With top players sitting out, Kain
Medano, Shemar Stewart deliver impressive workouts at NFL combine
[February 28, 2025]
By MICHAEL MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jihad Campbell, Teddye Buchanan and Kain Medano
had the strongest performances among linebackers on the first day of
workouts on the NFL's annual scouting combine.
Jalon Walker of Georgia, the top-rated linebacker in the draft, did
not work out Thursday.
Without Walker, Alabam's Campbell, California's Buchanan and UCLA's
Medano stood out.
Medano posted the fastest time in the 40-yard dash at 4.46 seconds,
was fourth in the vertical jump at 38 inches and was fifth in the
broad jump at 10 feet, 5 inches.
Campbell, who could challenge Walker for the top spot, was second in
the broad jump at 10-7 and third in the 40 at 4.52. He didn't
participate in the vertical jump.
Buchanan led the position group with a 40-inch vertical jump, was
third in the broad jump at 10-5 and tied for ninth in the 40 at 4.61
seconds.
Tennessee's James Pearce Jr. was the fastest defensive lineman in
Thursday's workout, posting a time of 4.47. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound
Pearce was the only lineman to finish under 4.57 seconds.
But the most impressive workout among the defensive ends or
defensive tackles came from Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M, who had the
third-fastest 40 at 4.59 seconds and a 40-inch vertical jump to
become just the fourth player in two decades to go over 40 inches
after weighing in at 260 or more pounds. Stewart is listed at 6-5,
267.
Arkansas' Landon Jackson also jumped 40 1/2 inches Thursday. The
other two members of the club are No. 1 overall draft picks: Mario
Williams in 2006 and Myles Garrett in 2017.
Stewart and Jackson also were the top two linemen in the broad jump,
with Stewart leaping 10-11 while Jackson went 10-9.
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Arkansas defensive lineman Landon Jackson runs a 40-yard dash at the
NFL football scouting combine, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, in
Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The top edge rusher, Abdul Carter of Penn State,
did not participate after being diagnosed with a stress reaction in
his right foot earlier this weekend. The top-rated defensive tackle,
Michigan's Mason Graham, opted not to work out Thursday.
Graham's college teammate, defensive tackle Kenneth Grant, also sat
out after straining his hamstring.
Among the interior defenders who did work out, Nebraska's Ty
Robinson and Georgia's Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins had the best days.
Robinson had the fastest 40 at 4.83 seconds, while Ingram-Dawkins
tied for second in the position group at 4.86. And they finished
one-two in the broad jump with Ingram-Dawkins going 10-4 and
Robinson at 9-11.
Ingram-Dawkins also had the best vertical jump at 36 inches, while
Robinson was fourth at 33 1/2.
Defensive backs and tight ends are scheduled to work out Friday at
Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
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