49ers NFL Draft: 5 prospects who will ace their 2022 combine workouts

The 49ers will want to see which prospects perform well at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, and these five are poised to light up Lucas Oil Stadium.

The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine kicks off this week, and teams like the San Francisco 49ers will want to make sure their next class of talent from this year’s draft class will help maintain the team’s Super Bowl window.

There will be risers and fallers among the 324 prospects invited to the NFL Combine, and the vast majority will fall somewhere in the middle.

And even though the “spandex Olympics” doesn’t provide a clean glimpse of just how effective a prospect will be at the NFL level, the combine is nevertheless an important tool to see just how promising a first-year pro might be.

Some will surely outperform the rest, though, and it’s likely their respective NFL Draft stocks will increase as a result.

For the Niners, who aren’t currently scheduled to pick until Round 2 at No. 61 overall, they may need to adjust their big boards accordingly.

Especially if these five wind up dominating the headlines with their exceptional performances at Lucas Oil Stadium.

49ers prospect No. 5: LB Quay Walker, Georgia

Targeting a linebacker with its first pick in the draft might be something of a luxury for San Francisco, but there are plenty of things to like about Georgia linebacker Quay Walker, who finished his collegiate tenure with 65 total tackles, 5.5 of which were for a loss, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery.

At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Walker has the build of an edge rusher but moves like an off-ball backer with the converging speed to cover the second level of the defense more than adequately.

Walker should test off the charts in terms of strength, speed and agility. In fact, it’s possible he winds up having one of the best combine performances among defensive players.

The 49ers don’t need to reach for a linebacker, although Walker originally projected to be a second- or perhaps even a third-round pick.

But, if they view him as a solve-it-all kind of defender, the Niners may still be intrigued enough.