This week kicks off the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, one of the finest full weeks on the NFL calendar. That means, of course, it’s time for some bold predictions for the athletic tests inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
History tells us that many of the standout performances this week will come from prospects we didn’t expect to be as jaw-dropping as they ultimately are.
With that said, let’s get to it — bold predictions for the 2025 NFL combine are here. And they’re specific.
Penn State TE Tyler Warren has memorable combine workout
Penn State has long been known for producing prospects with almost unfathomable combine workouts. Doesn’t matter position or quality of the prospect. From Saquon Barkley and Mike Gesicki to Kevin Austin and Brandon Smith to Joey Porter Jr. and Chop Robinson, the Nittany Lions program understands the assignment when it comes to prepping its players for the combine.
And on film, Tyler Warren looks like he could stroll into Indianapolis and test through the roof at the combine. I can’t imagine how magnificently he’s going to test as one of the biggest, most intimidating tight ends in this class. He’ll cement himself inside the top 15 with a dazzling performance in Indianapolis.
2025 NFL combine: Key prospects to watch in Indianapolis this week; biggest snubs still likely to get drafted
Ryan Wilson
Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell tests better than some WRs in 40-yard dash and vertical
Jihaad Campbell looks like a chiseled receiver-tight end hybrid and on film erupts to the football every single play. He was actually the No. 1 edge recruit in the country back in 2022, according to 247 Sports, and he slimmed down at Alabama to man one of its off-ball linebacker positions.
That hints at the type of explosive athlete we’re about to see run in Indianapolis. Over the past five years or so, the linebacker prospects with elite speed have started to break the 4.50 barrier — think Devin White and Devin Bush in 2019, Isaiah Simmons in 2020, Owen Pappoe in 2023, and Payton Wilson last year. It’s no longer rare. Still impressive and provides a glimpse of just how much range NFL linebackers have today.
Campbell has the sleek body type and powerful legs to run faster and jump higher than several wide receivers — close to his size — in this class.
South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori tests comparably to Derwin James
In 2018, at north of 6-feet-1 and 215 pounds, Derwin James put on an absolute show of athletic brilliance in Indianapolis. He ran 4.47 in the 40-yard dash with a 40-inch vertical and an 11-foot broad jump. How he still went No. 17 overall after that workout will forever puzzle me.
Nick Emmanwori is that type of athlete, in that type of body frame at the safety position. Types like him and James do not grow on trees. Although the likes of Kyle Hamilton and Jeremy Chinn have had comparable performances over the past five years and unsurprisingly have represented the next wave of stars at the safety position.
Emmanwori may actually tip the scales slightly bigger than James but will have a workout almost identical to that of the Chargers stud.
Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart does something we’ve never seen before from a prospect his size
I can’t pinpoint exactly what it’ll be, but I have some guesses here. Shemar Stewart, who should measure in over 280 pounds, might run sub 4.49, which is the current record for fastest 40-yard dash run by a prospects over 280 pounds (Adetomiwa Adebawore, 2023). Could he hit 40 inches on the vertical? Possibly.
Stewart could even broad jump close to 132 inches (11 feet). He’s that explosive on film with such a sleek frame. Now, I’m not sure if he’ll crush — or even attempt — the short shuttle or three-cone drill, but Stewart has the athletic reputation as one of the freakiest players in college football over the past few seasons. I bet he provides a historic moment at the 2025 combine.
TCU WR Savion Williams ascends boards after freaky all-around workout
To be honest, Savion Williams is kind of like a huge running back, listed at 6-5 and 225 pounds. He plays with a relatively low center of gravity and is a giant boulder after the catch no one is too keen on tackling. But it’s not just pure power birthed from his size that equates to Williams’ YAC specialty.
He has some giddy-up after the catch for a wideout of his frame, and some of it is of the short-area quicks variety. After his workout, in a reasonably weak wide receiver class and because of the uptick in schemed-up, high-percentage throws for quarterbacks to maximize yards after the catch for their receivers, Williams will cement himself on Day 2 of the draft, and we could even hear some late Round 1 buzz.
