PlayerProfiler is home to award-winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Draft Rookie Rankings, Dynasty Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out. Here, Ted Chmyz’s 2025 NFL Combine Fantasy Football Preview showcases the incoming rookies to target.
The NFL Combine is this week, beginning on Thursday and running through Sunday. Events like the Senior Bowl push draft season earlier every year, but the Combine is the true beginning of Draft Szn. Although the true tippy-top prospects have taken to skipping most of the combine in recent years (a trend that will continue this year), the vast majority of players who are eventually drafted will participate in the combine.
How each player performs over the next few days can have a massive impact on their eventual landing spots. With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at what to expect from the 2025 NFL Combine, focusing on players with fantasy football relevance. Here we go!
2025 NFL Combine Fantasy Football Preview
2025 NFL Combine Schedule
For those of us who care more about our Dynasty draft rookie rankings than the real NFL draft, the Combine is all about Saturday, March 1. This year’s exciting tight end class will be featured on Friday, but the big three fantasy positions of quarterback, running back, and wide receiver will all take the field on Saturday. If you are interested in other positions, you can catch kickers, defensive linemen, and linebackers on Thursday, defensive backs and the aforementioned tight ends on Friday, and offensive linemen on Sunday.
Quarterback Combine Preview
Players To Watch
The consensus opinion is that this year’s quarterback class is relatively weak, but there were still 15 signal-callers invited to the combine. That is actually one more than last year’s event. However, quarterback classes are more about the cream of the crop than depth. Top-end, potential-franchise-QB talent is where this year’s group seems to be lacking.
Unfortunately, there’s a real chance we won’t get much more information about the top of the QB class at the combine. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders will not be working out or throwing at the combine, and there is a chance that Miami’s Cam Ward will also be taking the day off — these are the two consensus top prospects in the class.
However, we will get to see both Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe. These two passers are generally considered to be the QB3 and QB4 in this year’s class. A standout Combine performance (and, perhaps more importantly, impressing a team or two in the interviews on Friday) could help one or both of them earn a first-round selection. There’s even a chance that we see one of Dart or Milroe rise as high as the early first. On the other hand, there’s a real chance that either or both of these QBs will fall into late Day 2 of the draft. This difference is particularly key given how important draft capital is for quarterbacks’ fantasy outlooks, so keep a close eye on Dart and Milroe on Friday.
Events To Watch
We aren’t as interested in measurables at quarterback as we are at other positions. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that things like the 40-yard dash and the bench press are entirely irrelevant, but they are unlikely to move the needle in most cases. Instead, the event to focus on for quarterbacks is the QB-specific drills. These drills allow potential draftees a chance to show off their arm strength, accuracy, mechanics, and touch. Of course, we still don’t want to read too much into performances here. Making a choreographed throw with no pressure is nowhere near a perfect reflection of NFL readiness. But NFL decision-makers will be watching to see how quarterbacks throw on Saturday, so we should, too.
Running Back Combine Preview
Players To Watch
This year’s running back class is stacked. Of course, 2024 Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty is the big star among the group, and it will be fun to see how he performs.
But Jeanty has essentially already secured himself first-round draft capital. It would take a shocking performance for him to change his status by much. Instead, we should focus on players farther down the draft board with more room to move.
One particularly interesting player is Cam Skattebo. The CFB Playoff hero was massively productive at Arizona State. As well as carrying the ball, he was utilized heavily in the passing game. That is a huge green flag for his future fantasy production. However, there are real questions about his explosiveness and athleticism. If he can put those issues to rest with a surprisingly solid Combine, his profile suddenly looks very enticing. On the other hand, if one player is capable of dropping a 40 time that completely tanks their draft stock, it may be him.
Behind Jeanty and beyond Skattebo’s unique position, this class has so many intriguing RB prospects that it’s impossible to list them all. Players like Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson, and Kaleb Johnson could force their way into the first round with big days. Further down consensus boards, backs like RJ Harvey, Bhayshul Tuten, and Devin Neal are capable of boosting their stocks with lighting-fast times.
Events To Watch
Of course, the marquee event for running backs is the 40-yard dash. Other tests of explosiveness and agility, like the three-cone drill and the broad jump, are also worth monitoring.
However, there’s one more under-the-radar number to keep an eye on: weight. While skinny technicians are slowly taking over the NFL at the wide receiver position, we still want running backs who can take a bit of a beating. Volume is king in fantasy football, and lighter backs can struggle to earn large workloads. It’s often better to be fast and heavy than super-fast but light. Just look at the speed king himself, De’Von Achane. Achane bulked up heading into his sophomore NFL season in order to handle a heavier workload and saw his efficiency fall off a cliff.
With that in mind, I recommend keeping track not just of your favorite running back’s 40 times but also their Speed Score. Speed Score is a metric that combines a prospect’s weight and 40-time into one number. The formula for calculating it is a bit unintuitive, but never fear. We here at PlayerProfiler.com automatically calculate a Speed Score for each prospect, which can be found on their player page.
Wide Receiver Combine Preview
Players To Watch
After what feels like a decade straight of stacked receiver classes, this year’s group is a bit disappointing. Last year, a record-tying seven WRs were drafted in the first round. This year’s dynasty draft rookie rankings aren’t as loaded.
That number included three receivers selected in the top nine picks overall: Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze. This year, only Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan is considered a lock for the first round, and he may go later than all three of last year’s top-tier guys.
Of course, there are still some incredible athletes among the WRs headed for the combine this year. There are rumors that Texas WR Isaiah Bond will break the record in the 40-yard dash set by his old teammate Xavier Worthy last year. If he even comes close, it could be enough for him to follow in Worthy’s footsteps and sneak into the back of the first round. Georgia’s Arian Smith isn’t a particularly fantasy-relevant prospect, but he could also give Worthy a literal run for his money.
Outside of the speedsters and McMillan, keep an eye on the large second tier of receivers. Luther Burden III, Emeka Egbuka, Matthew Golden, Tre Harris, and Elic Ayomanor could all sneak into the first round if things go their way, and any rookie WR with first-round draft capital is worth knowing. Finally, I have to mention Travis Hunter. The dual-threat Heisman winner is listed as a cornerback for the combine but may also participate in WR drills. He is an absolute freak athlete and always worth watching.
Events To Watch
Once again, the 40-yard dash is the headline event. I should note that, for wide receivers in particular, 40-yard dash time isn’t particularly predictive of fantasy success once we control for its correlation with draft capital. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t still fun to watch these guys fly.
Like with quarterbacks, it is also worth paying attention to the position-specific drills for WRs. This includes the notorious gauntlet drill, in which prospects sprint across the field while catching seven passes in rapid succession. This is where we can expect to hear buzzwords like “soft hands” and “high-pointing.” I’ll leave it up to you how much stock you want to put in the eye test, whether it’s your own or that of your favorite analyst.
Tight End Combine Preview
Players To Watch
This year’s tight-end class is loaded … which means there are a handful of fantasy-relevant prospects. Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland lead the way as likely first-round picks in the NFL Draft.
Warren is currently the consensus TE1, but Loveland is likely to out-test him this week. Could that be enough for the Michigan product to jump his Penn State counterpart?
After the top two TEs, Harold Fannin Jr., Elijah Arroyo, and Mason Taylor all have a shot at being immediately fantasy-relevant in the right situations. Taylor in particular is someone whose testing numbers will be important. He is at risk of running slowly enough to pigeonhole himself as a blocking tight end. On the other end of the spectrum, Fannin Jr. put up massive receiving numbers at Bowling Green State. He needs to prove he can block at an NFL level to get on the field. Arroyo didn’t produce much at Miami but just tore up the Senior Bowl and could test well this weekend.
Events To Watch
Tight end, as it always is, is unique. Yes, we want to see players put up elite numbers. But that’s even less of a guarantee of fantasy success for TEs than it is at other positions. Darnell Washington dominated the 2023 Combine, and he has served as a glorified left tackle for the Steelers so far in his NFL career.
With that said, I am once again going to mention the 40-yard dash as a key drill to watch. Tight ends who post particularly slow marks in the 40 have a history of struggling to produce for fantasy. This is also another spot where the dreaded “eye test” can come into play. Whether a TE prospect simply looks like an actual receiving threat is always something to keep in mind.
Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for PlayerProfiler. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions about dynasty draft rookie rankings.
