There will be 4 Kentucky players at 2024 Scouting Combine

NFL Draft season has officially entered the combine stage. In two weeks, Indianapolis will be the league’s official home for a week for the Scouting Combine. The Kentucky football program will again have a presence at the event.

The NFL published the official invite list on Thursday with 329 prospects receiving invites. Four Kentucky players will spend some time at the Indiana Convention Center at the end of the month. Eli Cox, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Maxwell Hairston, and Deone Walker each received invites.

Hairston and Walker participated in the Senior Bowl and each is a projected Day 2 pick. A big week from Hairston in Indianapolis might be able to get the cornerback into the first round. Dumas-Johnson participated in the Shrine Bowl and Cox participated in the Hula Bowl. Each player will be looking to lock up a Day 3 selection.

Zion Childress and J.J. Weaver did not receive invites after participating in the Hula Bowl. D’Eryk Jackson will also not be in attendance. Each player will use Kentucky’s Pro Day as a replacement for the Scouting Combine.

The major draft event will run from Feb. 24 through March 3. Television coverage will begin on Feb. 27. I can already smell the St. Elmo’s cocktail sauce.

First-round buzz is building for Maxwell Hairston

Maxwell Hairston went four-and-done at Kentucky and made a splash at the Senior Bowl. Despite missing most of Kentucky’s SEC games in 2024, buzz has not slowed down for the second-team All-SEC selection in 2023.

ESPN’s Field Yates has been very high on the Greater Detroit native. The two-year starter at Kentucky made an appearance in the first round of Yates’ latest mock draft.

23.) Green Bay Packers: Maxwell Hairston (CB, Kentucky)

The Packers have to look at their cornerback room this offseason. Improvements would allow them to play more man coverage under coordinator Jeff Hafley after tying with Tampa Bay for the lowest percentage of man coverage snaps in 2024 (29.2%). Hairston sat out some time because of a shoulder injury this past season, but he led the SEC with five interceptions in 2023 — two of which were returned for touchdowns. He’s a playmaking ball magnet who is going to fly in the 40-yard dash at the combine.

Perhaps no position than cornerback gets more mileage out of the speed and explosive athletic testing during the combine and pro day circuit. Top end speed matters a big deal in coverage.

Hairston measured in at 5-foot-11 with a wingspan reaching 6-foot-4 with a strong arm length (31 1/2″) in Mobile. The size box has been checked. Hairston’s tape is filled with sticky coverage reps and strong testing might just get the cornerback in the first round.