After a week of watching some of the best college athletes in the world, scouts and player personnel turn their attention to the NFL Draft on May 8th. Small-school players from the likes of Dixie State came into Indianapolis on a grand stage and competed against 5-star players from big-time programs like Alabama. In this article, I'm going to write about some things that I noticed about the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine.

Speed kills

It seems like this is becoming the new mantra in the NFL. When you look across the NFL, players like Darren Sproles, Robert Griffin III, and Chris Johnson have done their part in spreading the football field. In today's NFL, the read-option is becoming one of the most predominantly-used offenses. Chip Kelly is also another name that came in right away from college and changed offenses around the league. The NFL is a copycat league, and I would not be surprised to see an even more amount of teams deploy the spread offense. In the combine, all eyes were on De'Anthony Thomas. The ex-Oregon Duck was being picked to beat Chris Johnson's 40-yard dash record. But, it was Dri Archer that stole the show. The 5'8", 175 pound running back from Kent State was 0.02 shy of breaking the record. But, there is no denying that some team will draft Archer solely on his speed alone. Speed is at a premium in this league, and there is no sign of when it won't be.

Small-school prospects performed in the spotlight

Many were not surprised to see Pierre Desir do well in the combine. But it was players like Pittsburgh State's John Brown and Saginaw Valley State's Jeff Janis that had really nice showings. In fact, Brown ran the second fastest 40 out of any receiver that was at the combine with an official time of 4.34. Similarly, Janis ran a respectable 4.41 in the 40-yard dash. It is also worth noting that Janis stands at 6'3" and weighs 220 pounds. The list continued with the performances of Joe Don Duncan, Justin Ellis, and Andrew Jackson. It doesn't matter what college a player hails from. As long as he puts on a show in front of a national audience, teams will take notice.

Quarterbacks elect not to throw

Besides Blake Bortles, the top quarterbacks in this year's draft did not throw. The main reason why quarterbacks usually do not throw at the combine is because they will throw with players that they're not used to. Quarterbacks usually wait until their pro days to throw so they can throw with players they are used to. On the other hand, Bortles looked really good in Indianapolis. He didn't have the best 40-time, but his arm looked really strong. There are many good things that come by throwing at the combine. The most important is that scouts can only talk about Bortles because he was the only one that throw. With not much to take away from this year's quarterback class, many will have to wait until at least late-March to watch the future signal-callers at the next level.

The wide receiver class is one of the best in recent memory

I cannot rave enough about how good this wide receiver class is. Players like Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Kelvin Benjamin, and Allen Robinson are just a names that pop out. All have the potential to be really good pass-catchers in the NFL. Add in Marqise Lee and the fastest receiver in the draft in Brandin Cooks, and there is no reason why all of these players could not be big contributors by 2015. Watkins, in particular, has the talent to be dominant in the NFL. Having game-breaking speed and good height is something you don't find everyday, and those are just two reasons why the Clemson product will have a ton of success on an NFL roster. The craziest thing about this class is how tall they are. Evans and Benjamin are both towering receivers who are both over 6'4". An NFL team could even find a contributor in round three and on. Guys like Martavis Bryant and Jared Abbrederis could be good players on an NFL offense.

Don't look too much into the NFL Scouting Combine

It is fun to watch players compete against equal talent, but history has told us that you should not base the future off the combine. For example, it should not matter if Jadeveon Clowney only had 21 reps on the bench press. Looking into years past, Aldon Smith only had 20 reps and Greg Hardy only had 21 reps as well. Forget about Clowney's problems with the bench press, but look at his numbers in the 40-yard dash. The South Carolina product ran a ridiculous 40 with an official time of 4.53. I fully expect Clowney to do great things in the NFL. He has the perfect combination of athleticism and arm length that could really make him one of the best pass rushers in the NFL in recent memory.