The 2025 NFL Scouting Combine enters its final day but has seen the skill positions hit the field in full as of Saturday. While arguably the biggest names opted to work out during their respective pro days, we still had a glimpse at a few players whose fantasy value could be reshaped after the NFL’s latest edition of its meat market.
Fantasy football risers
WRs Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, Iowa State: At 6-foot-4, 214 pounds, Higgins is on the rise following his combine performance. He surprised in the 40-yard dash with a 4.47-second run, topping out at 22.28 mph per NFL Next Gen Stats. Already a tall target, adding a 39-inch vertical leap to his repertoire certainly didn’t hurt. Higgins’ teammate, Noel, showcased his pure athleticism across the board to confirm what we saw on tape.
RB Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State: Already among the top RBs, he ran a sub-4.5 40 time and showed lower-body explosiveness with the longest broad jump at the position (11-foot) and a 38 1/2-inch vert all at 5-foot-10, 221 pounds. That’ll turn a few heads!
RB DJ Giddens, Kansas State: Posting a 4.43-second 40 that was better than many expected and good for sixth at the position, Giddens (6-foot, 212 pounds) finished second in each of the jumping tests. Depending on where you look, Giddens’ draft stock ranges from the sixth round to late-Day 2 selections, but he likely secured a top-100 selection after today. Don’t raise an eyebrow if he sneaks into the second.
QB Brady Cook, Missouri: A lively, accurate arm was on full display for evaluators, and Cook’s 6-foot-2, 214-pound, athletic frame is built well enough to withstand the rigors of professional quarterbacking. A QB-friendly coaching staff will love to put their fingerprints on his fine-tuning process.
RB Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech: Already on the radar after a productive career, Tuten scorched his way to a 4.32-second 40-yard dash and managed an impressive 40 1/2-inch vertical jump, which should get some more eyes on his game film.
QB Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss: He showed off a big arm with velocity at all levels and downfield touch. Dart’s timing was impressive, and he throws with a rhythm that’s tough to teach.
TE Joshua Simon, South Carolina: He managed to shine in workouts as well as positional drills and may have climbed up a few boards for those looking at athletic late-rounders in a top-heavy draft class.
WR Matthew Golden, Texas: He blazed to a 4.29-second 40 time and didn’t do anything else, but that was enough to reassure scouts Golden is one of the top positional prospects of this class.
Fantasy football fallers
WR Isaiah Bond, Texas: Confidence is one thing, and being able to back it up is another, but boasting you’ll break an all-time speed record and not even coming within sniffing distance of it is something all of its own. For us mere mortals, 4.21 seconds in a 40-yard dash is hard to fathom, so criticizing Bond’s 4.39 official time is probably unfair, but he will get another shot at his March 26 pro day.
WR Tez Johnson, Oregon: Draft prospects who measure south of 170 pounds rarely translate to the pros, and Johnson checked in at a slight buck-fifty-four. If you’re a tiny receiver, you better at least be fast. He wasn’t that, either, running a disappointing 4.51 in the 40. Barring a radical improvement at his pro day, Johnson may have fallen out of the draft entirely.
RB Ulysses Bentley IV, Ole Miss: Already 25 years old by the end of the upcoming NFL season, Bentley is plenty experienced — great for a quarterback but not so much for a running back’s draft stock. He looked slow in and out of his cuts and lacked measurable explosiveness for a 5-foot-10, 201-pounder.
QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon: Being insanely productive doesn’t automatically translate to fantasy success at the next level, of course, and it’s an even tougher sell for a timing-reliant quarterback under 6-foot with a governor on his left throwing arm.
QB Will Howard, Ohio State: Accuracy issues plagued him in drills, and his workout numbers weren’t pretty. It’s tough to ignore how poorly he threw the ball on Saturday.
WR Josh Kelly, Texas A&M: Dead last in the 40 among WRs, Kelly also was the second-slowest in the 10-yard split at 1.56 seconds and showed no explosion in his leaping drills.
