One of the most pivotal weeks of the NFL offseason is underway.

General managers, coaches and scouts for the 32 teams are congregating at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the annual NFL Scouting Combine to watch and meet the 329 prospects who were invited this year.

It’s an opportunity for under-the-radar college standouts to shine, overrated ones to fizzle, and for front offices to talk themselves into — or out of — prospects two months before the NFL draft.

The combine officially started Monday, but it ramps up Thursday with the first of four days of workouts.

Here are the biggest storylines:

QB competition

The number of quarterback-needy teams toward the top of this year’s draft greatly exceeds the number of QBs considered worthy of a first-round pick.

That’s what makes Saturday’s quarterback workout so compelling.

Arguably the top prospect at the position, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, does not plan to work out and will instead focus on meeting with teams, according to reports.

Whether the other top prospect, Miami’s Cam Ward, will work out remains to be seen.

Sanders and Ward are candidates to be drafted first overall by the Tennessee Titans or second overall by the Cleveland Browns, with the Giants at No. 3, the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 and the Jets at No. 7 all lurking.

It is standard for top quarterbacks to wait until their pro days to throw, with Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye — the top three picks in last year’s draft — among those who followed that route.

Still, Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard are all expected to throw this weekend, according to NFL Network.

None projects as a top-10 pick at the moment, but momentum is building around Dart, whose tools should play well in the combine setting.

Perhaps no player faces a more crucial combine than Milroe, whose ability as a runner is unquestioned but whose passing remains a work in progress.

On the hunt

No prospect is more intriguing than Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who dominated as a cornerback and wide receiver in college.

Hunter, who won the 2024 Heisman Trophy, is attending the combine as a cornerback, but he might be the best prospect at both positions.

Teams will certainly explore his commitment to playing both in the NFL, and this week should start to offer insight into how the league views Hunter’s future.

It is unknown whether Hunter will work out this week — defensive backs are scheduled for Friday and receivers are set for Saturday — or wait until Colorado’s pro day like Sanders is.

Hunter totaled 20 offensive touchdowns and seven interceptions in his two seasons at Colorado.

He is another candidate to be drafted No. 1 overall.

Measurable mayhem

Critics of the combine often refer to it as the “Underwear Olympics,” dismissing how prospects perform in workouts as less important than how they did playing in pads in real games.

But make no mistake: NFL teams put plenty of stock in a prospect’s measurables.

One prospect whose measurables are worth monitoring is hyper-productive Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter, whom many evaluators pegged as this year’s top prospect.

Penn State lists Carter at 6-3, 252 pounds — a similar build to former Nittany Lions linebacker Micah Parsons. But NFL.com describes Carter’s “average size” as a weakness on its scouting report.

A strong showing could make Carter impossible to pass up.

It is unclear whether Sanders, whom Colorado lists at 6-2 and 215 pounds, will weigh in at the combine.

Need for speed

Last year, Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy elevated himself to a first-round pick when he broke the combine record with a 4.21-second 40-yard dash.

Worthy then proved, well, worthy of that selection when he emerged as an immediate contributor for the Kansas City Chiefs.

It makes sense, then, that evaluators will be eager to see who posts the fastest 40-time this year.

Nobody is expected to match Worthy’s unprecedented sprint, but Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith is believed to be the fastest player in this year’s draft.

The speedy Smith averaged 17.0 yards per reception on his 48 catches last year.

Risers and fallers

Worthy is one of innumerable players whose stock rose or fell over the years.

Last year, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy impressed with his precise passing at the combine, helping him rise from a day-two projection to the No. 10 overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2023, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson delivered such a dazzling display with his 40.5-inch vertical jump and 4.43-second 40-yard dash that the Indianapolis Colts drafted him fourth overall.

That same year, USC wide receiver Addison’s stock suffered when he weighed in at 173 pounds and ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash.

Richardson has struggled through two NFL seasons, while Addison — who fell to fourth among receivers — has excelled with 20 total touchdowns for the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2022, Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton disappointed with a 4.59-second 40-yard dash. Despite some considering him that draft’s best player, Hamilton fell to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 14 – and is now a two-time All-Pro through three NFL seasons.

It goes to show that the combine can put eyes on a deserving prospect, but that putting too much emphasis on the event can just as easily backfire.

Next week, analysts will rank this year’s biggest risers and fallers, but we probably won’t know the true results for a few more years.

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