North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton was one of the players who helped himself the most at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
Hampton measured at 6 feet tall and 221 pounds, ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, vertical jumped 38 inches and broad jumped 10 feet, 10 inches, while also bench pressing 225 pounds for 18 reps. He said on PFT Live that he knew he was going to impress with his workout.
“I love the weight room,” Hampton said. “Always in the weight room, love benching all the time, even when I was younger, when I was in middle school.”
The 21-year-old Hampton was a first-team All-American in both 2023 and 2024 and topped 1,500 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns both years. Although Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is widely regarded as the top running back in the 2025 NFL draft, Hampton is making a case that he should be the first back off the board.
Running backs’ draft stocks and free agent contracts have declined in the NFL over the last decade or two, but Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty says right now is a good time to be a running back coming into the league.
Jeanty said on PFT Live that after seeing Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry sign free agent contracts and have big years in 2024, he believes NFL teams view running backs as important again.
“It’s exciting where the running back position is right now,” Jeanty said. “A few years ago it was getting devalued, but you look at all the guys in the league who are doing special things and showing that there’s value to having a great running back.”
Jeanty carried 374 times for 2,601 yards last season, and caught 23 passes for 138 yards. But he says those numbers shouldn’t make teams think he can’t contribute in the passing game.
“Being able to protect the quarterback is a big deal, I’m a three-down back, even able to run routes,” Jeanty said.
That’s what NFL teams want to hear in a running back who has some big-time value in the draft.
Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson is the fastest tight end at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
Ferguson ran a 4.63-second 40-yard dash, the best time for any tight end this year.
The 6-foot-5, 247-pound Ferguson played four years at Oregon. He was a first-team All-Pac-12 tight end in 2023 and a third-team All-Big Ten tight end in 2024.
The next-fastest tight ends in Indianapolis were South Carolina’s Joshua Simon at 4.65, Alabama’s CJ Dippre at 4.69, Pitt’s Gavin Bartholomew at 4.70 and Nebraska’s Thomas Fidone at 4.70.
Seeing Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix thrive as rookie quarterbacks in 2024 would seem to be a plus for Dillon Gabriel’s chances of landing an NFL job, but his similar level of experience as a starter is offset by a big physical difference.
Gabriel is listed as 5'11", which would make him the rare NFL starter below six feet. During an appearance on PFT Live from the Scouting Combine on Friday, Gabriel noted that “it’s been done” while talking about players like Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Bryce Young and said teams that he matches up with will care about “my decision making, my accuracy and my ability to be efficient” rather than his height.
Gabriel started 63 games during his time at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon and said he’s “produced my whole life” as further reason why he thinks he’ll be able to succeed as a professional.
“I’ve had a lot of experience,” Gabriel said. “I’ve done it at every level. Nothing’s gonna change at the NFL level even though it will be the best league and the best players. As anything, you adapt. I’m eager to learn, so when I get in that locker room I’m gonna get to it.”
Gabriel is not expected to hear his name called in the first round in April, but finding a fit with a team that’s willing to give him a shot despite his height is going to be the key for him whenever he’s selected.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe plans to throw at the Scouting Combine this weekend.
Top quarterback Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders do not plan on throwing, so Milroe will as will Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart and Texas’ Quinn Ewers.
“It’s a dream come true,” Milroe said Friday. “I remember watching the combine, so now having a firsthand experience of what all is involved during the week is definitely a great week for sure. So, that’s my biggest goal.”
Milroe threw for 2,844 yards with 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and he ran for another 726 yards and 20 scores. He was 21-6 as a starter, but only 9-4 this season with losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Michigan.
That has led to questions about his NFL prospects, and the Senior Bowl didn’t do much to improve his draft stock.
“I’m cool with being underrated,” Milroe said. “I play in the hardest conference in the country. I played against the number one team in the country; the number one defense in the country. So, if I lack knowledge, I wouldn’t be able to win big games. And 2023, my first year starting, I didn’t lose a SEC game and was playing a lot of different defenses, a lot of things that was unraveled when it came to the game planning and a lot of things I pour into that people don’t see. It’s a grind. It is a social norm to think after the game on Saturday that it is physically taxing, but it’s also mentally taxing because of everything that’s involved with game planning, walkthroughs, the film, waking up early in the morning, and so it’s a lot of things that’s involved to being a successful quarterback and it’s misinterpreted.
“The people that surround me, they understand how much I love football and how much I’m looking to grow as a player. So it’s all about who definitely sees something in me.”
UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano impressed on the field in Indianapolis at the Scouting Combine.
Medrano ran a 4.46-second 40-yard dash, making him the fastest linebacker at this year’s Combine.
The 6-foot-3, 222-pound Medrano spent six years at UCLA, with a redshirt season and a covid exemption giving him extra NCAA eligibility. He had his best season last year and was chosen third-team All-Big Ten.
The next-fastest linebackers were Auburn’s Eugene Asante at 4.48, Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell at 4.52, Oklahoma’s Danny Stutsman at 4.52, Oklahoma State’s Nick Martin at 4.53 and Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver at 4.56.
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has met with a number of teams during the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, but he’ll be saving his on-field activities until a later date.
Egbuka told reporters in Indianapolis on Friday that he will not be running the 40 or doing other physical testing on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend. Egbuka will do those drills at Ohio State’s pro day workout instead.
Egbuka is trying to join the long list of Buckeye wideouts who have been first-round picks. Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, and Chris Olave all became part of that group over the last three years.
Egbuka had 81 catches for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns for Ohio State in 2024.
The Titans have not given a clear indication of which way they may be leaning when it comes to this year’s No. 1 overall pick.
But one of the players who is expected to be firmly in the mix for being the first off the board is quarterback Cam Ward.
The former Miami signal-caller has already spent time with Tennessee’s coaching staff at the Shrine Bowl, saying on Friday that he now knows a “decent amount” of the club’s offense. Ward noted how that element could give him an advantage, should he end up in Nashville.
“I was able to watch a couple of their games this past season. A lot of their route concepts are similar stuff that we do [at Miami],” Ward said. “So, if I were drafted there, I just think it’d be plug-and-play.”
Ward noted that he’s had “good interactions” with the Titans’ brass.
“It’s a great staff they’ve put together,” Ward said. “They’ve got unbelievable players. So I just hope that God puts me, you know, in the situation.”
Even as Ward will be 23 by the time the regular season starts, he recognizes that there can be an adjustment period for a quarterback as a leader when he enters the league. But the one thing he knows he can bring is “just holding people accountable.”
“I’m not a rah-rah guy,” Ward said. “At this point in your career in the NFL, you shouldn’t need somebody to motivate you every day. You’ve got to be self-motivated. That’s the type of person I am, that’s the type of leader I am. So, I just think what I can bring to a franchise, no other player can do that.”
As for earning that spot as the potential No. 1 overall pick, Ward said, “The tape says everything.”
“I think just what separates me from everybody is the way I approach it, the mindset I have going onto the field each and every game,” Ward said. “And coming from my journey, not a lot of people can do that. So I just think it shows the world that I’m willing to put in — whether I go first round or second round, at the end of the day … it’s all about establishing yourself with each and every opportunity.”
Shedeur Sanders began and ended his media availability with one word: Legendary.
The Colorado quarterback expects to turn around whatever team drafts him because he did that at Jackson State and he did it in Boulder.
“That’s the plan,” Sanders said. “If that’s not what you’re trying to do, don’t get me. If you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me. You should know that history repeats itself over and over and over. I’ve done it over and over and over, so it should be no question why an NFL franchise should pick me.”
Sanders might or might not be the No. 1 overall pick, which currently belongs to the Titans. Several other teams in the top 10 also have a need for a quarterback, even though this quarterback class is not considered as strong as most of the recent ones, including last year’s class that featured Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix.
“The number where you go don’t matter,” Sanders said. “I reference Tom Brady, because he is the best of the best in all categories. He ain’t go first. So, the number you get picked don’t matter. I wasn’t the top-rated quarterback coming out of high school, because there a lot of things that people will like and don’t like about me. I’m realistic, and I’m realistic about my family and everything that people say that comes with it.”
Sanders, though, said he is the No. 1 quarterback.
“Now the thing is I respect a lot of quarterbacks and they put a lot of hard work to get to this point, so it’s kudos to them. It’s truly respect,” Sanders said. “But I know what I bring to the table.”
In three seasons at Jackson State, including a redshirt season he didn’t throw a pass, Sanders passed for 6,976 yards, 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The Tigers were 23-3. Colorado went 13-11 the past two seasons as Sanders completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
“I’m realistic,” Sanders said. “I know what I need to improve on. I know what I need to grow at. Year by year, cut on the tape, those mistakes cut down yearly. I’m hyper aware of everything I need to do to be successful. So, I’m ready to get to it.”
Sanders said his strength is his mental ability.
“Because I know nothing can faze me,” Sanders said. “No pressure, no situation, these cameras, nothing fazes me. I grew up with it.”
Sanders also touted his adaptability. He played for six offensive coordinators at two programs.
“I’m able to adapt to all types of personalities,” Sanders said. “The truly thing that I know that I know what I want, and I know what’s going to make me succeed. So, that’s these conversations with the coaches and the G.M.s and understanding this is how I’m going to get on track, because I’ve tried every different style, every different way, so I know what works for me and makes me play my best.”
Sanders insists he doesn’t care when he goes or where he goes, but he knows that whoever gets him will become a winner.
“I’ve done it at two locations already, so it’s simple,” Sanders said. “That’s why when people say I’m not one of the top quarterbacks or the top quarterback, it’s what are y’all going based off of, because I did year after year after year after year and you see the progression. So, obviously it’s got to be some type of external hate that you have for the last name for anything, because I know I proved myself on the field.”
Neither of the top two quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class will be throwing in Indianapolis this weekend.
Shedeur Sanders announced that he would not be working out before the Scouting Combine began this week and Cam Ward told reporters at his Friday press conference that he won’t be throwing either. Ward explained why he will be throwing at Miami’s pro day instead.
“Me throwing here is not going to move me no type of way,” Ward said. “I just decided to throw at my pro day to the best receiving corps in the country.”
The pro day throwing session is also unlikely to do much to change anyone’s mind. Ward and Sanders have both played enough football to leave scouts clear about which one would be the preferred fit for their team’s offense.
