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John breaks down the top takeaways, including winners and losers, from the 2025 NFL Combine. What did we learn from it and which players are risers or fallers?
The 2025 NFL Combine is now in the books. The first significant action of any kind we get to see after the Super Bowl, the combine is an exciting time for rookie prospects, who are getting their first chance to show their skills outside of their college play.
It's also intriguing for dynasty fantasy football managers and should be for those who only play redraft as well. Players who perform well command the attention of the community, and rise up draft boards. Those who disappoint can fall, sometimes justifiably so, as well.
Let's break down the 2025 NFL Combine results and highlight some winners and losers at a variety of positions.
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Elite Running Back Class Shows Its Teeth
The RB class of the 2025 NFL Draft has been touted as elite for many months now, but a few of their combine performances highlighted just how deep of a group this truly is. While Ashton Jeanty chose not to participate, which raises some red flags, many who did demolished their testing.
The primary winner of this was Virginia Tech running back Bhayshul Tuten, whose combine performance inspired me to bump him from my RB3 to RB1. I'm probably the only analyst in the industry who has him as their top RB. His 4.32-second 40-yard dash also vindicated my many articles raving about him.
🔥 Hot Take? Virginia Tech scat RB Bhayshul Tuten would be RB4 at WORST in this NFL Draft if he even 1/2 cleaned up his disgusting fumble habit.
His explosiveness testing in Indy matches the tape and he was eye-popping at the Senior Bowl.pic.twitter.com/eHFcTrbPyQ
— Clint Goss (@NFLDraftDome) March 1, 2025
Tuten is an elite running back, and he showcased his elite athleticism with his blazing 40-yard dash time, 40.5-inch vertical jump, 10-foot-10-inch broad jump, and 4.41-second 20-yard shuttle. Tuten displayed the tools to be the shiftiest and fastest, track-star level RB at the next level. His dynasty value is skyrocketing.
Several other backs also performed very well. Jaydon Blue (Texas), Brashard Smith (SMU), and RJ Harvey (UCF) all ran between 4.38 and 4.40-second 40-yard dashes, which are fantastic for backs. All three of them have been highlighted by me as sleepers and players you should draft in fantasy for 2025, and I stand by my claims.
Omarion Hampton (UNC), TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), and Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State) all also recorded impressive times below 4.50 and all had impressive speed scores, which take into account weight and 40 time.
Here are the 2025 RB prospects by speed score, which accounts for weight and 40 time. https://t.co/808ueioVYI pic.twitter.com/nrUL4xychq
— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) March 3, 2025
Kaleb Johnson (Iowa), Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State), Devin Neal (Kansas), and Jordan James (Oregon) had less inspiring results. In particular, both Johnson and Gordon had highly disappointing combines, and their dynasty values should take an accompanying dip.
Wide Receiver Class Surprises In Multiple Ways
Two Texas Longhorns wide receivers had quite the opposite run-ins with luck in their combine performances. Isaiah Bond, widely seen as someone who would run one of the fastest 40-yard dash times at the combine this year, hardly cracked 4.4 seconds, finishing with an official time of 4.39. Meanwhile, his teammate, Matthew Golden, will rise even further up dynasty boards after running a blazing official time of 4.29.
Matthew Golden OFFICIALLY ran a 4.29..
He had the FASTEST 40 Time amongst ALL WR’s in the 2025 Class
➖Height: 5’11
➖Weight: 191 lbsGolden had a notable High Ankle Sprain in January, he MAY run faster at his Pro Day
➖10 Yard Split: 1.53 (9.05)
➖20 Yard Split: 2.54 (9.38) pic.twitter.com/TwR3Nw3hai— Austin Abbott (@AustinAbbottFF) March 1, 2025
Bond's value was already pretty low, but he should fall even further due to his inconsistent production in college and worrying tape. I personally won't be drafting him anywhere. His lack of self awareness was hilariously put in the national spotlight, and his poor college production matched with his arrogance aren't a good combination for the NFL or for fantasy football.
Looks like Xavier Worthy was faster than Isaiah Bond… 😬
pic.twitter.com/5eToTdxUKE— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) March 1, 2025
Regarding other players, Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan chose not to participate in drills at all. This is a red flag and isn't surprising, as his speed on tape is highly suspect. He probably knew he'd perform poorly, as a good combine could have raised his draft stock notably. I've covered McMillan extensively already, and I can sum it up for you here: he is massively overrated and is one of my biggest bust candidates. His value probably won't fall much, but you should avoid him.
Missouri WR Luther Burden III, who I've named a bust candidate as well, ran a 4.41-second 40, so that wasn't bad. One of the surprises was Iowa State's Jayden Higgins, a WR I believe will be a massive steal in rookie drafts, running a 4.47-second 40. That was impressive, as was Stanford's Elic Ayomanor clocking a 4.44. I haven't covered him much yet, but that time surprised me. Ayomanor tested very well. Both he and Higgins should rise up draft boards.
Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor improves on his 40 time 💨
📺: #NFLCombine on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/a3T0tRqVOv— NFL (@NFL) March 1, 2025
Oregon wideout Tez Johnson and Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris weren't able to crack 4.5, but 4.51 (Johnson) and 4.54 (Harris) are mostly fine. The receiver position is perhaps the least dependent on raw athleticism and straight-line speed among all non-quarterback players who aren't juiced up to 230 or more pounds. Johnson and Harris both showed that they have passable speed, which is what matters. For them, it was most important not to run extremely slow.
The Deep Tight End Class Might Not Be So Deep After All
It's hard to ascertain how Michigan tight end Colston Loveland or Penn State TE Tyler Warren would have done. They didn't participate in any of the timed/measurable workouts, like the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical, or broad jump. The one "great" TE prospect who did was BGU TE Harold Fannin Jr. And unfortunately for him, he was a loser of this combine because it was an ugly performance.
He ran a 4.71-second 40-yard dash at a position where athleticism is of massive importance. I've criticized Fannin as slow, lumbering, awkward-moving, and not possessing the separation skills to get away from NFL defenders to make catches. His after-the-catch abilities are also too highly thought of because he went to Bowling Green University and played against inferior competition that didn't know how to tackle for the most part.
I present to you… Harold Fannin’s knees slapping together. pic.twitter.com/DQ7CkBbPqZ
— Silky Johnson (@_silkyjohnson69) March 1, 2025
Fannin simply doesn't possess the skills needed to succeed consistently at the next level. His movement is too poor. Separating from coverage will always remain the premier method for pass-catchers to succeed in the NFL. He will struggle in this area. His combine was pretty hideous, and he'll fall in value ahead of fantasy drafts.
Gunnar Helm TE Texas🤘 spraining his ankle on a false start before his first attempt at the 40 yard dash NFL Combine 2025. pic.twitter.com/kaL2A7PdZG
— AsleepT (@AsleepT) March 2, 2025
Of note as well was Texas TE Gunnar Helm spraining his ankle and still running through it to finish his combine drills. Credit to him, but picking up a sprain like that while simply slowing down is worrying. Body control is very important, and mishaps like these could be indicative of other red flags. That being said, his 40 time of 4.84 seconds should probably be ignored. He's likely faster than that.
Quarterback Combine Performances Aren't Worth Much Thought
None of the top quarterback prospects ran a 40, and throwing footballs in their underwear with receivers they didn't play with isn't exactly revealing. There isn't much reason to look into their efforts. The tape tells us what we need to know.
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