almost exclusively on their exposure to players in both live looks and tape study.

My rankings, arranged in order within each position, were influenced to an extent by results from the combine. For example, 40-yard dash times always will play a critical role in stacking prospects at cornerback and wide receiver, among other positions. But remember, when these scouts were interviewed, they had almost no verified 40 times on any players in addition to no verified heights and weights on underclassmen.

This projected top-55 will lead to my NFL Draft Series, which I’ve been assembling annually since 1985.

That nine-part series can be found only at GoLongTD.com, for paid subscribers.