The NFL Scouting Combine kicked off in full Thursday in Indianapolis with linebackers, defensive tackles and edge rushers taking the field at Lucas Oil Stadium, and it continued Friday with defensive backs and tight ends.
It’s hard to overstate how important the athletic testing and on-field drills can be for draft hopefuls and just how much that one day in the spotlight matters even for players who piled up significant stats over extended collegiate careers.
So let’s breakdown the top takeaways and performances from Friday, before the spotlight turns to the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers on Saturday.
1. Freakish Tight Ends Play Starring Role At NFL Combine
Everyone expected Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq to wow during the athletic testing and agility work Friday — and did he ever.
But he was incredibly topped by another freakish tight end in fast-rising draft prospect Eli Stowers, out of Vanderbilt.
Sadiq, the 6-foot-3, 241-pound Ducks star, notched a vertical jump of 43.5 inches, which would have been the top mark for any position last year at the combine, and also posted an impressive 11-foot-1 in the broad jump.
Then Stowers blew past both marks.
The 6-foot-4, 239-pound converted quarterback hit 45.5 inches on his vertical jump, which is the best ever for a tight end going back to 2003 (when NFL NextGen Stats started compiling comparative combine data). It’s also the second-best mark by a player at position at the combine behind only safety Gerald Sensabaugh’s record of 46 in 2005.
Stowers then went 11 feet, 3 inches in the broad jump, which set a combine record for tight ends and stands as the best mark through two days of the combine.
His 4.51-second 40-yard dash was tied for second-best among tight ends with Sadiq besting him there at 4.39 — a new record for tight ends (at least since 2003), breaking the mark set 20 years ago by Vernon Davis at 4.40 and later tied by Dorin Dickerson.
Stowers felt underrated as a draft prospect to this point, but that should change after Saturday.
He started his collegiate career as a quarterback at Texas A&M and New Mexico State, where he was beat out for the starting job by Diego Pavia. Stowers transitioned to tight end and later transferred with Pavia to Vanderbilt, catching 111 passes for 1,407 yards and 9 TDs over the last two seasons. Stowers was an AP First-Team All-America selection.
Sadiq, meanwhile, was selected AP Second-Team All-America after catching 51 passes for 560 yards and 8 TDs this past season.
In his pre-combine mock draft, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. projected Sadiq as the only tight end to go in the first round, at No. 23 to the Philadelphia Eagles. That may prove true, but it will be interesting to see how high Stowers lands after his elite performance Friday.
2. Best Testing Numbers Overall Friday
Ohio State safety Lorenzo Styles Jr., the brother of Buckeyes linebacker and projected high first-round pick Sonny Styles, created his own buzz Friday with a blazing 40-yard dash time of 4.27 seconds — the fastest for a safety at the combine since at least 2003.
That bested the field by a good margin with Missouri cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. and Oklahoma safety Robert Spears-Jennings next at 4.32.
Lorenzo Styles had 30 tackles, 3 passes defended and a kick return touchdown for Ohio State this season and isn’t quite the same draft prospect as his brother, but elite speed like that won’t go unnoticed by NFL teams.
Here were the top testing numbers overall Friday.
Top 40-yard dash times:
1. Ohio State S Lorenzo Styles Jr. – 4.27 seconds
T2. Missouri CB Toriano Pride Jr. – 4.32
T2. Oklahoma S Robert Spears-Jennings – 4.32
4.. Arizona S Treydan Stukes – 4.33
5. Oregon S Dillon Thieneman – 4.35
Top vertical jumps:
1. Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers – 45.5 inches
T2. Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq – 43.5
T2. Indiana CB D’Angelo Ponds – 43.5
4. Arizona S Genesis Smith – 42.5
T5. Stephen F. Austin CB Charles Demmings – 42
T5. Texas A&M CB Will Lee – 42
Top broad jumps:
1. Vanderbilt TE Eli Stowers – 11’3”
2. Arkansas CB Julian Neal – 11’2”
3. Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq – 11’1”
T4. Stephen F. Austin CB Charles Demmings – 11’0”
T4. Texas A&M CB Will Lee – 11’0”
Top bench press reps:
1. SMU TE Matthew Hibner – 28
2. Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq – 26
T3. Penn State TE Khalil Dinkins – 25
T3. Stanford TE Sam Roush – 25
T5. Utah TE Dallen Bentley – 24
T5. Oklahoma TE Jaren Kanak – 24
3. Oregon Safety Dillon Thieneman Builds More Draft Momentum
Dillon Thieneman was one of the most productive safeties in college football while posting back-to-back 100-tackle seasons at Purdue, but it took a transfer to Oregon last year to really send his draft stock soaring.
Thieneman was one of the stars of an elite defense that powered Oregon to the College Football Playoff semifinals as he totaled 96 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions and 5 passes defended.
He already looked locked into the first round of the draft, but he may have boosted his stock even further with a fantastic combine performance.
Thieneman ran the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds while hitting 41 inches on his vertical jump, which was second-best among safeties behind Genesis Smith.
Entering the week, Kiper projected him to go No. 18 overall in the draft to the Minnesota Vikings.
4. Group of 5 DBs Help Solidify Draft Stock
For players outside the Power 4 conferences, the combine takes on even greater importance as a chance for NFL talent evaluators to compare them directly with the other top draft hopefuls.
In that regard, Friday was a positive day for San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson and Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren.
Johnson, whom Kiper ranks as the No. 7 CB prospect in this class, showcased his elite speed with a 4.4-second 40-yard dash that ranked third among cornerbacks at the combine. He also led all cornerbacks with 17 bench press reps.
Johnson had 49 tackles, 4 interceptions (including 2 returned for touchdowns), 9 passes defended, 3 tackles for loss and a forced fumble as a senior at San Diego State.
McNeil-Warren, meanwhile, is a fringe first-round pick with Kiper projecting him to land at the back end of the first day of the draft at No. 30 to the Denver Broncos.
He didn’t excel in the 40, posting the second-slowest time (4.52) of the 15 safeties that ran Friday, but that’s at 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds. He was bottom five among safeties in the vertical jump (35.5 inches) and broad jump as well (10’2”).
But the general feedback coming out of Indy was that McNeil-Warren did enough, especially in his field work, to solidify his fringe-first-round draft stock. He had 77 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions (1 returned for TD), 5 passes defended and 3 forced fumbles in 2025 for Toledo.
5. Hidden Gem?
We spotlighted an FCS standout from Thursday’s combine work in Southeastern Louisiana defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor, so we’ll hit on another one from Friday — Stephen F. Austin cornerback Charles Demmings.
As noted above, Demmings was top-5 Friday in vertical jump and broad jump.
Demmings had 4 interceptions and 9 passes defended as a senior for Stephen F. Austin and in his career there he totaled 9 picks and 35 passes defended.
He could prove to be a nice value pick later in the draft for teams needed help at cornerback.
Editor's Pick
Top Storylines To Watch At The 2026 NFL Combine