Top 10 Winners from the 2025 NFL Combine
The 2025 NFL Combine has recently come to an end, and it showcased a lot of potential talent in many positions. We saw players making a name for themselves and moving up in rankings. This draft class proved to be something special after a weekend full of star showcasing.
I followed all four days closely, keeping an eye on who I think showed out and also some dark horses who aren’t getting the necessary buzz around them. Here are my top 10 Winners from the 2025 NFL Combine (in no specific order):
1. Dark horse: Ahmed Hassanein (Boise State EDGE 6’2 267 lbs)
To start this list out is my first dark horse in the EDGE position. Hassanein showed a lot of potential and a great amount of energy as he pumped himself up before his hoop drill where he showed great composure staying tight around the hoops.
Ran a 4.7 40 yard dash.
Finished with a 32.5” vertical. 9’5 broad jump. 27 reps on the bench.
Shows great signs of speed in all drills, immediate threat off the edge.
Solid strength shown in the bench press (top 3 out of the participants in edge position)
Enthusiasm shown at the beginning of the around the hoop drill. Will mold in with most defenses.
Look for elite speed and strength off the edge when Hassanien finds his way into the league.
2. Tyrion Ingram- Dawkins (Georgia TACKLE 6’5 276 lbs.)
Coming out of the same category in defensive linemen is Ingram-Dawkins. Stud through all of his drills and his size should skyrocket his rankings.
Great size for a tackle, height will help in pass deflections.
Ran a 4.86 40 (third in defensive tackles). Showed consistent speed at an elite level.
Finished with a 36” vert, elite vertical for a defensive tackle at 276 lbs. 10 '4” broad jump, best out of the tackles.
Achieved fastest 3 cone drill at 7.2 sec.
Found himself at the top of his class in many areas of the combine.
All around Georgia bred DAWG. I really liked his athleticism that he showed which will raise his stock. One of the strong standouts of the defensive tackles.
3. Dark Horse: Teddye Buchanan (California 6’2 233 lbs. Linebacker)
Heading into the linebacker position we see another dark horse in Teddye Buchanan. He isn’t getting the love he should be. Great all around linebacker and showed a lot of promise.
Great size and height.
Finished with a 40” vertical and 10’ 5” broad jump. This is elite out of the elite level jumps, I am very impressed by his jump. Leads all linebackers in the vertical.
Showed elite athleticism, moving laterally and keeping amazing footwork through drills. Consistently showed great acceleration and constant speed through drills.
He is coming off career highs in sacks (5.0) and tackles for loss (12.0) in the 2024 season.
Possesses great strength as he reached 28 reps on the bench, also leading all linebackers.
His excellent jump and great lateral movement should progress Buchanan up the rankings. Really impressed with his game.
4. Kain Medrano (UCLA 6’3 222 lbs.)
Staying with the linebacker position, Medrano stood out to a lot of people, and for all the right reasons. One of the best showings from the linebacker class. We are staying in the great state of California as we look at Medrano, which is sure to be on the radar of many people.
Great height, a little worried about the weight. Size may be a factor boxing out receivers and tackling downhill.
Leading linebackers with a 4.68 40 time, showing impressive speed in his first round.
Finished with a 38” vert (4th in linebackers) and 10 '5” broad jump (tied for 3rd in linebackers). Continues to stay high in leaderboards out of his class, tracks a lot of eyes from teams.
Solid footwork in lateral movements, great stop-and-go speed. His back pedal looked great, maintained speed when backpedaling and changing direction.
He stands out to a lot of people out of the linebacker class and for the right reason. Stunned the combine and looked flawless through it all. Medrano should be high on rankings for many teams, but if not his combine will move him up.
5. Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma 6’3 233 lbs.)
Finishing out my linebacker group is Stutsman. I really liked this linebacker class in the combine, the position that showed the most promise to me. It is a very important position to have on defense, one who shows fast pressure off the blitz and can cover receivers. I see Stutsman doing both of these.
Common thread so far here, tall linebackers. Not only do we just have a tall linebacker here, but a great size too. At 233 lbs. Stutsman can box out receivers and tackle downfield easily with his size.
He ran a 4.5 40 (tying him third in the linebacker class).
Finishing with a 34” vert kinda worries me, not showing great jump but I believe his height will make up for it. The vertical is still decent and will combine with his height well.
A little slower on the laterals, not as fast coming off the stop-and-go. Executed it well though.
Great speed around the edge in the pass rush drill.
The thing that impressed me the most is his speed, this contributes to his pass rush quickness and break around the edge. Very important trait to have on the blitz as a linebacker.
6. Nick Emmanwori South Carolina (Safety 6’3 220 lbs.)
A true DAWG, my favorite player coming out of the combine in all positions. One of the best performances I have seen in a while from a safety. South Carolina has been producing absolute units in the combine.
It seems like everything is there for him, his speed is at a high with a 4.3 40. Running that time at 220 lbs. alone should draw a lot of attention.
He has the best vertical, in the entire rookie class, with a 43”. Covers serious ground with a 11’6” broad jump (you guessed it, also leading the entire rookie class).
Everything is there for me, his build is impressive, he has the height and weight to be fast and stay aggressive downfield.
He didn’t have much showcased in different agility and footwork drills, so I went into film.
He has great lateral acceleration and speed. He maintained body control and was aggressive downfield finishing tackles on receivers. I really liked how he was able to control his hips and keep up with receivers.
Nothing I really don’t like about Emmanwori. His combine performance will move him up in rankings, and should see him early in the first round.
He will 100% excel in the NFL on any team, and will find himself in a starting role very quickly.
7. Mason Taylor (Tight End LSU 6’5 251 lbs.)
We move into the tight end position now and my favorite one out of the combine was Mason Taylor. Many should have seen the clip where he ran the straightest line across the entire field all while maintaining control of the ball and completing catches. He is a very impressive athlete.
Stand out for a lot of people after a very impressive combine showcase.
Didn’t participate in the 40, no vertical or broad jump to speak of could become an issue, only issue I see.
Great ball tracking and hands that was very obvious in the over the shoulder drill.
He stayed centered and pushed the sled with ease in block explosions, showing great leg strength.
Two very impressive rounds in the gauntlet. Straight forward running the whole time while keeping focus on the throws. Showed accurate hand-eye coordination and strong hands.
The gauntlet is what drove Taylor up my ranks in this combine.
In a smaller tight end draft class, look for Taylor to be drafted early after a strong combine performance.
8. Dark Horse: Woody Marks (Running Back USC 5’10 207 lbs.)
Moving into one of my last positions I was very impressed with is running back Woody Marks. He is a dark horse for me. I was very impressed with his showing and should be talked about a lot more.
Small and strong back, difficult to take down, a great power back.
Showed signs of speed in the 40 with a 4.5, solid speed and power combo. Turn on the burners quickly in an open field. A true downhill threat.
When he got into the drills is when he started to surprise me and became a dark horse for me.
Great vision when finding the hole immediately. Showed his great speed and acceleration. His footwork was fast and exploded with speed through the hole.
Shiftiness was there, his ability to cut was very impressive.
When it came to route running he showed promise, he dropped a couple passes but was able to recover. Great tracking, followed the ball into his hands. Showed strong hands and concentration.
Speed could use some work, slowed up on the ball and had trouble accelerating after the catch.
All in all, a powerful back with a 4.5 40 yard dash, solid speed. My dark horse in this running back class. Should not go unnoticed
9. Bhaysul Tuten (Running Back Virginia Tech 5’9 206 lbs.)
A Virginia Tech running back making the top 10 list? Yes. There is so much to love about Tuten from this combine. He quickly became my second favorite player in it.
Tremendous speed with a 4.32 40 yard dash (first in the running back class) Running this at 206 lbs is very impressive and should stand out to many teams.
It did not stop there as he had a 40.5” vertical (first in the running back class) and a 10 '10” broad jump (tied for second in the running back class). His jump is at elite level and covers monster ground. Almost leading in all three categories. Elite.
He maintained his speed through different drills. Showed elite footwork and explosion in the Duce Staley drill. Fast feet into instant acceleration using his vision to find the hole and explode through it.
His route running is there, could work on his shiftiness. Uses all his speed in it. Great tracking as he follows the ball into his hands. Shows very strong hands.
Should polish up his route running to be a great outlet for his quarterback.
Other than that, this is a solid running back who prides his game on speed. Definitely found his way moving up in rankings.
10. Matthew Golden (Wide Receiver Texas 5’11 191 lbs.)
To finish off my list of players I thought stood out is wide receiver out of Texas, Matthew Golden. I have loved his game coming out of Texas and have followed his stuff ever since. Two Longhorns came forward and said they would beat the record in the 40 yard dash, Isaiah Bond and Jaydon Blue. Matthew Golden was the closest out of the Longhorns and yours truly called it.
An outstanding 4.29 40 yard dash (second in all positions). You absolutely need speed in your wide receiver position and Golden will bring you just that.
There is no vertical or broad jump under record coming out of the combine. This worries me, I personally would like to see those numbers only because of his height.
Also not much film on his combine drills, but I have fully broken down his film as I made his draft profile. Bonafide grad A slot receiver and can easily be lined up wide with no trouble. Play this man anywhere, he will get open.
His speed is his game and rightfully so, best speed for a receiver, he can easily get behind defenders and will constantly be a deep-ball threat.
Look for Golden to be a top receiver in the next couple years.
There you have it, my top 10 Winners from the 2025 NFL Combine. It was a great showcase of the top draft prospects heading into the 2025 NFL Draft. It is unfortunate we weren’t able to see some of the top prospects like Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, or Ashton Jeanty but we know those boys will do great.
As for now, we wait and see how the rest of the offseason unfolds as we head into the start of the new year in the NFL on March 12. This is also where we find out where multiple free agents sign, strap in.
