Combine winners and losers: Dart’s stock continues to rise

Whose draft stock is trending up and down after the biggest pre-draft event

INDIANAPOLIS — We’re creeping closer to the 2025 NFL Draft as the biggest pre-draft event, the NFL Combine, is officially in the books. So, it’s officially crunch time for the Las Vegas Raiders to put their final evaluations together on the prospects in this year’s class, as we’re less than two months away from draft weekend.

So, let’s dive into who’s stock is rising and falling with some winners and losers from the combine.

WINNER: Jaxson Dart

The competition for the third-best quarterback in the 2025 draft class is tight, but Dart has been pulling away from the pack recently. He had a strong performance at the Senior Bowl and was the best quarterback during Saturday’s throwing session in Indianapolis. The Ole Miss product’s stock is certainly on the rise as we approach late April.

LOSER: Jalen Milroe

It’s baffling that Milroe decided not to run the 40-yard dash or complete any athletic testing drills at the combine. He’s easily the most athletic quarterback in this year’s draft class, so this was his event to dominate, and he missed an opportunity to regain some stock after a rough Senior Bowl performance. Instead, Milroe only participated in the throwing drills, where he continued to struggle with the consistency of his accuracy.

WINNER: Alfred Collins

Collins only did the jumps during the athletic testing and didn’t put up impressive numbers, but he looked smooth in the untimed position-specific drills. On top of that, he came in 12 pounds heavier than his roster weight at 332 pounds, which bodes well for his projection as a nose tackle at the next level. Also, the former Longhorn measured in with 34 5/8-inch arms. He’d be a great Day 2 option to replace John Jenkins in the middle of Las Vegas’ defense.

LOSER: Jamaree Caldwell

Caldwell gets some praise for his movement skills at his size, but his testing numbers weren’t exactly eye-catching with a 5.16-second 40-yard dash, 1.86-second 10-yard split and 27-inch vertical jump. Granted, that isn’t a major concern for a nose tackle. But the Oregon product also didn’t look sharp in the position drills and lacks length at 6-foot-2 with 32-inch arms.

WINNER: Jihaad Campbell

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Barring a trade back, Campbell might be out of range for the Raiders. He’d be a reach with the sixth pick but likely won’t be available in the second round, especially after his performance at the combine. Campbell ranked tied for third among linebackers with a 4.52-second 40 and had the second-longest broad jump at 10-foot-7. With Jalon Walker being a hybrid type of player, the Alabama product cemented himself as the top true off-ball linebacker in the class.

LOSER: Jay Higgins

Higgins’ athleticism was questionable heading into the combine, and the event only heightened those concerns. He had the slowest 40-yard dash time (4.82) among linebackers and underwhelmed in the explosion testing with a 33-inch vertical and 9-foot-2 broad. On top of that, the former Hawkeye measured small at just a shade over 6-foot tall, 224 pounds and 31-inch arms. All of that resulted in a 3.61 RAS score out of 10.

WINNER: Darien Porter

Pete Carroll will definitely be intrigued by a 6-foot-3 corner with 33 1/8-inch arms who runs a 4.3-second 40-yard dash. Porter also posted good times in the agility testing — 4.04-second shuttle and 6.71 three-cone — on top of showing some impressive explosion with a 36.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-11 broad jump. That gave the former Cyclone a 9.99 RAS score.

LOSER: Cobee Bryant

The only athletic testing drill Bryant participated in was the 40-yard dash, so it’s hard to put too much weight into his combine performance. However, he posted a time of 4.53 seconds while weighing in at just 180 pounds. Being on the lighter side while recording one of the slowest 40s of the position group is a tough combination.

WINNER: Tate Ratledge

There were several guards to choose from as the position group had a handful of standouts. But Ratledge posted the highest athleticism score (98), according to Next Gen Stats, to lead the pack. He clocked the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash (4.97 seconds) among offensive linemen, the best three-cone time (7.38 seconds) and ranked third in the broad jump (9-foot-5). All of that while rocking a sweet mullet, it’s easy to see why the Georgia product stood out on Sunday.

LOSER: Tyler Booker

Booker is a nasty blocker in the trenches, but his combine performance was rough. He ran a 5.38-second 40 with a 1.96-second 10-yard split, had just a 7-foot-10 broad jump and only hit 21 on the bench press. That resulted in the lowest athleticism score (56) of the position group by 11 points, which isn’t ideal for someone who is considered the top guard in the class and a potential first-round pick.