Five questions for Day 1 of the NFL Scouting Combine drills

Interior linemen are among the hardest group to glean info from during combine drills. The correlation between a player's performance in Indianapolis and future playing time is suspect, although the three drills worth paying attention to the most according to Sumer Sports are the broad and vertical jumps and three cone.

Per Pro Football Reference data, among defensive tackles who performed at last year's combine, the top 10 averaged 33.4 inches in vertical jump and 114.8 inches in broad jump. Only eight participated in the three cone, but the top five, who averaged 7.49, all went on to be selected in the 2025 draft.

Linebackers have some of the most at stake in Indy, with their 40 times among the most predictive in terms of future production. Sumer Sports notes a relatively high (compared to other positions) correlation between their 40-yard dash times and tackles per season over their first three seasons.

In 2025, 16 linebackers completed the drill, ranging from 4.46 to 4.82, with an average of 4.599, according to Pro Football Reference.

Who are the top defensive ends?

David Bailey (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) had 14.5 sacks as a senior at Texas Tech in 2025, making him one of the top players to watch. Per The Athletic, he bench pressed 405 pounds and clocked in at a max speed of a 22.16 mph last season, meaning he likely won't disappoint.

Keldric Faulk (6-6, 285 pounds), Rueben Bain (6-3, 270 pounds) and Akheem Mesidor (6-3, 265 pounds) are also players to watch, although the most intriguing end is arguably hybrid defender Arvell Reese (6-4, 243 pounds), the former Ohio State Buckeyes standout who will also participate in linebacker drills.

Other top linebackers?

Reese's Ohio State teammate, Sonny Styles (6-5, 243 pounds), is a consensus top 10 prospect on big boards from Pro Football Focus (No. 5), ESPN (No. 10), Sports Info Solutions (No. 7), The Athletic's Dane Brugler (No. 5) and NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah (No. 5), making the senior linebacker a must-watch in Indy.

Sumer Sports lists Georgia's C.J. Allen as a player to watch, while Anthony Hill Jr. (6-3, 238 pounds) and Kyle Louis (5-11, 224 pounds), arguably the two best coverage linebackers in the class, can climb the rankings with big showings, even if the latter must transition to safety at the next level.

What about defensive tackles?

Five stand out at the top of their position, with Peter Woods (6-3, 310 pounds) in the driver's seat entering Thursday's drills. This weekend will be key for Caleb Banks (6-6, 335 pounds), who was limited to three games in 2025 at Florida due to injury. Kayden McDonald (6-3, 326 pounds) and Lee Hunter (6-3, 320 pounds) are two of the better run-stopping defensive tackle prospects, while Georgia's Christen Miller (6-4, 310 pounds) comes from a great lineage and could be the next former Bulldog to become a big problem in the NFL. 

Any under-the-radar prospects who should be on our radar?

Few players in Indianapolis are less known than defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor (6-1, 275 pounds), who played collegiately at FCS Southeast Louisiana. He showed potential after tallying two sacks against LSU last fall and will once again look to hold his own against more proven peers.

Nadame Tucker (6-1, 246 pounds) was the country's most productive edge-rusher at Western Michigan a season ago, leading FBS with 14.5 sacks. That followed three seasons when he barely got on the field at Houston, making his performance worth monitoring.

Gracen Halton (6-2, 293 pounds) is another largely overlooked prospect who could be a fast climber. Per SIS data, he was one of the most productive pass-rushers last season among 2026 interior linemen draft prospects, putting him on our radar for Thursday.