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Cover 3: What to look for at the NFL Combine

COVER-3-COMBINE

The Giants.com crew previews the week ahead at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

John Schmeelk: I'm sure someone here will want to talk about the quarterback class, but that is the last thing on my mind as I board a flight for Indianapolis. I don't get a whole lot out of quarterbacks throwing to unfamiliar receivers other than seeing how the ball comes out of their hands as they throw back to back.

I am interested in the data we get out of Indianapolis. It is a data collection event where you can get player measurement and testing. With that, we can compare players at the same position to one another working out in the same exact field conditions.

With measurements, the arm length for some of the offensive linemen will be critical. The top three offensive linemen in this draft (Will Campbell, Kelvin Banks, Josh Simmons) have not been measured yet, and there's a lot of curiosity if any of them (especially Campbell and Banks) will measure longer than 33.5-inch arms. If they are closer to or under 33 inches, those players may have to move into guard.

In terms of the importance of some of the testing, this is not the most dynamic class at wide receiver and cornerback, which should give players at those positions a chance to separate themselves with really strong athletic testing. The 40-yard dash will be essential for wide receivers as everyone tries to figure out how the receivers will go off the board after Tet McMillan.

The consensus top cornerback in the draft, Will Johnson, has questions about his speed. How will he run? Will he run? After Johnson, there might not be another cornerback taken in the top 20 and what order the next group goes in could be in large part determined by athletic testing at the position.

Finally, the strength of this class is up front at defensive tackle and edge. Dane Brugler has 17 edge players in his top 100 and 13 defensive tackles. That means in the first three rounds of the draft, nearly a third could be players on the defensive front. As teams decide how to stack their board, how players jump, run and show their agility in the three cone drills could move players a few spots in the stacks at this specific positions.

The Combine will give us one more piece of information to pair with the film work from the regular season and what we saw at the All-Star games to finalize our opinions of these players. I can't wait to sink my teeth into all of it.

NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah released his initial ranking of the top 50 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dan Salomone: It's probably just the writer in me, but I always like the press conferences. I'll be parked in front of the podiums all week, starting with Joe Schoen on Tuesday morning. General managers like to play it close to the vest, but you get to see a few cards at these pre-combine sessions. Then you can try to determine the line of thinking in what is a crucial offseason. Simultaneously, free agency is just two weeks away, making this an interesting checkpoint as the Giants look to address the quarterback position.

Then it's time to hear from the 300-plus prospects gathered in the convention center in Indianapolis. By now, everyone knows the names and even has a feel for what they did on the field in college. But these podium appearances provide an opportunity to see them in person and get to know their personalities and backstories. The key is to pay attention to the local college beat writers who also make the trek to Indianapolis. There is often a gulf between national perception and what that prospect is really like.

View photos of every NFL player selected with the third overall pick since the first draft in 1936.

Matt Citak: I originally was looking forward to seeing the quarterbacks throw this week in Indy. Although I don't like to put too much weight into these throwing sessions, I do think there is some merit to seeing whether or not a quarterback, throwing to receivers he has likely never played with before, can adjust and get onto the same page as his receivers quickly. However, news came out on Sunday that Shedeur Sanders will not be throwing at the Combine, and as of Monday afternoon, it is unclear whether or not Cam Ward will. Those were the two quarterbacks I was most excited to see, so the QB throwing sessions lost a bit of its shine, although I am still intrigued to see guys like Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe and Riley Leonard, all of whom are reportedly going to throw.

There are numerous positions that most analysts widely believe are the strongest and deepest in this year's draft, including edge rusher and defensive tackle. However, the group of guys I will be keeping a close eye on this week are the running backs. Following the strong season we saw from numerous running backs across the NFL, the running back position seems to be making a bit of a comeback this year. It couldn't come at a better time, as this year's draft features a rather talented group of running backs. Word got out Monday that Ashton Jeanty, the top running back in the class, will not be working out in Indianapolis. But other than Jeanty, most, if not all, of the other top backs are set to participate in drills this week. We could see a record number of running backs selected this year, both early and often throughout the draft. In his second mock draft, NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah featured three running backs going in the first round. While I do not expect the Giants to take a back that early, I could certainly see them addressing the position at some point during the draft. The depth at the position is going to cause some very talented players to drop further than they probably should, which will lead to some draft steals. While a couple of guys stood out during the Shrine and Senior Bowls, this week will be another great opportunity for these RB prospects to leave a good impression on NFL talent evaluators.

Outside of the prospects, I'm excited to see what NFL chatter emerges from Indianapolis throughout the week. As we see every year, with representatives from all 32 teams together in the same city, the Combine tends to often produce some trades, or at the very least, trade chatter. With free agency and the start of the new league year only two weeks away, the Combine serves as a great chance for general managers to get together and see which players from other teams might be available before things really kick off in a few weeks. As we saw last year, the Combine was where the Brian Burns trade went from Senior Bowl whispers to an actual trade negotiation. With everyone in town this week, who knows what could happen on the trade front.

View photos of the Giants participating at the NFL Combine.

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