Day One NFL Combine Standouts

On the first day of athletic testing at the NFL Combine there were many defensive linemen and linebackers who helped their draft stock with good performances. Here are some of the biggest standouts from the first day of athletic testing at the NFL Combine.

Standout Defensive Line and Linebacker Prospects From Day One of the NFL Combine

LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

Sonny Styles had one of the greatest combine performances of all time. He is a linebacker with elite size at 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds with 32 7/8 inch arm length, and he also ran faster than all linebackers at the combine this year with a 4.46 40-yard dash time. Styles also had the best broad jump of any linebacker at the combine this year, with an 11-foot-2 broad jump, and he recorded the best vertical jump from a linebacker in NFL Combine history with a 43.50-inch vertical. He recorded an unofficial 9.99 relative athletic score. Styles has a great chance to be a top-10 pick in the draft, and with his performance at the combine, he could have a chance at going in the top five of the draft.

Sonny Styles Scouting Report

LB Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech

Jacob Rodriguez had elite production in college, but is also a slightly undersized linebacker who had some concerns about his athletic upside before the combine. However, at the combine Rodriguez had one of the most impressive performances of any linebacker in this year’s class. He ran a 4.57 40-yard dash, with a 38.5-inch vertical jump, and a 10-foot-1 broad jump. Rodriguez also had the best 3-cone time of any linebacker at 6.90 seconds, and was tied for the best shuttle time as well at 4.19 seconds. With a great performance at the combine that resulted in an unofficial 9.52 relative athletic score, Rodriguez has a chance to potentially be a top-50 pick in the draft.