The New York Jets had the viral moment of the NFL scouting combine. That’s never good.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was caught on camera seemingly sleeping during combine workouts. These things happen in Indianapolis. The days can be long. Glenn resting his eyes during someone’s three-cone drill isn’t the end of the world, though the internet had its opinions on that.
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The Jets certainly need to be well rested this offseason because what comes next might finally be the start of a long-awaited rebuild. A real one this time.
The Jets will leave the combine in a great place. They have four of the top 44 picks in this NFL Draft. They start at No. 2 overall, take Indianapolis’ pick at No. 16 due to the Sauce Gardner trade, start the second round with the 33rd overall pick and then get the Cowboys’ second-round pick at No. 44 after the Quinnen Williams trade.
Oh, and the Jets have the second-most projected salary cap space in the NFL and three first-round picks in the 2027 draft, which is going to be much deeper than this year’s group. It’s actually OK for Jets fans to get excited about the future.
“Really important next few weeks,” Jets general manager Darren Mougey said at the combine, via the Jets’ site.
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Mougey got the offseason started by agreeing to trade pass rusher Jermaine Johnson II, who had three sacks last season coming off an Achilles injury, to the Titans for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, a massive 24-year-old nose tackle who was ranked as the No. 5 interior defender in the NFL last season in Pro Football Focus’ grades.
Getting a top interior defender fits the build because it seems like the No. 2 pick will be an edge rusher. Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr., Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Texas Tech’s David Bailey all look like viable candidates. Reese and Bailey had remarkable workouts in Indianapolis.
Jets coach Aaron Glenn speaks at the NFL scouting combine. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
(Cooper Neill via Getty Images)
The Jets having the No. 2 pick gives them options. The Las Vegas Raiders will draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and that could turn out great. But Mendoza isn’t seen as a no-doubt future superstar like some other prospects who have gone No. 1 recently. There could be a few of those elite prospects in 2027, and the Jets have more first-round picks in that stocked draft than anyone else. Coming out of the combine, being at No. 2 in the draft seems like a really good place to be, with the choice of hyper-athletic pass rushers. The Jets can start to get help for that future quarterback this season, then 2027 could be their 2025 Patriots offseason, when they use all their resources to make a big push. Having three firsts in that 2027 draft will age very, very well.
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There are still worries. This is the Jets after all. Glenn had a miserable first season as head coach, and the team has to figure out if he’s the answer. The Jets went 3-14 last season and got all those extra draft picks from trading two of their foundational young players; there are significant holes on the roster. It’s scary to wonder if the Jets will panic and waste one of their valuable picks this year on a quarterback who is not going to end the franchise’s never-ending drought at the position but be just good enough to win them enough games to cost them 2027 draft position. There shouldn’t be any expectations for this season. The Jets are going to be bad. They should lean into that.
But in 2027? If the Jets wake up and play their cards right, they could finally have a rebuild that will produce results. The next couple months will start to set the groundwork for that.
There’s one more day of workout action left Sunday as the offensive linemen hit the field. Still, we can present a few winners and losers from the NFL scouting combine:
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WINNERS
David Bailey: He showed how you use Indianapolis to push up draft stock, perhaps as high as second overall.
Bailey, an elite pass rusher out of Texas Tech, was no secret to NFL teams before the combine. He tied for the FBS lead with 14.5 sacks last season. He was going to be a high first-round pick. But his combine workout might have put him on an even higher level.
Bailey’s 40 time of 4.5 seconds at 251 pounds was astounding. He reached a high speed of 22.91 mph, the third-highest among edge defenders over the past three years at the combine, according to Next Gen Stats.
And it wasn’t just the 40. Bailey crushed everything.
Now that Bailey’s measurables match his production, teams will take an even closer look. Bailey will be a hot name over the next two months.
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Any QB who has options: Supply and demand will help quarterbacks this offseason, or teams that have a quarterback to offer in a trade.
There are a lot of teams looking for QBs and not many to go around. That is clearly going to be a story of the offseason, because it was at the combine. It started when Bears general manager Ryan Poles acknowledged that his team could look into trading backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, citing “the environment” with quarterbacks this offseason.
“We anticipated someone like Tyson is going to get some interest,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said at the combine. “We’ve gotten a few calls there.”
There was an ESPN report that the Panthers are receiving trade interest for their backup quarterback, Andy Dalton. That’s not the last time you’ll see a story like that leaked in the next two weeks. There was also an NFL Network report that free agent Malik Willis should get at least $30 million per season. Let the madness begin.
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The draft doesn’t have many ready-made starters aside from Fernando Mendoza, though the dearth at the position could push someone like Ty Simpson up the board. Free agents, aside from Willis, are either flawed, aging or both. It will be an interesting offseason for many teams desperate at quarterback.
Safeties: This isn’t the strongest draft for any position, but maybe it will help push along the revolution at safety.
Safeties are still considered a low-value position relative to edge rushers, cornerbacks and left tackles, which is why Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is considered by some to be the best player in the draft but won’t go in the top 10. But versatile safeties are becoming more important with offensive personnel flexibility, and there are some very good safeties in this draft.
Downs is the best one but others, like Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, could also rise up draft boards, in part because other positions in this draft aren’t that strong. Thieneman in particular had an eye-popping combine.
Teams needing a playmaking safety to make their defense more well-rounded might like this draft.
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Taylen Green: There will always be a spot in the draft for a phenomenal athlete at quarterback. There are few at the position as athletic as Green.
The Arkansas quarterback broke the combine’s QB record, set by Anthony Richardson Sr., with a 43.5-inch vertical jump. That broke the record by 3 inches. The 6-foot-6 Green also ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash, the second-fastest time for a quarterback at the combine since 2003.
Green isn’t expected to be a high pick but he will be an interesting prospect for some team that takes a shot on him.
One Notre Dame star: Entering the combine there was little question that Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love would be the top running back picked. There was a bigger question over whether he was the best prospect overall in the draft.
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If there was even the slightest room for debate about Love as RB1, he put that to rest.
Love, who was highly productive for the Fighting Irish, had a great combine. It was highlighted by a 4.36-second 40-yard dash. That time for a 212-pound back puts him in a special category. He also did well at receiver drills, showing off his versatility. He told NFL Network’s Stacey Dales afterward he would not work out at Notre Dame’s pro day. There’s no need anymore. He’ll likely be a top-10 pick.
“I’ll be there to support my guys,” Love told Dales.
LOSERS
Another Notre Dame star: Malachi Fields wasn’t expected to be a burner at the combine, but his 40 time won’t help his draft stock.
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The Notre Dame receiver ran a 4.61-second 40-yard dash, which isn’t great for a wideout. Fields was productive in college and his size (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) is a plus.
Fields averaged 17.5 yards per catch last season, which shows he has big-play ability. But teams will question his speed after his 40 time.
2025 Ohio State Buckeyes: How did the Buckeyes not win a national championship or even a Big Ten championship last season? How is it possible they didn’t even win a playoff game?
Ohio State had better results at the NFL scouting combine than head coach Ryan Day had on the field last season.
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Two Ohio State defensive players were among the stars of the combine. Linebacker/edge defender Arvell Reese ran a blistering 4.46-second 40-yard dash, leading all defensive ends. That will solidify Reese as a contender to be the second overall draft pick.
OSU linebacker Sonny Styles might have helped his draft stock even more. He also ran a 4.46 in the 40, set a combine record for linebackers with a 43.5-inch vertical jump and also had an impressive 11-foot-2 broad jump. He could find himself in the top 10 of the draft after a stellar college career and fine workout.
Meanwhile, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs continues to draw praise as perhaps the best player in the draft regardless of position. All three should be picked in the top half of the first round, and if everything lands right maybe all in the top 10. And let’s not forget defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, who was 18th in the latest mock draft from Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice and Charles McDonald.
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And the Buckeyes couldn’t beat Indiana for a Big Ten championship.
Vernon Davis’ TE combine dominance: For the past couple decades, Davis was synonymous with dominance among tight ends (or any player) at the combine.
Maybe that title passed to Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
Sadiq’s 40 time, vertical jump and broad jump all placed him in the top three all time for tight ends at the combine. His top speed of 23.24 mph was the same as Lions big-play running back Jahmyr Gibbs at his combine testing in 2023, according to Next Gen Stats. That’s impressive for anyone, much less a tight end.
At 241 pounds, Sadiq joined rare company that includes noted athletic freak DK Metcalf.
Sadiq was 31st in Yahoo Sports’ latest mock draft, but he could be moving up after a phenomenal combine.
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Rueben Bain Jr.: Not many of us understand what it’s like to have your body’s measurements discussed by thousands of people as part of a job interview.
Bain was an excellent edge defender at Miami, has the love of football that teams covet and will go in the top few picks of the NFL Draft. But now he has to deal with endless questions about the length of his arms. Bain’s arms were measured at 30 7/8 inches, which is very short for an edge rusher.
That maybe shouldn’t matter, but there is competition to be the second pick of this draft. Arvell Reese and David Bailey had great combines to make their case. Bain’s arms, and whether that could keep him from being an elite player, will be debated by teams picking high in the draft. It’s also a story that will follow him around. That seems unfair after such a productive college career, but that’s reality at the NFL scouting combine.
