Losers of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine

In my other article this week, I went through some players that I thought did well for themselves at the Combine. However, not everyone had a great week in Indianapolis. Several players damaged their draft stock through underwhelming performance, unflattering measurables, or off-the-field concerns. Here, we’ll go through the players who hurt themselves at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. Take heart though: a bad day at the Combine does not destroy your chances of becoming a high pick. Players have their Pro Days and their college tape to fall back on if need be.

EDGE Abdul Carter, Penn State

It seems as though almost every year, we get a player who has an unknown year that doctors discover at the Combine. This year, it’s a potential #1 pick. Penn State’s Carter, an edge rusher that some consider the best prospect in this class, was not participating in drills to begin with. A shoulder injury suffered during the CFP settled that. However, Combine medicals revealed a stress fracture in his foot. While Carter will not need surgery and plans to do his Pro Day next month, you wonder if this pair of injuries will make teams question his durability. I suspect that notion will be used as a smokescreen, but uncertainty exists.

DE Princely Umanmielen, Ole Miss

Umanmielen increased his sack production every year in college, earning 10.5 in his 2024 breakout season. At 6’4″, 244 lbs, he slimmed down to boost his speed (he played at around 260 pounds) but only saw average results. My real concern came during the field drills. In most cases, his movements were rather stiff. Umanmielen did not change direction very well, nor did he showcase good agility. That means he’s likely to be a straight-line rusher without a full arsenal of moves. If other teams see that the same way I do, his outside shot of being a first-round pick is completely out the window.

LB Jay Higgins, Iowa

It was a rough day for Higgins. The First-Team All-Big-Ten LB struggled from the jump, and I mean that literally. His jumping numbers weren’t good, but they were soon forgotten because he ran a 4.82-s 40-yard dash. That was the slowest time among all LBs. Higgins did fine in the drills, but the damage was done. Scouts were already worried about his athleticism, but they aren’t quite “worrying” now because they know the answer: he’s not athletic at all relative to his peers. I’m aware how harsh that sounds, and I don’t like saying it. My job here is to tell the truth though, and Higgins’ draft sock could plummet.

S Sebastian Castro, Iowa

Another Hawkeye didn’t have a great Combine performance. Like his teammate above, Castro was a good producer at Iowa but didn’t showcase those skills in Indianapolis. He started with a 4.59-s 40 time; while some safeties can get away with that time, Castro is a centerfield-type free safety, so he needs more swiftness. I also saw him drop footballs in multiple drills, and his hips were slightly stiff during dropbacks. All of these are aspects of the FS role, making me wonder whether Castro can do it at the next level. I’m hopeful he just had a bad day, because his draft grade is somewhere on day 3 following the Combine.

QB Will Howard, Ohio State

I’ve been behind Howard since all the way back in 2022, but I’ll admit that Saturday at the Combine wasn’t his best day. Ohio State had an abnormal number of fans in attendance, but their support didn’t help Howard. He threw numerous inaccurate passes on the day, especially on deep balls. Those who have questioned his top-end arm strength aren’t going to be convinced by this showing. Howard did his best to put air under the ball, but his lobs fell incomplete more often than not. He’ll need to ace his Pro Day to quell the concerns that he’s merely a backup at the next level.

QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Like Howard, Gabriel also had plenty of inaccurate tosses. However, Howard can fall back on his prototypical size. Gabriel is a 5’11” QB who was facing an uphill battle to be selected prior to round 4. I feel like he was overcompensating for his stature by driving the ball too much. He definitely showed that he has sufficient arm strength, but the touch he used during games was nowhere to be found. As a starter for three different schools, Gabriel is mostly a finished product. If today was an indication of what that product actually is, he’s going to slide until late on day 3 before he hears his name called.

WR Isaiah Bond, Texas

In all honesty, Bond performed well. He looked good in the field drills, and his 40 time of 4.39 seconds is fantastic. However, Bond set himself up for failure. For some reason, he thought it was a good idea to boast that he was going to break Xavier Worthy’s record of 4.21 seconds. Clearly, he couldn’t do that. There’s no shame in failing to break an insane record. Overpromising and then underdelivering is Bond’s real mistake here. When you set expectations that high, you almost have to come through for anyone to see your performance in a positive light. Bond couldn’t execute, so his otherwise great day might go to waste.

WR Tez Johnson, Oregon

For a moment, I thought NFL Network was messing with me. Could Johnson really weigh just 154 pounds? Only Brian Banks (149 lbs) has ever weighed less at the Combine. Sure enough, that was Johnson’s true weight. So he must have been speedy right? Alas, he ran a terribly disappointing 4.51-s 40. That’s not a horrible time in a vacuum, but it’s poor for a player his size. His day got worse when he dropped a pass during his gauntlet run and then dropped a ball on a post route thrown by college teammate Dillon Gabriel. One Combine isn’t everything, but Johnson needs to pick up the pieces after a position-worst day.

OT/G Will Campbell, LSU

I, along with much of the scouting world, was waiting for just one measurement from Campbell: his arm length. Considered the top lineman in the draft, Campbell was listed at 33 7/8″ mark by LSU, but colleges often fluff their players’ numbers. It seems they did so in a big way here, as Campbell’s Combine arm length was just 32 5/8″. His college number was already straddling the line between OT and G, but the true length could make more teams view him as a player who needs to kick inside at the next level. Adding to his unproductive day, Campbell also stumbled frequently during the drills. Maybe he should’ve sat out. However…

NFL Combine Fans

If you’re like me, you’ve probably watched the Combine for many years now with the intention of seeing the biggest stars show out. Lately though, more of those stars have chosen not to participate in any of the on-field work. They commonly state the refrain “I’m saving it for my Pro Day” in explaining their decisions to opt out. Truth be told, many of these kids aren’t the ones making those calls; with NIL, college players can hire agents before turning pro. Those agents are putting ideas into their heads earlier than ever, and us as fans miss out on seeing all of the top prospects in a central location competing against their peers.

Just take a look at the names you didn’t see in action this weekend: QBs Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward, CB/WR Travis Hunter, TE Tyler Warren, CB Will Johnson, WR Tetairoa McMillan, and more. Others, such as Michigan DT Mason Graham and Miami TE Elijah Arroyo, offered weak-sounding injury excuses such as “bruises” and “hamstring tightness”. I get wanting to be 100%, but those issues wouldn’t keep any player out of a real game. Players prefer the comfortable confines of their home stadiums and familiar teammates to the potentially disadvantageous nature of an NFL-staged event.

The reason players skip the Combine workouts is simple: they aren’t penalized for it. Teams used to ask what a player was hiding if he chose to sit out. Now, teams are so desperate for stars that they let them get away with almost anything. Case in point: in 2024, both Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels did not throw at the Combine. They were selected #1 and #2 overall, respectively. Players are simply seeing no downside, as they can avoid an injury or a bad showing without damaging their stock. I love the Combine, so this paradigm saddens me. The way things are trending, the Combine’s relevance itself could wane in the future.