On Feb. 28, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium, Taylen Green had the greatest combine day any quarterback has ever had. He broke a record. Then he broke another. Then he ran the second-fastest 40 by a quarterback in the history of the event. Two months later, with Day 2 of the 2026 NFL Draft underway, Green is projected as a Day 3 pick. His afternoon in Indianapolis is worth revisiting because of what it didn’t do.
What Taylen Green Did at the 2026 NFL Combine
The vertical jump came first. Green, measured at 6-foot-5â…ž and 227 pounds, leapt 43.5 inches. That shattered Anthony Richardson’s 2023 mark of 40.5 inches. Richardson was listed at 6-4, 244 when he set the record. Green jumped three inches higher at a different position on the size curve.
The broad jump came next. Green’s 11-foot-2 broke Richardson’s 10-foot-9 record from the same 2023 session. Five inches of improvement on a combine event is the kind of margin that usually takes a decade to erase. Green took it in the same afternoon.
The 40-yard dash closed the day. Green’s 4.36 was the second-fastest time any quarterback has ever posted at the combine, behind only Michael Vick’s 4.33 in 2001. It was faster than Richardson’s 4.43. It was also faster than Cam Newton’s official combine 40 at a comparable frame.
His Relative Athletic Score (RAS) for the day came in at 9.99, which rounds to perfect. NFL Network ran an on-air graphic comparing him to Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf. Analyst Charles Davis asked Green directly about a position switch. Green said teams haven’t raised it, and he would decline if they did.
One comparison often thrown around is Anthony Richardson. Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft on the strength of a similar combine workout. He has not established himself as a starter in Indianapolis through three pro seasons. NFL teams were watching Green test in Lucas Oil Stadium with Richardson’s career in the back of their heads.
Why the Record-Breaking Day Didn’t Change Draft Projections
Green entered the combine rated outside the top 150 on PFSN’s Consensus Big Board. He left it with three broken records and the same general projection. Before the combine, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson said Green “is going to be a project at the next level because he’s got to get all the parts working together” and projected him as a Day 3 pick. That projection held through his Arkansas Pro Day on March 13 and into draft weekend.
PFSN lead draft analyst Ian Cummings captured the gap. “Taylen Green has a truly elite physical skill set, with explosive athleticism and easy arm talent and velocity generation,” Cummings wrote, “but the operational part of his game is too underdeveloped, even after almost four years of starting experience. He likely goes off the board on Day 3.”
The production supports the evaluation more than the testing would suggest. Green’s PFSN College Football QB Impact grade is 84.9, a B that ranks 27th among 2025 quarterbacks. In his senior season at Arkansas under Bobby Petrino, he threw for 2,714 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions at 7.7 net yards per attempt, solid production that falls short of the top of this class.
The physical profile is real. The Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2022 at Boise State rushed for more than 2,400 yards across four seasons as a starter. He is, by any traits-based measure, one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks to enter the NFL in a decade.
The market is choosing not to pay for it in Round 1. Two quarterbacks went on Night 1 of the 2026 Draft. Neither was Green. Fernando Mendoza, a 6-foot-5 Indiana passer, went No. 1 overall to the Raiders on the strength of a Heisman and a national championship. Ty Simpson went No. 13 to the Rams on operational polish out of Alabama. Green’s workout was more impressive than either. His draft stock is behind both.
In PFSN analyst Jacob Infante’s latest Day 2 and 3 mock draft, he predicts that Green will end up with the Baltimore Ravens with pick 173.
