2025 NFL Combine: Winners, Losers From Saturday's Workouts

Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State

It was going to be hard for a top running back prospect to separate themselves in such a loaded group of prospects participating on Saturday. However, Quinshon Judkins did more than enough to put himself firmly in that second tier of RBs behind Ashton Jeanty.

Judkins' day was highlighted by an 11-foot broad jump, which was the best of the entire running back group by a full two inches. He was also near the top of the group with a 38.5-inch vertical jump and ran quite well with a 40-yard dash time of 4.48 seconds.

What makes his testing even more impressive is that Judkins measured in at nearly 6 feet, 221 pounds. That combination of size, speed, and explosiveness perfectly complements his aggressive downhill running style, making him an intriguing prospect who should hear his name called early on Day 2 of this year's draft.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Virginia Tech

While Judkins was already one of the top running back prospects in this class, Bhayshul Tuten was flying under the radar heading into Indianapolis. That changed quickly after a dominant day on Saturday when he tore up all the drills he participated in.

With a 40.5-inch vertical, Tuten led the rest of the running back group by a full inch in the drill. He was also just behind Judkins in the broad jump with a 10-foot-10 jump, tied with DJ Giddens and Omarion Hampton for second place.

However, the highlight of Tuten's day was his blazing 40-yard dash time. He led the entire group by a wide margin, running the drill in just 4.32 seconds, one of the fastest times at any position this week, along with a blazing 10-yard split of 1.49 seconds.

Tuten was a consistently productive running back in college, and now that his athletic ability is on full display, scouts will likely spend the next few weeks examining the film on this electric running back.

Jayden Higgins, WR, Iowa State

For a big-bodied receiver, there were some scouts who weren't convinced on Jayden Higgins' top-end speed or explosiveness, but his athletic testing on Saturday showed that he has enough juice to play on the outside at the NFL level.

Higgins posted one of the best vertical jumps at 39 inches in the first group of receivers. His broad jump was also near the top of the group, tied for third place with Florida's Chimere Dike and Jimmy Horn Jr. out of Colorado with a 10-foot-8 jump.

For a 214-pound receiver, Higgins still posted a strong 40-yard dash time of 4.47 seconds. He's not a true burner as a more traditional "X" receiver, but having enough juice to force defenses to respect his top-end speed will allow him to run a more complete route tree at the next level.

Higgins is stuck with a handful of receiver prospects in his tier, but a strong day at this year's combine might have helped him separate himself.

Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa State

From one Iowa State receiver to another, the Cyclones duo tore up Indianapolis on Saturday.

That shouldn't be a surprise, as the two each eclipsed 1,100 receiving yards this past season. Jaylin Noel was the smaller weapon of the two but was Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year and a consistent vertical threat in the slot for Iowa State.

Noel's electric play style translated to the Combine with ease. He led all receivers with an 11-foot-2 broad jump and was tied with Sam Brown Jr. for the best vertical jump at 41.5 inches. He also checked the speed box, breaking the 4.4 mark in the 40-yard dash with some explosive speed.

When speaking with The 33rd Team in February, Noel was confident that he would have a strong performance at the Combine. That would be an understatement after his day on Saturday.

Losers

Ulysses Bentley IV, RB, Ole Miss

As someone with a ton of college experience but limited production over the last few seasons, Ulysses Bentley IV needed to show some spark of athletic ability to force scouts to take a closer look at his film.

That didn't end up happening, unfortunately. Bentley measured in on the smaller end of RBs in this class at just under 5-foot-10 and 201 pounds and struggled to use his lighter frame to take advantage of some of the drills. He finished a half inch away from the shortest vertical jump of the running backs at 32.5 inches, and he was tied for the shortest broad jump with three other RBs with a 9-foot-9 jump.

The 40-yard dash went just as poorly, with Bentley testing dead last among the group at 4.62 seconds. That's not even a bad time in other years, but for a class that was so dominant, his time turned out to be disappointing.

Bentley will need to hope that his body of work on film can overcome questions about his extended college workload and poor athletic testing.

Tez Johnson, WR, Oregon

There were so many questions about how Johnson's size would stack up in the NFL, but other small receivers have made plays in the NFL, including Xavier Worthy and Tutu Atwell.

However, both Worthy and Atwell had legitimate speed as prospects, making them draftable players and, in Worthy's case, a first-round pick. That won't be the case for Johnson, who may now have a hard time being drafted after his 40-yard dash time.

Johnson ran the 40-yard dash in just 4.51 seconds. While he led all receivers with a 10-foot-11 broad jump and a respectable 37-inch vertical, his lack of top-end play speed is a huge concern.

After weighing in at just 154 pounds, Johnson needs to prove that he had legitimate top-end speed. Now, he'll have more questions than answers for the rest of the pre-draft process, and that could mean a drastic drop in his draft stock.

The Quarterbacks

It would be an understatement to say that Saturday was a disappointment for the quarterbacks.

With all of the top prospects opting out of throwing at this year's combine, the group of QBs throwing passes to the receivers was lackluster at best. Unfortunately, none of the groups stood out, and there were multiple times when the quarterbacks and receivers struggled to connect consistently despite running routes on air.

The fact that only a handful of quarterbacks even ran through drills was also a disappointment. It's one thing for a potential top draft pick like Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders to opt-out, but to see so many of these prospects not go through drills was a major disappointment.

The ugly routes on air, combined with so few quarterbacks going through athletic testing, made it hard for anyone in the group to stand out on Saturday.