The 2026 NBA Combine has come and gone, and after a week of events in Chicago, it’s becoming clearer which of these college players are primed for professional football.
Now, it’s time to analyze the players that are climbing up the draft boards after Combine.
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In a feature for Bleacher Report following NBA Combine, Jonathan Wasserman names the winners and losers of the event. “Every year, the NBA Draft Combine gives prospects a chance to change their draft stock in front of dozens of front offices — through measurements, athletic testing, scrimmages and closed-door interviews,” he states.
One of his biggest winners of the event is Michigan‘s Morez Johnson Jr., noting that even though teams didn’t really need to see the player’s measurements and athletic tests to “recognize outstanding physical tools and movement,” still, “his results in Chicago backed up the tape.”
Morez Johnson Jr. #21 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Howard Bison during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 19, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
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“His size, weight, length and reach mirror players like Naz Reid, Wendell Carter Jr. and Bobby Portis. Only Johnson shows far more functional athletic traits, which were confirmed by his 39″ max vertical and second-fastest pro lane time,” Wasserman notes in the piece.
He adds: “He also came out and drilled 17-of-25 threes during the star-shooting drill, a promising development after he took 35 threes this season at Michigan.”
My Analysis: Michigan’s Morez Johnson Jr. is a First-Round No-Brainer Pick
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It was already known before Combine that Johnson would be a no-brainer pick in the first round of the NBA draft, and his performance at Combine just solidified that. He was a significant part of why Michigan won the national championship this year, and his Combine measurements and speed show why he was a game-changer for the Wolverines and can repeat that success in the NBA.
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