2025 NFL Scouting Combine: Testing Day 1 Recap & Standouts at Edge and Linebacker
Check out the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine participants who had the best opening nights
The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine began on Monday with defensive linemen and linebackers undergoing team interviews and pre-exams, but the on-field testing and drills began yesterday evening. I’m not going to write a full, long-winded recap (haha), but I wanted to share some fun statistics, observations, and takeaways from Thursday’s testing.
Most of the information pulled in here is from Next Gen Stats, which debuted a sortable way to filter through historical Combine data dating back to 2003. It doesn’t have as many broad oversights as MockDraftable, but it filters data more easily and updates quicker.
Carson Schwesinger, LB UCLA
I have a third round grade on Schwesinger, but he’s my No. 43 prospect in the class. I’d be stunned if he fell past the mid-fifties in the second round. The former walk-on is such a smooth mover with excellent range and closing speed to impact the run and pass games.
Per Next Gen Stats, Schwesinger's 39.5" vertical jump ranks 27th among all linebackers to attend the NFL Scouting Combine dating back to 2003. It would’ve ranked 26th, but Cal’s Teddye Buchanan leaped 40" last night to lead all linebackers in the 2025 class.
Some other linebackers to register 39.5" verts at the Combine include former Pro Bowlers Leighton Vander Esch and Devin White, Willie Gay Jr., and Malcolm Rodriguez. MockDraftable, which has data going back to 1999, lists a 39.5" vert as a 93rd percentile output for an off-ball linebacker.
Kain Medrano, LB UCLA
The “other” UCLA linebacker was one of the reasons why the Bruins asked Oluwafemi Oladejo to transition from linebacker to edge rusher early in the 2024 season. UCLA didn’t want to take Medrano off the field. He flashed a bunch at the Shrine Bowl this year, especially in coverage. Now we know why.
Medrano is only 6’2 7/8’’ and 222 lbs., which likely relegates him to a special teams role considering some of the deficiencies in his run defense profile. However, he definitely helped himself at the Combine and Shrine Bowl. Medrano led all linebackers with a 4.46 40-time and finished tied for third in the broad (10’5’’) and fourth in the vert (38’’).
Medrano’s 4.46 40-time is the 15th fastest time in the Next Gen Stats database for a linebacker, tying Willie Gay Jr.’s mark. For reference, Payton Wilson ran a 4.43 last year.
Bobby Wagner doesn’t have a 40-time from the Combine, but MockDraftable tells us that he posted a 4.46 40-yard dash in a separate event. In their database, a 4.46 is a 97th percentile score for an off-ball linebacker.
Smael Mondon Jr., LB Georgia
Mondon is undersized at 6’2 1/4’’, 224 lbs. but displays excellent acceleration, agility, and change of direction. These traits, plus a good top speed, make him a weapon in coverage. He’s also one of the smarter pre-snap processors in this class and sorts through routes well in zone coverage post-snap.
Mondon led all linebackers with a 10’10’’ broad jump. That ranks 14th among all linebackers in Next Gen Stat’s Combine database. For reference, Clemson do-it-all linebacker/safety hybrid Isaiah Simmons jumped 11’00’’, and current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans jumped 10’09’’ in 2006.
Mondon tied with Auburn’s Eugene Asante to lead all linebackers with a 1.52 10-yard split. That ranks 14th among linebackers in the Next Gen Stats database, tying players like Bobby Okereke, Leighton Vander Esch, and Malcolm Rodriguez.
For reference, here are a few linebacker prospects who ran 1.51 10-yard splits: Troy Andersen, Jerod Mayo, Patrick Queen, Isaiah Simmons, Roquan Smith, and Devin White.
Jihaad Campbell, LB Alabama
Campbell didn’t lead linebackers in any single test, but he finished third in the 40-yard dash (4.52), third in the 10-yard split (1.53), and second in the broad jump (10’7’’). He weighed in at 6’2 7/8’’, 235 lbs. with 32 1/2’’ arms.
That 40-time ranks 44th in the Next Gen Sports database, tied with players like Derrick Johnson, Haason Reddick, Malcolm Rodriguez (again), Telvin Smith, and Quay Walker. For reference, Edgerrin Cooper and Roquan Smith ran 4.51s. Of the 43 players ranked ahead of Campbell, 25 weighed as much or more than him.
According to MockDraftable, a 4.52 is a 92nd percentile test for an off-ball linebacker. The 1.53 10-yard split is also 92nd percentile, and his 10’7’’ broad is 94th percentile.
Shemar Stewart, Edge Texas A&M
Stewart checked in at 6’5’’, 267 lbs. with 34 1/8’’ arms and an 84 3/4’’ wingspan. He weighed 281 lbs. at the Senior Bowl, which means he’ll probably play in the low 270s. The great part about this is it FINALLY kills the annoying discussion about him kicking inside to play defensive tackle. He’s always been a true edge. Yesterday confirmed that.
Stewart ran the fourth-fastest 40-time for an edge this year at 4.59, and his 1.58 10-yard split ranked third among the group of 18 testers. His 40-time (90th percentile) and 10-yard split (91st percentile) both hold up well when compared to MockDraftable’s database.
A 1.58 10-yard split tied for 28th among edge rushers in Next Gen Stat’s data set. Several current star rushers, including Josh Allen, Brian Burns, and Danielle Hunter, ran 1.57s. Stewart is the 17th edge rusher to weigh 260 lbs. or more and run a 4.59 40-yard dash or faster, according to Next Gen Stats.
Stewart also leapt 40’’ in the vertical and 10’11’’ in the broad. Those score 96th percentile and 98th percentile marks, respectively, according to MockDraftable. Stewart has the fourth-longest broad jump and 15th highest vertical jump by an edge rusher in the Next Gen Stats database, which contributed to him initially earning a perfect 10.00 Relative Athletic Score (RAS).
Stewart is an athletic marvel who should easily go in the top 12, if not the top ten, selections. The floor feels like it’s the Dallas Cowboys. Stewart lacks eye-catching college production, but you just don’t find players with these kinds of historic tools very often. He’s a ball of clay with elite traits.
Landon Jackson, Edge Arkansas
Jackson is a tall 6’6’’, 264 lb. wide-alignment rusher with 33 1/4’’ arms. He lacks ideal bend because of his tall, angular frame but displays the burst to win with the aid of softened angles. Jackson is also accustomed to countering inside for quick wins. He relentlessly beat offensive tackles through the B-gap late in Senior Bowl week.
Jackson likely locked himself in as a top 50 pick with his performance at the Combine. He jumped 10’9’’ in the broad (97th percentile) and led the position group with a 40.5’’ vertical (97th percentile). His 4.68 40-yard dash and 1.65 10-yard split were less notable, but that 40-time is still a 76th percentile mark in MockDraftable.
Jackson’s vertical is tied for the ninth-best among edge rushers in the Next Gen Stats database. He’s tied with players like Connor Barwin, Dallas Turner, and Mario Williams and sits just a half inch below Myles Garrett’s mark. Jackson’s broad jump is tied for tenth with players like Brian Burns and Kamerion Wimbley.
Next Gen Stats lists Jackson, Bud Dupree, Kareem Martin, and Shemar Stewart as the only edge rushers to weigh 260 lbs. or more and jump 10’9’’ or better in the broad. Jackson, Bud Dupree, Myles Garrett, and Mario Williams are the only 260+ lb. edges with 40.5’’ verticals or better.
James Pearce Jr. Edge Tennessee
Pearce predictably checked in light at 6’5 1/4’’, 245 lbs. His 32 3/4’’ arms were certainly a little disappointing, as was his 31’’ vert, which ranked third-to-last among the 21 edge rushers who participated in the test. Pearce’s 10’3’’ broad jump was more impressive but fell short of the elite group.
Fortunately for Pearce, he aced the 40-yard dash with a blistering 4.47 and a 1.56 10-yard split. That 40-time is tied for the tenth-fastest by an edge rusher in the Next Gen Stats database. For reference, Dallas Turner ran a 4.46 while Chop Robinson ran a 4.48 last year. A 4.47 is a 97th percentile score for an edge rusher in MockDraftable.
Pearce’s 10-yard split was also impressive. It’s tied for 16th on Next Gen Stats with a group that includes YaYa Diaby and is only one-hundredth of a second off the 1.55 pace set by Nick Bosa and Josh Sweat. A 1.56 is a 93rd percentile score in MockDraftable.
Other Notes
Jared Harrison-Hunte and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins led the interior defensive line group with 1.69 10-yard splits, which would be 84th percentile marks in MockDraftable for interior linemen, but only 57th percentile marks if you include base defensive ends.
Ty Robinson’s 4.83 40-yard dash is a 95th percentile score for defensive tackles and ranks 19th for the position group among Next Gen Stats’ tracked scores. Nnamdi Madubuike and Quinnen Williams also ran 4.83s.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins finished in first place in five of the six exercises he participated in, with his lone shortcoming being a second place tie in the 40-yard dash with Jared Harrison-Hunte. Ingram-Dawkins is only 276 lbs. and primarily lined up over or outside of the offensive tackle in college.
CJ West (316 lbs.) and Derrick Harmon (313 lbs.) both running 4.95 40-yard dashes (82nd percentile for defensive tackles) and turning in 1.73 and 1.74 10-yard splits, respectively, were quality times.