The opening day of on-field drills at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis presented defensive linemen, edge rushers and linebackers at Lucas Oil Stadium, the home of the Indianapolis Colts. Some prospects uplifted their stock with standout efforts while others caused teams to go back and look at their college film with a fine tooth comb.
Here are some of the intriguing things from Thursday’s on-field drills for the linebacker position, beginning with the measurements and testing numbers of the top prospects in CBS Sports’ top 50 rankings, courtesy of NFL Draft analyst Mike Renner:
Measurements/testing numbers for top LB prospects
| Measurement / Drill | Sonny Styles (Ohio State) | Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas) | Jake Golday (Cincinnati) | Josiah Trotter (Missouri) | CJ Allen (Georgia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 6-5 | 6-2 | 6-4 ½ | 6-2 | 6-0 ¾ |
| Weight | 244 | 238 | 239 | 237 | 230 |
| Hand | 10 | 9⅝ | 9½ | 10¼ | 10⅛ |
| Arm | 32⅞ | 32⅜ | 31⅞ | 32¼ | 31½ |
| Wingspan | 80⅞ | 79 | 76⅞ | — | 75½ |
| 40-yard dash | 4.46 | 4.51 | 4.62 | — | — |
| 10-yard split | 1.56 | 1.58 | 1.60 | — | — |
| Vertical | 43.5 | 37 | 39 | — | — |
| Broad | 11-2 | 10-5 | 10-5 | — | — |
| 3-cone | 7.09 | — | 7.02 | — | — |
| Short shuttle | 4.26 | — | 4.34 | — | — |
Grading top LB prospects
Grade: A+
Ohio State first-team All-Big Ten linebacker Sonny Styles entered the combine as a projected top-10 pick, and after displaying jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism with a 43.5-inch vertical, he may be making a case to go in the top five in April, positional value be damned. NFL Media reported fellow linebackers were rooting him on and jumping in unison during his attempt. He blew away his positional peers.
His 11-foot-2 broad jump put an exclamation point on his elite athleticism. Styles recorded the highest vertical jump by a player 6-foot-4 or taller since at least 2003, when NFL Network began collecting combine data.
His combine performance was so explosive that he tested similarly to Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, the artist formerly known as Megatron.
That helped him generate a nearly perfect Relative Athletic Score, ranking as the No. 4 linebacker in the metric since 1987.
Grade: B+
Anthony Hill Jr. is similar to Arvell Reese as a linebacker with edge-rush experience, though he is not quite on the same level as Reese or Styles. Still, he acquitted himself well Thursday. A 4.51-second 40-yard dash at Hill’s size is a strong result, and his 9.93 Relative Athletic Score reflects an excellent day in Indianapolis.
He remains a tier below Styles, who delivered a historic performance, but Hill’s showing was strong enough to earn a B+.
Grade: B
Jake Golday measured and jumped well at the combine. He did not get out of the blocks quickly in the 40-yard dash, as reflected in his early split times, but he showcased strong closing speed to finish with a 4.62. Overall, Golday helped himself Thursday.
Grade: N/A — Josiah Trotter opted out of doing on-field drills on Thursday.
CJ Allen, Georgia: N/A
Grade: N/A — CJ Allen chose not to participate in on-field drills on Thursday.
NFL combine 2026: Grades for top DL/EDGE prospects, plus other standouts from on-field workouts
Josh Edwards
Other standouts
- Measurables: 6-foot-1, 231 pounds, 9¼-inch hands, 30⅞-inch arms
Grade: B
Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez was the most decorated linebacker in college football in 2025. He earned the Bronko Nagurski Award (nation’s top defensive player), the Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player of the year), the Dick Butkus Award (top linebacker), the Vince Lombardi Award (top lineman), unanimous All-American honors and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
His tape is outstanding, and he moved smoothly during Thursday’s workouts in Indianapolis, posting a 38.5-inch vertical, a 10-foot-1 broad jump and a 4.57-second 40-yard dash. Rodriguez’s measurables were decent, but the way he moves — combined with his production at Texas Tech — earns him a B grade.
- Measurables: 6-foot-6⅝, 221 pounds, 10½-inch hands, 35-inch arms, 86¼-inch wingspan
Grade: A
Eric Gentry is a certified freak. He is both the tallest linebacker and owns the largest wingspan recorded at the NFL Scouting Combine since NFL Media began tracking data in 2003. A creative defensive coordinator could have plenty of fun deploying him at the next level.
