(Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
2025 NFL Combine: What the Tape Says About Defensive Tackle Workout Warriors
INDIANAPOLIS — Every year at every position, there are draft prospects who turn heads at the scouting combine with outstanding workouts that elevate their professional potential in the eyes of NFL shot-callers.
It doesn't always mean everything when a prospect blows it up at the combine. Sometimes it means little in the prospect's NFL transition, it can educate people as to the overall potential, and it can just put a cap on what we already know.
For example, when Pitt defensive tackle Aaron Donald ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash at the 2014 combine... well, we already had the ridiculous tape. That just emphasized Donald's generational potential. But when Pitt's Calijah Kancey ran a 4.67 40-yard dash at the 2023 combine, that had something to do with the fact that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Kancey with the 19th overall pick in that draft.
But in a larger and more general sense, what do these amazing numbers from the scouting combine actually reveal about the attributes of these prospects? In this series, we'll try to match it all up, and we'll begin with four interior defensive linemen who made the combine their own.
Now, what does the tape say with all that new information in the equation?
(All advanced drill metrics courtesy of Combine IQ powered by Amazon QuickSight).
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Georgia
What He Did: Among all defensive linemen and linebackers who worked out during Day 1 of the combine drills, Ingram-Dawkins posted the highest Athleticism Score overall. He hit a top speed of 20.59 miles per hour on his 40-yard dash, and ran a 4.86-second 40-yard dash overall. That tied Ingram-Dawkins for the second-fastest 40-yard dash overall with SMU's Jared Harrison-Hunte behind only Nebraska's Ty Robinson (4.83). Ingram-Dawkins's 10-yard split of 1.69 seconds tied him with Harrison-Hunte for the fastest among interior defensive linemen, and that's a very important number for the bigger guys.
Ingram-Dawkins also had the best DI vertical jump at 36.00 inches, the best DI broad jump at 10 feet 4 inches, the best DI three-cone drill at 7.28 seconds, and the best DI 20-yard shuttle at 4.34 seconds.
Basically, the 6-foot-5, 276-pound Ingram-Dawkins did everything he possibly could to own his scouting combine.
What It Means: Over four seasons with the Bulldogs, Ingram-Dawkins never got more than 536 snaps in a season, and that happened last year. That's how loaded the Georgia defensive line has been from year to year. But in 2024, Ingram-Dawkins amassed three sacks and 19 total pressures on 299 pass-rushing snaps, and had 16 solo tackles, 17 stops, and five tackles for loss when it was time to get it done in the run game.
Based on his tape, Ingram-Dawkins projects very well in the NFL as a hybrid lineman who can get it done everywhere from the A-gap to outside the tackles. For example: If Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, who has turned his defense into a Georgia student exchange program to great effect, wanted to replace Milton Williams if Williams goes elsewhere in free agency, Ingram-Dawkins might just fit like the proverbial glove.
Ty Robinson, Nebraska
(Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
What He Did: Robinson ran an 4.86-second 40-yard dash, the fastest time among this year’s DI class. Robinson also led his position group in top speed (20.64 mph) and speed at 10 yards (16.98 mph) on his run. His mark at 10 yards is the fourth-fastest by any defensive tackle over the last three years. Robinson also reached a top speed of 15.56 mph on the four-bag agility drill, second-fastest among interior defensive linemen over the last three seasons behind only Braden Fiske, now of the Los Angeles Rams (15.74 mph).
What It Means: 2024 was the 6-foot-5, 288-pound Robinson's sixth season with the Cornhuskers, and it was also his best. He had six sacks and 42 total pressures on 355 pass-rushing snaps, and he totaled 25 solo tackles, 27 stops, and seven tackles for loss. You can see the athleticism in Robinson's quickness to hop gaps and confuse blockers, and he's a menace when it's time to charge to the pocket.
Robinson is another interior guy who can win up and down the line, and he should be an appealing second-day headbanger for any team looking to increase the chaos factor up front. I see some elements of Ryan Kerrigan in his game, from the four-point stance to the ability to get country-strong against opponents who might outweigh him by 50 pounds.
CJ West, Indiana
(Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
What He Did: At 6-foot-1 and 316 pounds, West ran a 4.95-second 40-yard dash while reaching a top speed of 20.25 mph. He become just the ninth interior defensive lineman to weigh at least 315 pounds and run a sub-5.0 40-yard dash at the combine since 2003. West's 10-yard split of 1.73 seconds was also outstanding for his size, and he was right near the top of the big guys with a 33-inch vertical jump.
Overall, no interior defensive lineman outside of Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins had a higher Athleticism Score than West's 86 — and West did that with a body that's a lot more cement truck than race car.
What It Means: West spent his first four seasons at Kent State, and transferred to the Hoosiers in time for the 2024 season. With West's frame, you do want him head over center or to either shoulder where he can win strength contests. But you can also put West outside the guards as a three-tech tackle, and he'll use his gap-shredding lateral agility and power to the pocket to upset blockers and ballcarriers. Were you to compare West to an under-development version of Grady Jarrett, I wouldn't argue too loudly.
Last season, West had one sack and 25 hurries on just 238 pass-rushing snaps, adding 28 solo tackles, 22 stops, and six tackles for loss. From just burning past blockers with short-area speed to knifing through double-teams with his leverage and strength, West's tape is great, and he did his thing against some of the best opponents the NCAA had to offer throughout Indiana's great season, and postseason run.
Jared Harrison-Hunte, SMU
(Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
What He Did: We've already mentioned that Harrison-Hunte was at the top of most of the DI drills with the second-fastest 40-yard dash (4.86 seconds), the fastest 10-yard split (1.69 seconds, tied with the aforementioned Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins), and good vertical and broad jumps to round it all off.
What It Means: A 2024 transfer from Miami (Fla,), Harrison-Hunte had his best season to date with the Mustangs, and he was a big part of their 11-3 season. At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, he had eight sacks and 43 total pressures last season on 375 pass-rushing snaps. He also put up 23 solo tackles, 24 stops, and two tackles for loss.
Harrison-Hunte's sacks all came from the inside, whether head over center or beating guards to the outside shoulder, and he shows a lot of skills there. I might also try some packages with him as a bigger edge defender, because he just moves with that kind of smoothness and burst.
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