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Cody Whitehair among biggest losers from Friday's combine workouts

A couple of running backs and offensive linemen could see their draft stock fall after subpar combine performances on Friday.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL Combine is underway and on Friday during the running back and offensive line workouts, some prospects failed to stand out, which could potentially hurt their draft stock.

Last season, Todd Gurley was drafted with the 10th overall pick, despite not even performing in the combine. In addition, the Falcons selected Tevin Coleman in the second round despite the running back only performing in the bench press. The Chargers also took Melvin Gordon in the first round, despite a mediocre combine performance. While there were mixed results between these players' performances in their rookie seasons, these players' early selections in the draft show that a bad combine doesn't always hurt a player's draft stock. Offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft, despite only participating in the bench press while recovering from an ACL tear, while, D.J. Humphries and Donovan Smith were also selected early despite mediocre combine performances.

5 players whose draft stock took a hit on Friday

Running backs

1. Kenyan Drake, Alabama

Drake managed to put together a solid 40 time as many expected, but his performance on the bench press leaves plenty of reason for concern. Already known as injury-prone, Drake's lack of strength was evident, as the running back only mustered 10 reps on the bench press. At 6'1", 210 pounds, Drake wasn't expected to impress on the bench, but he was one of only two running backs who managed less than 15 reps on the bench.

2. Alex Collins, Arkansas

Alex Collins is one of my favorite running back prospects, so it hurts me to put him here. But when you don't put up good numbers at the combine, people are going to turn their head for the wrong reason. Collins registered a 4.59 second 40 time, which certainly isn't terrible. But Derrick Henry, who is 30 pounds heavier than Collins, ran the 40 in just 4.54 seconds. This may not seem like much, but Collins, who is the consensus number three running back behind Henry and Ezekiel Elliott, had a great chance to outperform Henry and boost his stock on Friday. Collins also only managed 18 reps in the bench press and an atrocious 28.5" vertical. He was outperformed by Henry in every drill and likely would've been outperformed by Devontae Booker, the next best running back, if it weren't for Booker being injured. Collins will still be a highly-regarded prospect, and rightly so, but he could end up falling in the draft after a subpar combine.

3. Devontae Booker, Utah

Booker only benched on Friday, so he didn't necessarily disappoint--although his 8 5/8-inch hands could be a cause for concern. But, he's just unfortunate not to have an opportunity to perform in the combine due to a knee injury. Because Alex Collins, his closest competitor in the draft, stunk it up in the combine, Booker could've jumped him and boosted his draft stock with a half-decent performance. Instead, he had to watch from the sidelines.

Offensive linemen

4. Stephane Nembot, Colorado (OT)

Nembot has been a project prospect since the beginning of the draft process, so his draft stock has been almost completely dependent on the combine from Day 1. Nembot managed 32 reps on the bench press, which was fantastic. But Nembot's complete lack of speed and acceleration pose a major issue. Nembot ran the 40-yard dash in 5.39 seconds, which is very slow--even for a lineman. He also had the worst 3-cone drill and short shuffle times of any player on Friday. Teams want to see project players excel at the combine to justify their draft selection. Because Nembot was only impressive when it came to strength, it wouldn't be surprising to see his draft stock fall.

5. Cody Whitehair, Kansas State (OG)

Cody Whitehair has been the consensus top interior lineman prospect, projected as a first-round selection in virtually every mock draft. He may have the tape, quickness and core strength of a top offensive lineman, but Whitehair may have hurt his draft stock with a terrible performance in the bench press. Only one offensive lineman managed fewer than Whitehair's 16 reps on the bench press. There hasn't been a guard drafted in the first round since at least 2010 who managed less than 20 reps on the bench, and it seems unlikely a team has ever drafted a guard in the first round who has managed so few bench reps. Whitehair's short arms and mediocre 3-cone drill don't help his case either. I don't anticipate any teams drafting Whitehair before the second round, and his disappointing combine could have every reason to do with him falling out of the first round.