Former NFL WR Marshall hosting alternative ‘combine’

Former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall found a hole in coverage and decided to fill it himself.

Marshall, a retired receiver who played for the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets and Giants, felt the need to step into the vacancy for draft prospects created when the annual Scouting Combine was canceled due to COVID-19.

While Marshall isn’t hosting 300-plus players as would be the case in Indianapolis, he has commitments from several recognizable names for the event Friday, which will be streamed on FoxSports.com.

Marshall is training prospects — more than 20 hopefuls for the 2021 draft — at House of Athlete in Weston, Fla.

“I wanted those guys to be able to experience this ... to show the scouts and the NFL what they have,” Marshall said in a USA Today interview. “This is the biggest stage, and if you take that away, what opportunity do they have?”

Clemson running back Travis Etienne, Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond and Georgia defensive back Eric Stokes are among the prospects who will be weighed, measured and run the 40yard dash on Friday morning.

Marshall partnered with Zybek, the official timing company of the NFL Scouting Combine, to perform all testing and validate the workouts for scouts.

“It makes no sense for us to go through this whole live stream and big production to help these guys get to the next level,” Marshall said, “and then for the scouts and general managers and owners be like, ‘What the hell? This is not what you sold us.’