INDIANAPOLIS — All eyes were on offense at Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Combine as wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. Day 3 is often the most awaited of the four-day event as the wide receivers and running backs typically produce the most exciting numbers, and some certainly did today—but perhaps not who you’d expect. TOT’s scouting team broke down the best and worst performances of an exciting day of field testing.
MVP: Kyle McCord, QB, Syracuse.
McCord spending last year in a run-first offense at Syracuse gave scouts only limited windows to view the evolution of his deep ball during his final college season. But McCord slung the rock all over Lucas Oil stadium with poise and power on Saturday, proving that he possesses at least the arm talent necessary to succeed in most NFL offenses. His connections on fade balls were the best of the day, and it wasn’t particularly close (save for a few beautiful fade and corner balls from Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard).
While higher profile prospects like Jalen Milroe (more on him later), Quinn Ewers and even McCord’s Ohio State replacement Will Howard struggled with timing and leading receivers, McCord was connecting passes with such precision that one wouldn’t know it was his first time throwing to a new group of receivers.
I was particularly impressed with his anticipation on the comeback. This route is so dependent on quarterback-receiver chemistry that I’m not prepared to knock other passers for their struggles on the drill. However, it’s still worth noting that McCord was connecting time and time again with near perfect timing, placing passes far enough outside to allow receivers to break away from a hypothetical defender but not so far as to escape their catch radius. His anticipation was far from perfect throughout the workout, leaving something to be desired on over the middle routes where he sometimes waited to start his throw until his receiver left the break. Again, part of this can be attributed to a lack of chemistry, as his tape contains some solid reps on similar concepts. Scouts will certainly be interested to see if these issues disappear at his Pro Day when throwing to familiar hands.
Once Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders hear their names called, this feels like a pretty wide open quarterback class. McCord separated himself from the likes of Milroe and Dart for the title of QB3 in this class as the deficiencies in his game seemed much more coachable and his deep ball needed little to no improvement.
Honorable Mention: Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Virginia Tech.
Tuten built on an impressive Senior Bowl week with a great athletic showing at the Combine, leading the running back group with a 4.32 second 40-yard dash and an outstanding 40.5” vertical. His 10’10” broad placed fourth in the group, and he looked very comfortable and fluid in his routes, displaying solid hands and footwork.
The Virginia Tech product is one of the most explosive running backs in this class. He’s perhaps the best of the group at getting outside and hitting the gas on wide zone concepts. There will always be those concerned with his frame, but even at his size he’s an enticing change of pace, pass-catching back. After the top few running backs are off the board in the first two rounds, Tuten has certainly earned himself a place on the draft board of teams looking for a back on Day 2 of the draft.
Most Improved
Seth Henigan, QB, Memphis.
Day 3 splits the quarterbacks and wide receivers into two groups for field workouts. Of the first group, which included much higher profile prospects like Quinn Ewers and Jaxson Dart, Henigan had potentially the best throwing workout. Very few of his passes were outside of the desired window, and he impressed in the deep passes with two perfectly placed fade balls. In a quarterback class that feels pretty open after the top few prospects are off the board, Henigan will certainly entice teams looking to draft a quarterback while saving their premium picks for more pressing needs.
Jaylin Noel, WR, Iowa State.
Noel was a consistently productive receiver throughout his four years at Iowa State, catching 60 or more passes in each of his last three seasons. He put together five 100-plus yard games in 2024, including outings against teams like Iowa, Kansas and Miami. It was his eight catches for 117 yards, and late third quarter touchdown in the Pop-Tart Bowl that helped keep Iowa State in the game late to eventually top Miami 42-41.
The former Cyclone had a great day of athletic testing, running a solid 4.39 second 40-yard dash and showing elite explosiveness with a 41.5” vertical and 11’2” broad. Both jumps led the receiver group and placed top five across all positions. He also looked solid in field drills, displaying fluid and comfortable footwork in his routes. Noel displayed that he certainly has the athletic traits one would desire from a slightly smaller receiver. He also provides special teams value as he averaged 15.3 yards per punt return in college. If he can develop the hand fighting and body control technique necessary to battle more physical corners off the line of scrimmage and in contested scenarios over the middle, his elite footwork and crisp cuts will make a team in need of a slot receiver very, very happy.
Most Underwhelming
Isaiah Bond, WR, Texas.
Bond didn’t have a bad Combine. But it’s hard not to disappoint when you promise to break the 40-yard dash record, and that’s exactly what the former Longhorn did during Friday’s media availability. It would’ve been one thing for him to miss the record by a few hundredths of a second but still put up a blazing time and lead the class. Something in the high 4.2’s or even a 4.30 would’ve been respectable, but a 4.39 for a guy who guaranteed he’d run a whole two-tenths of a second lower leaves something to be desired. Add that to the fact that his drop issues showed up on field drills and Bond failed to separate himself from a deep receiver class that included a number of speedsters with similar play style.
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama.
The consistent scouting report on Milroe was that he possesses elite arm talent, potentially one of the best in the class, but lacks elite processing and anticipation. A guy like that should be able to really thrive at the Combine—at least on deep concepts—separating himself from quarterbacks whose strength is their cerebral play by allowing his big arm to shine in a scenario devoid of any need to make decisions.
Milroe did exactly the opposite on Saturday, struggling on not only shorter timing-based concepts but the deep ball as well. Our scouts agreed that he seemed to throw his fade balls as if they were seams, leading the receiver inside in a way that makes hard-hitting safeties in Cover 2 lick their lips and lower their shoulder. A passer whose advantage is supposedly arm strength and talent needs to be able to drag his receivers down the sideline on fades, allowing them to stack the DB and catch the ball squarely out front instead of drifting inside and making the grab with their hips open toward midfield. Senior Bowl week showed that Milroe lacked the elite processing and ability to dissect a defense necessary for NFL success. The Combine showed he may also not possess the elite arm talent worth trying to fix those deficiencies.
This piece was published in collaboration with The Talk of Troy, a student-led, multi-platform sports and culture program based in Los Angeles that prides itself on leading difficult conversations at the intersection of sports and culture. InfanityTV is the exclusive publisher of TOT’s on-site coverage of the 2025 NFL Combine. Find more of TOT’s content @TheTalkOfTroy on Instagram.
