Notre Dame's Malachi Fields can solidify first-round potential at the Combine. His physical gifts and Senior Bowl buzz set the stage for a pivotal Indianapolis performance.
On Thursday, the 2026 NFL Combine is set to kick off and will feature six former Notre Dame players who are looking to take their game to the next level. Now, every player has a different set of things they'll have their eyes set to work on throughout the combine. It's likely all six for Fighting Irish players participate in the media day, but it's up for debate whether all will compete in drills for various reasons. Big-bodied receiver Malachi Fields has the opportunity to make a strong impression down in Indianapolis.
Out of the six NFL Combine invitees from South Bend, Fields will benefit the most from a strong combine performance. His draft stock quickly rose after his performance at throughout the week down in Mobile, Alabama at the Senior Bowl. The 6-4, 223-pound boundary receiver has great NFL size and put showcased his abilities on Saturdays over the last three seasons.
Fields ended his career with 2,479 receiving yards, averaged 15.0 yards per catch from 2021-2025 and hauled in 16 receiving touchdowns. His career long came this past season against Purdue when he caught a beautiful 66-yard touchdown pass from quarterback CJ Carr on the first play of the game. He finished this past season with 36 receptions, 630 yards, averaged 17.5 yards per catch and had five receiving touchdowns which led the team.
It's likely Fields would have put up higher numbers if the Irish would have played in the post season, but that's a different conversation for another day. A strong performance at the combine could vault the Virginia native up into the first round. After his strong performance at the Senior Bowl, which turned a lot of heads, NFL Draft analysts like Daniel Jeremiah projected Fields to go as a late first-round pick in this year's draft.
The biggest question with Fields will be his 40-yard dash time. Heading into the 2024 season, his final year with the Virginia Cavaliers, he made Feldman's Freaks List.
"A former high school quarterback and cornerback, Fields is coming off a breakout junior season in which he had 58 catches for 811 yards and five touchdowns after missing almost all of 2022 with a broken foot," said Bruce Feldman of the Athletic. "He has elite strength and power for a wideout: He has close-grip bench pressed 365 pounds and did 21 reps of 225 with a close grip this offseason. He front squatted 355 pounds to go with a 38-inch vertical and a 10-7 1/2 broad jump. His shuttle times are impressive, too, going 4.18 in the pro agility and 6.81 in the 3-cone, and he passed 22 mph on the GPS."
The 6-4, 223-pound receiver finished the 2025 season with 36 receptions, 630 receiving yards, averaged 17.5 yards per catch and had five receiving touchdowns. In his career, Fields accumulated 165 receptions, 2,479 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns. He's one of the most productive receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft and is a physical specimen.
Fields was brought into South Bend to be their primary boundary receiver and quickly became one of quarterback CJ Carr's go-to targets throughout the season. He helped jumpstart the offense in the second half against Miami and had one of the best games of his career against Pitt on the road hauling in two touchdown grabs and one of the best catches of the 2025 season.
His size, explosive playmaking ability, catch radius and multiple years of collegiate production have gotten Fields to be a projected late day one to early day two draft pick. A strong performance at the NFL combine could vault Fields solidly into the first round.
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