NFL Draft Combine 2025: Best and worst from defensive backs and tight ends

Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Combine brought us some memorable moments. There were people running under the 4.3-second mark on a 40-yard dash, some incredible jumps, and the debut (?) of a new name (?) of a long-used drill.

So, who or what stood out when DBS and TES tested?

• Kentucky CB Maxwell Hairston holds the temporary title of the fastest man in the NFL Combine. He burned a 40-yard dash of 4.28 seconds and looked fun and smooth during the position drill. I put him in my top 50 and was closer to the second round range than the first round range, but his athletic tests made him more likely. He can use his fluid hips and speed to track the path or track the jump route below it.

• Texas CB Jahdae Barron answered a big question to me on Friday. He came out and ran an official 40-yard dash of 4.39. This is an important number for him. I was a little worried about his long speed and he replied strongly to it. He can probably survive on the outside, but I think he is in his best position in the slot as nickel. He didn't do positional drills, but today he really didn't need it.
• I'm really intrigued by CB Darien Porter in Iowa. In his previous wideouts, there aren't many snaps on the outside (but he's a special teamer on Ace), and he ran a 4.3 40-yard dash and showed great athletic skills with the back pedal drill. He's the guy I'm going to go back after the combine.
• Same as Rutgers CB Robert Ronbeam. There was a lovely jump with a 36.5 inch vertical jump and an 11'2 Broad jump, and I ran a 4.39 40 yard dash. He also worked really well with the drill. He's a little smaller at 5'10, what do you say about his tape? I have to go and find it.

• Two fine cornerbacks stood out yesterday, Kansas' Jacob Parrish and Western Kentucky's Upton Stout. Both profile more as slot defenders, but they ran well and worked well with drills. Stout was a hooping, he's going to play in the league for a long time.
• I didn't test the FSU CB Azureye'h Thomas, but I thought he really opened well with the drill. I'm very expensive as Thomas' length and size pressman corner. The team is interested in Round 1.
• Ole Miss CB Trey Amos also answered many questions on 4.43 40. I was worried about his long speed, but he silenced some of those questions.
• Remember how Athletic Seattle Seahawks' CB RIQ Woolen saw the combine coming out of UTSA? Now, there's another Roadrunner thing, The Frasier. Frazier ran a 4.36 40-yard dash, jumped well and moved quickly overall. I have to go back and watch his tapes too.
• South Carolina Safety Nick Eman Wy. That's all.

• I'm a huge fan of Oklahoma Safety Billy Bowman Jr. Running 4.43 is a great time for him and I think the team will find a quality starter on the second day of the draft.
• People rethink Georgia's Malachi Starks' 40 hours (4.5 – that's not bad at all, not bad at all with Falcons' safety Jesse Bates), but take a look at these GPS scores.

To me he seems like a great athlete.

• Andrew Mkuba of Texas, who runs 4.46, is also a good number. I think he went a bit under the radar, but his range is backed up by the run. He has a bit of a tiny frame and he's a bit of a reckless tackler, but he might look very similar to Texans rookie Karen Brock.
• Marques sigle in Kansas – can scoot. He ran a 4.37 40 yard dash, but on tape he moves faster than that.
• Navy's Rayan Lane III didn't burn the fastest 40, but he looked good on the drill. As exercise standards differ significantly from the NFL, it is always difficult to assess the service academy athletic test, but the lane had some great athletic skills. Think of me as intrigued.
• Wisconsin DB Hunter Waller didn't run the fastest 40, but his three-cone time was elite and his GPS score at the gauntlet was second behind the Starks. I saw him on my phone in the senior bowl and he didn't look like a linebacker there. A good day for him with a drill.
• Clearly, the loss of Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren hurts the times, but some of these tight endings' 40-yard dashes… wow.
• The most polarized outlook in that position was the epitome of the combined combine of Harold Fanin Jr. on Bowling Green, “it's so over/we're so back.” It weighed 241 (large than he was listed – we're so back) and he ran a 4.71 40 yard dash (that's it). A short shuttle of 4.39 and a three-cone of 6.97 are the numbers for the disease on the tight end (we're going to be very back), but the wide jump in the 9'10 is very MEH (that's). Fanin ran the route and the gauntlet really well (we've come back so much) but was blocked like this (it's so finished):

Ultimately, I think the conversation about Fan Nin went too far in both directions. Is he the first round player? Probably not. Is he a useful player in the NFL? absolutely. I still have Fannin stock. Fanin may later be the subject of the story.

• The biggest winner of the tight end drill is Oregon Terrence Ferguson. Ferguson ran a 4.63 40-yard dash, having the fastest and fastest maximum speed at 40, and jumping to the top at 39 inches. On top of that, he was one of the better tight ends in blocking and receiving drills. The tight end is spot.
• Notre Dame te Mitchell Evans is the guy who has been my eyes since 2023. He is a proven blocker in Notre Dame's powerful run game, and I think he was a bit underutilized as a receiving option. He moved well on Friday, but could potentially become a better professional than the college players.
• Texas Te Jalin Conyers can move, Y'all. In addition to the highest maximum acceleration in the short shuttle and the fastest overall acceleration in both areas, he moved well as the receiver. He has seen many targets in both Tech and Arizona. His bursts of short areas could be what I'm looking for back and on tape.
• It was a brutal day as a card holding member of the Texas Te Gunnar Helm Fan Club. The 4.84 40-yard dash isn't a great time for a 241-pound tight end, and neither is a 30-inch vertical. They are very bad for tight ends, but Helm's game is based on contact balance and familiarity. I'm still a fan, but it was doing it roughly for Helm.
• LSU TE Mason Taylor looked like the best athlete out there and didn't run or test it. Look at this gauntlet drill:

Like butter.

• Iowa te Luke Lachee is another guy who I go back and see the tape. You can walk through Cornfield in Iowa and find the NFL tight end. Lachey has the athletic skills that will definitely make him the next good thing. The numbers he received are so many, is that because Iowa doesn't throw it? Find it!
• Alabama TE/FB Robbie Ouzts has the largest mustache ever.