For some hardcore NFL fans, the college football season doesn’t officially begin until the last weekend in February, when the top juniors and seniors from every team come together to have their athleticism measured against one another at the NFL Combine ahead of the draft.
Suddenly, a whole new world of measurables is at the fingertips of draft aficionados, professional and amateur alike, and as a result, mock drafts will be adjusted accordingly, with players going up and down boards based on what they can do athletically.
Every year, some players make a ton of money at the Combine, seeing their draft grades soar because of faster-than-expected athletic numbers but every year, other players fall down boards too because they simply didn’t live up to expectations. With the defensive side of the ball officially finished up in Indianapolis, here are three prospects who lost money at the 2025 NFL Combine.
Princely Umanmielen, Edge, Ole Miss
Coming into the 2025 NFL Draft Combine, one player who could have seen their stock go to the moon with an elite athletic performance is Ole Miss defensive end Princely Umanmielen.
A veteran performer who split his college career between Florida and Ole Miss, Umanmielen blew up in a major way in 2024, recording double-digit sacks while setting a firm edge for the Rebels. While his rapid-rising status certainly turned a few heads around the football world, as one-year wonders are far less of a sure thing than consistent risers, Umanmielen looked like a starting-caliber edge who would be picked at some point at the top of the second round, with a first-round bump very much a possibility if he played his cards right.
Unfortunately, at the Combine, he more or less cemented his spot as a Day 2 player, as the scouting departments of some teams will simply declare he’s too slow to be selected in the first round.
Standing 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, making him one of the lighter prospects in this year’s edge class, Umanmielen ran a 4.72 40-yard dash, with his overall athletic score for the position ranked 28th, according to NFL.com. While Umanmielen’s game isn’t necessarily predicated on speed, as Lance Zierlein noted in his draft profile, when you consider he’s likely being drafted more for his sack production than his run-stuffing abilities, having a slow 40-time will only lead to more questions than answers.
A finesse edge defender with traits, athleticism, and upside to have his sack production translate to the NFL, Umanmielen is a serious ground-gainer with burst, stride, and bend to create shallow edges leading directly into the quarterback’s drop space. He’s not instinctive and takes predictable pathways to the pocket, but he’s simply hard to keep out of the pocket due to his attributes. He lacks play strength and aggression as a run defender. He will have trouble setting edges and might not be an early down option early in his career. Umanmielen is an ascending stand-up edge rusher who might be just scratching the surface of his already threatening rush talent.
Now granted, could Umanmielen still become a star in the NFL as a second-round pick? Sure, but when you consider he could have been selected in the late 20s or early 30s with a James Pierce Jr.-level performance, it’s hard to argue he didn’t leave some money on the table in Indianapolis.
Cobee Bryant, Cornerback, Kansas
Heading into the Combine, a prospect who was earning some serious momentum was Kansas Jayhawks Cobee Bryant. A tall, competitive cornerback who has incredible ball skills in college, many liked Bryant as a “silo” cornerback in a Cover 3 system, but after running a sub-4.50 40 in Indianapolis, and ranking 31st in athleticism scores according to NFL.com, more than a few teams may question if they could trust the collegiate Jayhawk on the field at all.
Already one of the thinner cornerbacks in this year’s class, Bryant’s lack of speed might just knock him down a few boards, especially if he ends up transitioning to the nickel like Zierlein believes could be in his future.
“Thin but highly competitive cornerback with plenty of ball production and penalties to sift through. First and foremost, Bryant wants the football and does what he can to find it. He’s adequate in man coverage but struggles against big receivers in space,” Zierlein wrote. “His instincts and ball skills shine in zone, where he reads route development and quarterback intentions. His low weight and skinny build will put him below the threshold for some teams, while his length, toughness, and strong performance at the East-West Shrine Bowl will put him in play for others. Bryant has the potential to see nickel snaps as a pro if he can trust his technique and limit the penalties.”
If Bryant doesn’t have the recovery speed needed to play outside cornerback at a high level and can be pushed around by physical receiver like AJ Brown Emmanule Forbes-style, it might be hard to really identify an easy fit for the collegiate corner, with some teams potentially even viewing him as a safety transition candidate as a result.
Malaki Starks, Safety, Georgia
Heading into the Combine, no one really expected Malaki Starks to set the world on fire with his athletic testing numbers.
Widely considered the best safety in the class, with an ability to play in virtually every scheme in the NFL in one role or another, Starks was widely expected to be drafted somewhere in the first round, whether by a team in the early teens who saw how safeties like Kyle Hamilton could impact a game and wanted to add that to their bag of tricks, or by playoffs team in the 20s, who simply couldn’t pass up on the value of a player of his caliber versus the other players on the board.
Worst case, Starks would end up with his Dawgs in Philadelphia, who don’t really need a safety in 2025 but seemingly can’t pass up on adding another member of Kirby Smart’s defense to Vic Fangio’s scheme.
With that being said, the chances of Starks going on the higher level of that scale felt a whole lot better if he ran a 40 in the low 40s, recorded some elite change-of-direction numbers, or even had elite hops, none of which happened. He ran a 4.50 40, had a 33-inch vertical, and had a 3-cone drill of 7.26, which is rather underwhelming for a player some believe could be the next Brian Branch.
“Three-year starter with reams of high-leverage games on his résumé. Starks is a versatile safety with the size and athleticism to eliminate contested catches and the speed and ball skills to shine when the action travels deep,” Zierlein wrote. “Connection to the route is inconsistent in man, and he’s baited out of position by misdirection, but better discipline and anticipation should clean that up. He’s not a true force player near the line, and his pursuit angles can be raggedy, but he gets guys down when he’s in position. Starks has feast-or-famine moments on tape but he figures to test well and star in team interviews. He is a future starter as a movable back-end piece whose consistency will determine his floor/ceiling.”
As a hybrid safety, Starks still has the potential to be the first player off the board in his position, even if Nick Emmanwori flies up boards after his incredible showing in the Underwear Olympics.
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