Insider’s Diary from 2025 NFL Combine: Landon Jackson exceeding expectations, Jihaad Campbell’s first-round status, Shemar Stewart’s concern, and more

Workouts for the 2025 NFL Combine got off to an explosive start Thursday as the defensive linemen, linebackers, and edge rushers took to the turf of Lucas Oil Stadium. It was an athletic group of players, and several prospects improved their draft stock.

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Landon Jackson continues to impress

2025 NFL Scouting Combine - Source: Getty

Landon Jackson/DE/Arkansas: During a segment of Wednesday’s Combine notes, I mentioned expectations were high for Jackson, and he exceeded all of them during Thursday’s workout.

Weighing in at 266 pounds, Jackson timed 4.68 seconds in the 40 with an outstanding 10-yard split of 1.65 seconds. He jumped out of his shoes, touching 40.5 inches in the vertical jump and 10-foot-9 in the broad jump.

Jackson kept the momentum going during drills and looked equally athletic moving around the field. He was smooth and nimble, yet at the same time, he showed great explosion and a violent punch during bag drills.

His work in coverage drills was exquisite, as Jackson looked like a big safety the way he moved in reverse, flipped his hips, and covered a tremendous area, then caught the football. He’ll now get legitimate consideration in the back end of the first round.

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Jihaad Campbell cements himself as a first-round pick

2025 NFL Scouting Combine - Source: Getty

Jihaad Campbell/LB/Alabama: To his credit, Campbell did pretty much a complete workout and was incredibly impressive. He times 4.52 seconds in the 40, hit 10-foot-7 in the broad jump, and looked impressive in drills.

Campbell was not only fast but explosive and very strong. He cemented himself as a first-round pick in April.

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Tyler Baron and Ty Robinson trending upwards

Tyler Baron/DE/Miami: Baron was another who looked good from start to finish and put in an impressive workout. He timed 4.62 seconds in the 40 with a 10-yard split of 1.62 seconds after weighing in at 258 pounds. He touched 35.5 inches in the vertical jump and 10-foot-1 in the broad jump.

Baron was incredibly fluid moving around the field during position drills, displaying a lot of balance and quickness. He was solid all workout long, and if Baron applies these abilities on an every-snap basis in the NFL, something he did not always do in college, he will have a successful professional career.

Ty Robinson/DL/Nebraska: Robinson was a force on the field for the Cornhuskers the past two years and showed himself to be one of the best athletes from the defensive line class at the combine.

At 288 pounds, he timed 4.83 seconds in the 40 with a super quick 10-yard split of 1.71 seconds. Robinson also touched 33.5 inches in the vertical jump and 9-foot-11 in the broad jump and timed 4.50 seconds in the short shuttle, all excellent marks.

He looked terrific in position drills, easily moving around the field, displaying no hesitation, and showing a lot of agility during the hoop drill. There’s no denying that Robinson has cemented himself as a Day 2 pick in the draft.

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Shemar Stewart's athleticism was noticed

2025 NFL Scouting Combine - Source: Getty

Shemar Stewart/DE/Texas A&M: From a testing standpoint, Stewart was one of the stars from Thursday. His 40 time came in at 4.59 seconds with a 10-yard split that clocked 1.58 seconds, both outstanding marks for a 267-pound athlete.

He touched 40 inches in the vertical jump and 10-foot-11 in the broad jump. We did not see much of Stewart during position drills, just like we did not see much production from him in his last season with the Aggies. Stewart totaled 31 tackles and just 1.5 sacks last season, which has many saying he’s more of an athlete than a football player to this point.

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CJ West's surprising performance

2025 NFL Scouting Combine - Source: Getty

CJ West/DL/Indiana: West could well have been one of the biggest surprises of the day with the workout he turned in. Known as a static, gap occupier in college, scouts projected the big lineman as a nose tackle prospect whose primary duty on Sundays would be collecting blocks. Yet, during combine workouts, he showed a lot of athleticism.

West timed under five seconds in the 40, clocking 4.95 seconds with a terrific 1.73 10-yard split. He also hit 33 inches in the vertical jump. Those are all outstanding marks for someone who weighed in at 316 pounds. He then moved well during position drills, displaying a lot of quickness and balance and easily moving side to side.

Joshua Farmer/DL/Florida State: Ordinarily, Farmer’s marks of 5.11 seconds in the 40 -- with a 10-yard split of 1.77 seconds -- and 29 inches in the vertical jump would be good marks for a 305-pound defensive tackle. Yet they were middle of the pack Thursday, as the group of linemen he worked out with was incredibly athletic.

Yet Farmer looked tremendous from start to finish in his drills. He was incredibly explosive and quick and moved around the field as well as anyone in attendance. Farmer displayed violent hand punches during drills, moved around incredibly well, and looked terrific in the hoop drill. This will only further enhance Farmer’s draft stock off his terrific performance at the Senior Bowl.

Donovan Ezeiruaku/DE/Boston College: Ezeiruaku is the only person on this list who did not run the 40, yet his other marks, plus his position drills, were outstanding.

He touched 35.5 inches in the broad jump, timed 4.19 seconds in the short shuttle and blazed through the three-cone in a time of 6.94 seconds. That last mark is something few defensive backs will hit. Ezeiruaku then looked good in all the drills and was fast as well as fluid moving forward and in reverse.

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