NFL Combine Invite List: Biggest Takeaways and Biggest Snubs

The official invite list for the 2025 National Scouting Combine is now out! After combing through the document, one of my favorite exercises is to try and gauge where this draft class may be deepest or shallowest. A good way to gauge that is to look at this invite list and compare it to year’s past while also comparing it to how many players at each position get drafted every year.

I put together a quick table to look at that information, and will share some insights below from the notable positions, while also offering the full list of invitees as well as some surprising ‘combine snubs’ at each spot.

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QUARTERBACK

This class looks to be on par with classes of recent memory from a number’s standpoint, but I’ll offer one caveat. While some positions offer National Football Scouting (NFS) the flexibility to invite however many they see fitting, at quarterback they don’t really have that luxury. Because they need a certain amount of quarterbacks in order to complete the wide receiver, tight end, and defensive back workouts, they will always have a number in that 14-18 range. 15 invites this year is right on the nose there. Here is the list of who will be in Indianapolis, in alphabetical order.

Max Brosmer (Minnesota)

Brady Cook (Missouri)

Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss)

Quinn Ewers (Texas)

Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)

Seth Henigan (Memphis)

Will Howard (Ohio State)

Riley Leonard (Notre Dame)

Kyle McCord (Syracuse)

Graham Mertz (Florida)

Jalen Milroe (Alabama)

Kurtis Rourke (Indiana)

Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)

Tyler Shough (Louisville)

Cam Ward (Miami)

As far as players left off the list, the biggest surprise for me would be North Dakota State’s Cam Miller. An undersized passer, Miller makes up for his miniscule frame with impressive accuracy and touch. I was impressed  with his performance against Colorado in the opener this year, and he stood out to me at practice at the East-West Shrine Bowl after leading the Bison to another National Championship.

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RUNNING BACK

This running back class is talented and deep, and this group does reflect that. We have more invites this year than we saw a year ago in Indianapolis, and it’s higher than the five-year average as well. It’s likely that more than 10 of these players will go undrafted in April, based on recent history, but there is a lot of skill to be found in the middle rounds of this class. Here’s who we will see taking the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in a matter of days.

LeQuint Allen (Syracuse)

Ulysses Bentley (Ole Miss)

Jaydon Blue (Texas)

Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech)

Donovan Edwards (Michigan)

Trevor Etienne (Georgia)

DJ Giddens (Kansas State)

Ollie Gordon (Oklahoma State)

Omarion Hampton (UNC)

RJ Harvey (UCF)

Trey Henderson (Ohio State)

Jarquez Hunter (Auburn)

Ja’Quinden Jackson (Arkansas)

Jordan James (Oregon)

Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)

Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)

Montrell Johnson (Florida)

Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)

Corey Kiner (Cincinnati)

Phil Mafah (Clemson)

Woody Marks (USC)

Damien Martinez (Miami)

Kyle Monangai (Rutgers)

Kalel Mullings (Michigan)

Devin Neal (Kansas)

Dylan Sampson (Tennessee)

Rocket Sanders (South Carolina)

Cam Skattebo (Arizona State)

Brashard Smith (SMU)

Bhayshul Tuten (Virginia Tech)

Marcus Yarns (Delaware)

Arizona’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt had a good week of practice at the East-West Shrine Bowl and then earned the MVP of the game, but that came after the invite list was finalized. I was surprised to not see the New Mexico transfer on the list. The other name I’d throw into the hat would be Missouri’s Nate Noel, who battled through injuries this year but was a guy I’ve had my eye on since his early days at Appalachian State as a dynamic presence out of the backfield.

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WIDE RECEIVER

I was actually a bit surprised by this number, because I don’t think there’s a ton of talent in this receiver group. There are more names on the invite list this year than last, and it’s actually higher than the five-year average as well. That does not speak to the talent at the top of the draft, but it does reflect the options available to teams in the late rounds in late April. Here’s who we will see in Indy next Saturday night.

Andrew Armstrong (Arkansas)

Elic Ayomanor (Stanford)

Elijah Badger (Florida)

Jack Bech (TCU)

Isaiah Bond (Texas)

Ja’Corey Brooks (Louisvillle)

Sam Brown (Miami)

Pat Bryant (Illinois)

Luther Burden (Missouri)

Beaux Collins (Notre Dame)

Chimere Dike (Florida)

Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State)

Quan Felton (Virginia Tech)

Tai Felton (Maryland)

Jacolby George (Miami)

Matthew Golden (Texas)

Tre Harris (Ole Miss)

Jayden Higgins (Iowa State)

Traeshon Holden (Oregon)

Jimmy Horn (Colorado)

Tory Horton (Colorado State)

Kobe Hudson (UCF)

Daniel Jackson (Minnesota)

Tez Johnson (Oregon)

Joshua Kelly (Texas Tech)

Kyren Lacy (LSU)

Keandre Lambert-Smith (Auburn)

Jaylin Lane (Virginia Tech)

Dom Lovett (Georgia)

Bru McCoy (Tennessee)

Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)

Kanota Mumpfield (Pittsburgh)

Nick Nash (San Jose State)

Isaiah Neyor (Nebraska)

Jaylin Noel (Iowa State)

Kaden Prather (Maryland)

Xavier Restrepo (Miami)

Jalen Royals (Utah State)

Arian Smith (Georgia)

Roc Taylor (Memphis)

Isaac Teslaa (Arkansas)

Dont’e Thornton (Tennessee)

Jordan Watkisn (Ole Miss)

Theo Wease (Missouri)

Juice Wells (Ole Miss)

LaJohntay Wester (Colorado)

Ricky White (UNLV)

Kyle Williams (Washington State)

Savion Williams (TCU)

There honestly weren’t too many names that stood out to me as snubs from this receiver group. South Alabama’s Jamaal Pritchett was the only Senior Bowl player at wideout that didn’t get the invite; he’s a smaller slot-type that showed up at times in practice in Mobile. Will Sheppard (Colorado) is the opposite body type as a bigger possession receiver; he will wait until Pro Day to prove his athleticism to teams.

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TIGHT END

This one was no surprise. With 21 tight ends heading to Indy, it is the highest mark in at least five years, and there were good players left off the invite list as well. This is a deep, talent-rich position this spring. There’s a good chance we have more drafted than invited to the Combine this year as well. It’s a strong class – and here’s who we will see…

Elijah Arroyo (Miami)

Gavin Bartholomew (Pittsburgh)

Jake Briningstool (Clemson)

Jalin Conyers (Texas Tech)

CJ Dippre (Alabama)

Mitchell Evans (Notre Dame)

Harold Fannin (Bowling Green)

Terrance Ferguson (Oregon)

Thomas Fidone (Nebraska)

Oronde Gadsden (Syracuse)

Jackson Hawes (Georgia Tech)

Gunnar Helm (Texas)

Brant Kuithe (Utah)

Luke Lachey (Iowa)

Colston Loveland (Michigan)

Moliki Matavao (UCLA)

Bryson Nesbit (UNC)

Robbie Ouzts (Alabama)

Josh Simon (South Carolina)

Mason Taylor (LSU)

Tyler Warren (Penn State)

As I mentioned, there were a handful of players that did not get asked to Indy that I think have a decent shot at getting drafted. Georgia’s Ben Yurosek declared for the draft a month ago, and I was unable to find any sign of him going back to the Bulldogs since then. His absence was curious; although not completely unexpected after a lackluster season from a production standpoint after transferring in from Stanford. Ole Miss’ Caden Prieskorn has NFL size, and the former quarterback and Memphis transfer has tools to be a pro player. Rivaldo Fairweather (Auburn) had moments this year that made you dream on his upside as a former receiver with great length and athleticism for the position. It really is a deep group this spring.

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OFFENSIVE LINE

This was an alarming number. 71 offensive linemen were in Indy last year, with just 50 earning invites this spring. That number is well below the five-year average of 58 as well. It’s clear that scouts are not thrilled about the depth of this class up front on the offensive side of the ball. There should be a decent amount coming off the board in the early rounds, but could the lack of depth cause a run to happen earlier than expected? That will be a storyline to follow as we get close to draft weekend. Here’s the list of invites.

Kelvin Banks (Texas)

Anthony Belton (NC State)

Tyler Booker (Alabama)

Logan Brown (Kansas)

Will Campbell (LSU)

Connor Colby (Iowa)

Josh Conerly (Oregon)

Hayden Conner (Texas)

Ajani Cornelius (Oregon)

Eli Cox (Kentucky)

Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (Florida)

Garrett Dellinger (LSU)

Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota)

Dylan Fairchild (Georgia)

Miles Frazier (LSU)

Charles Grant (William & Mary)

Joshua Gray (Oregon State)

Myles Hinton (Michigan)

Joe Huber (Wisconsin)

Donovan Jackson (Ohio State)

Emery Jones (LSU)

Luke Kandra (Cincinnati)

Drew Kendall (BC)

Chase Lundt (UConn)

Jake Majors (Texas)

Marcus Mbow (Purdue)

Seth McLaughlin (Ohio State)

Armand Membou (Missouri)

Wyatt Milum (West VIrginia)

Jonah Monheim (USC)

Jack Nelson (Wisconsin)

Hollin Pierce (Rutgers)

Tate Ratledge (Georgia)

Jalen Rivers (Miami)

Caleb Rogers (Texas Tech)

Jonah Savaiinaea (Arizona)

Josh Simmons (Ohio State)

Torricelli Simpkins (South Carolina)

Jackson Slater (Sacramento State)

Marcus Tate (Clemson)

Branson Taylor (Pittsburgh)

Ozzy Trapilo (BC)

Jalen Travis (Iowa State)

Xavier Truss (Georgia)

Carson Vinson (Alabama A&M)

Clay Webb (Jacksonville State)

Cameron Williams (Texas)

John Williams (Cincinnati)

Jared Wilson (Georgia)

Grey Zabel (North Dakota State)

The most disappointing name to be left off the list this year, for me, is North Carolina’s Willie Lampkin. I get it. He’s a 255-pound offensive lineman (at least that’s how he weighed in at the Senior Bowl). That said, his strength never appeared to be an issue in Mobile. The athleticism is obviously really impressive, but I think the film overall shows a player who has a handle on how to navigate his lack of size and still execute his assignments. I’m fascinated to see if and where he gets drafted. There were some Shrine Bowl offensive linemen left off the invite list as well, including Michigan State’s Luke Newman and small-school player Thomas Perry (Middlebury College). I thought both of them showed well during the week of practice. NC State’s Tim McKay would fit the bill as well; I thought he had some good moments both at the Shrine Bowl and on film for the Wolfpack.

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EDGE RUSHER

There will be a lot of pass rushers heading to Indianapolis, and more than normal. With 33 invites solidified (eight more than 2024 and three more than the five-year average), one of the more talented groups in this class will be well-represented. It should be noted that the counts at defensive line and linebacker can be very tricky from year-to-year, as players get to decide which group they want to work out with. Does an undersized edge rusher want to go work with the linebackers? Does a lighter defensive tackle want to work with the edge guys? It can get a bit messy, but here is the list of who is heading to Indianapolis.

Tyler Baron (Miami)

Tyler Batty (BYU)

Jordan Burch (Oregon)

Abdul Carter (Penn State)

Fadil Diggs (Syracuse)

Ethan Downs (Oklahoma)

Donovan Ezeiruaku (BC)

Ashton Gillotte (Louisville)

Mike Green (Marshall)

Ahmed Hassanein (Boise State)

Jared Ivey (Ole Miss)

Landon Jackson (Arkansas)

Sai’vion Jones (LSU)

Jah Joyner (Minnesota)

Kyle Kennard (South Carolina)

Steve Linton (Baylor)

Sean Martin (West Virginia)

Oluwafemi Oladejo (UCLA)

James Pearce (Tennessee)

Antwaun Powell-Ryland (Virginia Tech)

Elijah Roberts (SMU)

Quandarrius Robinson (Alabama)

Kaimon Rucker (North Carolina)

Jack Sawyer (Ohio State)

Nic Scourton (Texas A&M)

Barryn Sorrell (Texas)

Josaiah Stewart (Michigan)

Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M)

Bradyn Swinson (LSU)

JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State)

Princely Umanmielen (Ole Miss)

David Walker (Central Arkansas)

Mykel Williams (Georgia)

The biggest name to be left off the list for me would be Notre Dame’s RJ Oben. A starter for the Irish this year after transferring in from Duke, Oben was at the Senior Bowl (he actually was headed to the 2024 Senior Bowl as well before deciding to take the extra year in college). The son of long-time NFL offensive tackle Roman Oben, RJ profiles as a pure defensive end in the pros. NC State’s Davin Vann has a hybrid skillset as an inside-outside player, and he’s one that I would have liked to see up close in Indy as well.

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DEFENSIVE TACKLE

This was a mind-blowing number! 40 defensive tackles are heading to the Combine! For perspective, 27 were in Indianapolis last spring, and the five-year average is just 23 (both in Indy and for draft picks each spring). Teams are very excited about this group, and with a wide-ranging variety of skillsets, your squad is sure to find what they’re looking for with this group, and keep in mind they will be the first group to work out on Thursday night, so the week will start with a bang at Lucas Oil Stadium. Here’s who we’ll see on opening night.

Tommy Akingbesote (Maryland)

Darius Alexander (Toledo)

Zeek Biggers (Georgia Tech)

Yahya Black (Iowa)

Warren Brinson (Georgia)

Vernon Broughton (Texas)

Jamaree Caldwell (Oregon)

Alfred Collins (Texas)

Howard Cross (Notre Dame)

Joshua Farmer (Florida State)

Mason Graham (Michigan)

Kenneth Grant (Michigan)

Eric Gregory (Arkansas)

Ty Hamilton (Ohio State)

Derrick Harmon (Oregon)

Jared Harrison-Hunte (SMU)

Tonka Hemingway (South Carolina)

Cameron Horsley (BC)

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (Georgia)

Cam’Ron Jackson (Florida)

Deandre Jules (South Carolina)

Rylie Mills (Notre Dame)

Walter Nolen (Ole Miss)

Omarr Norman-Lott (Tennessee)

Payton Page (Clemson)

Aeneas Peebles (Virginia Tech)

JJ Pegues (Ole Miss)

Jordan Phillips (Maryland)

Jahvaree Ritzie (UNC)

Ty Robinson (Nebraska)

TJ Sanders (South Carolina)

Elijah Simmons (Tennessee)

Tim Smith (Alabama)

Nazir Stackhouse (Georgia)

Junior Tafuna (Utah)

Jay Toia (UCLA)

Shemar Turner (Texas A&M)

Deone Walker (Kentucky)

CJ West (Indiana)

Tyleik Williams (Ohio State)

I’ll be honest, with so many names invited it was hard to find a name I was shocked to see left off the list! Joseph Evans (UTSA) is a rotational nose guard that I studied before going down to the Shrine Bowl. I thought he could potentially be a late-round guy. The same could be said for Nebraska’s Nash Hutmacher. Aside from them? No complaints from this list!

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LINEBACKER

Like edge rushers, the linebacker group is always tough to sift through because you’ll typically see a couple of the pass rushers try to work out with these guys to (foolishly, in my opinion) show that they can move like the smaller guys do. That said, numbers-wise, this group is very similar to year’s past. It’s similar to last year and a touch lower than the five-year average, but because of the wonkiness of the numbers, that’s expected. That said, there were some names I couldn’t believe didn’t make the cut (more on that in a bit). First, here are the names heading to Indy.

Eugene Asante (Auburn)

Jeffrey Bassa (Oregon)

Carson Bruener (Washington)

Teddye Buchanan (Cal)

Jihaad Campbell (Alabama)

Barrett Carter (Clemson)

Power Echols (UNC)

Jay Higgins (Iowa)

Shemar James (Florida)

Jamon Johnson (Kentucky)

Kobe King (Penn State)

Jack Kiser (Notre Dame)

Demetrius Knight (South Carolina)

Cody Lindenberg (Minnesota)

Nick Martin (Oklahoma State)

Bam Martin-Scott (South Carolina)

Francisco Mauigoa (Miami)

Jalen McLeod (Auburn)

Kain Medrano (UCLA)

Smael Mondon (Georgia)

Collin Oliver (Oklahoma State)

Pooh Paul (Ole Miss)

Tyreem Powell (Rutgers)

Karene Reid (Utah)

Carson Schwesinger (UCLA)

Cody Simon (Ohio State)

Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma)

Jalon Walker (Georgia)

Jackson Woodard (UNLV)

Aside from Lampkin, the biggest Combine snub for me is Syracuse’s Justin Barron. A college safety, Barron made the move to linebacker and really caught my eye at the Senior Bowl. He looks the part, he has the athleticism to match up and cover and didn’t seem to lack physicality. I think he looked like a draft pick all week down in Mobile. I’m shocked he wasn’t invited to the Combine. LSU’s Greg Penn is more of your traditional ‘MIKE’ linebacker, and I did like him for that role based off film study, but given his skillset I wasn’t as surprised that he was left off the list. 

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CORNERBACK

We see a ton of cornerbacks drafted every single year, and I don’t expect that to change this spring. That said, the numbers in Indy will be a bit short compared to what we typically see. Just 35 will be in attendance, compared to the 42 last year and the 39.2 average over the last five seasons. With cornerback being a stopwatch position, my guess is that you’ll see more than a handful of non-Combine invitees hear their names called in April after having impressive Pro Day workouts, which is typically the case every year. Now, here’s who made the cut.

BJ Adams (UCF)

Zy Alexander (LSU)

Trey Amos (Ole Miss)
Jahdae Barron (Texas)

Cobee Bryant (Kansas)

Denzel Burke (Ohio State)

Mello Dotson (Kansas)

OD Fortune (South Carolina)

Zah Frazier (UTSA)

Max Hairston (Kentucky)

Jordan Hancock (Ohio State)

Jermari Harris (Iowa)

Marcus Harris (Cal)

Tommi Hill (Nebraska)

Travis Hunter (Colorado)

Alijah Huzzie (UNC)

Will Johnson (Michigan)

Bilhal Kone (Western Michigan)

Robert Longerbeam (Rutgers)

Jason Marshall (Florida)

Mac McWilliams (UCF)

Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame)

Jabbar Muhammad (Oregon)

Jacob Parrish (Kansas State)

Darien Porter (Iowa State)

Caleb Ransaw (Tulane)

Shavon Revel (ECU)

Quincy Riley (Louisville)

Jaylin Smith (USC)

Upton Stout (Western Kentucky)

Dorian Strong (Virginia Tech)

Azareye’h Thomas (Florida State)

Justin Walley (Minnesota)

Isas Waxter (Villanova)

Nohl Williams (Cal)

The most surprising name for me to be left off the list was West Virginia’s Garnett Holis JR, who has NFL size and length with position flexibility as both an outside corner and potential safety transition down the line. Tulane’s Johnathan Edwards has similar tools as well, and flashed at times during the week of practice at the Senior Bowl. It was a mild surprise to me that he was left off the list. Notre Dame nickel corner Jordan Clark is severely undersized, but I thought he had a shot at earning an invite as well after his play this year.

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SAFETY

Like corner, the safety class is a bit light this year as well at the Combine when compared to both last season as well as the five-year average. I do think the talent at the top of this class is better than a typical draft, but obviously the depth is what concerns NFL teams for the class as a whole. Here is who NFS felt deserved the invite.

Billy Bowman (Oklahoma)

Sebastian Castro (Iowa)

Alijah Clark (Syracuse)

Kitan Crawford (Nevada)

Nick Emmanwori (South Carolina)

Maxen Hook (Toledo)

Rayuan Lane III (Navy)

RJ Mickens (Clemson)

Malachi Moore (Alabama)

Drew Mukuba (Texas)

Lathan Ransom (Ohio State)

Jaylen Reed (Penn State)

Jonas Sanker (Virginia)

Marques Sigle (Kansas State)

Malaki Starks (Georgia)

Dante Trader (Maryland)

Malik Verdon (Iowa State)

Xavier Watts (Notre Dame)

Kelvin Winston JR (Penn State)

Hunter Wohler (Wisconsin)

Craig Woodson (Cal)

The biggest name here would definitely be Georgia’s Dan Jackson. The former walk-on started for the Bulldogs this year and showed the ability to make plays on the ball before having good flashes during the week of practice in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. Arizona State’s Shamari Simmons is another name that surprised me as far as not being invited; he showed a playmaking dimension during his time with the Sun Devils and I thought he had a pro skill set that was worthy enough of earning an invitation to Indy. Trey Rucker from Oklahoma State earned a late invite to Mobile for the Senior Bowl, and I thought he had a shot at earning a trip here as well.