The first day of workouts at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is over. On Thursday, defensive line and linebacker prospects took the field for measurements, tests, and workouts in front of all 32 NFL teams. There was, as expected, a wide array of results.

Some guys really impressed and raised their draft stock, while others did not perform well and watched their stock potentially plummet. If you didn’t have time to tune in, here are my winners and losers from day one:

Winner: LB Sonny Styles

Every few years, we get someone who is just a freak athlete at their position and flies up draft boards, and this year, that was Sonny Styles. His combined performance is going to go down as one of the best of all time.

The Ohio State linebacker started his day by weighing in at 6-foot-5, 244 pounds, which, for a modern-day linebacker, is exactly what you want to see. But that was far from the most impressive part of his day.

After measurements, Styles took the field for workouts and recorded a 43.5-inch vertical with an 11-foot, 2-inch broad jump and a 4.46 40-yard dash. He ranked in the 99th percentile in both the vertical leap and broad jump, while posting a sub-4.5-second 40 time. According to NFL.com, Styles ranked first in the combine in production score and athleticism score. That’s insane for a linebacker. But there’s more, just look at his numbers from Thursday:

• 40-Yard Dash: 4.46 seconds
• 10-Yard-Split: 1.56 seconds
• Vertical Jump: 43.5 inches
• Broad Jump: 11’2″
• 3-Cone Drill: 7.09 seconds
• 20-Yard Shuttle: 4.26 seconds

Styles was already viewed as a likely top-15 pick, but his combine performance might’ve put him in top-five discussions.

Loser: DE Rueben Bain Jr.

Everyone knew Reuben Bain Jr. had short arms coming into the NFL Combine, but I don’t think anyone expected them to measure as short as they are. Typically, you want an NFL pass rusher to have 33-inch arms. You can live with something in the 32s, but once you get below that, you’re getting into uncharted territory.

There aren’t many successful NFL pass rushers who had sub-32-inch arms, and Bain’s came in at 30 7/8 inches. He spoke on the matter during his Wednesday news conference at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

“None of the teams seem to be too concerned with it,” Bain said. “I will just talk the talk and walk the walk … Nobody is really asking me about it.”

If he is drafted in the first round, he will have the shortest arms of any DE in the first round since at least 1999.

There’s a lot of talk about teams not being too worried about his arm length, but it is definitely a concern. He was a lock to go in the top five, and while someone might be bold enough to pick him that high, don’t be surprised if he does slip towards the end of the top 10.

Winner: LB Anthony Hill

Everyone was enamored with Sonny Styles’ performance, and rightfully so, because it was historically good, but we can’t ignore how well Texas LB Anthony Hill tested either. In fact, he was viewed as a second-round pick, but after his performance on Thursday, he could sneak into the first round.

He measured a little small at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, but he made up for it with his numbers on the board:

• 40-Yard Dash: 4.51 seconds
• 10-Yard Split: 1.58 seconds
• Vertical Jump: 37 inches
• Broad Jump: 10’5″
• Bench Press: 21 reps

He earned a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.93, which was the second-best among all linebackers, behind only Sonny Styles. Hill is only 21 years old, an athletic freak, and he produced all three years in college. He’s a future Pro Bowler, in my eyes.

Loser: DT Lee Hunter

Nobody expected Lee Hunter to blow everyone away with his athleticism, but he did himself no favors at the combine. He was a borderline first-rounder coming into the draft, but now I think he’s almost locked himself into the second round.

Hunter weighed in at 6-foot-3, 318 pounds, which was expected, while running a 5.18 40-yard dash with a 21.5-inch vertical and an 8-foot, 4-inch broad jump. Again, I didn’t expect him to go out there and put in a sub-5-second 40 with a 30-inch vertical, but those numbers were much worse than I expected.

• 40-Yard Dash: 5.18 seconds
• 10-Yard Split: 1.79 seconds
• Vertical Jump: 21.5 inches
• Broad Jump: 8’4″

For someone who doesn’t have a ton of pass-rush upside, seeing numbers like that won’t help his draft stock. He’s going to be a great run stuffer in the NFL, but that’s about it.

Winner: DE Dani Dennis-Sutton

Dani Dennis-Sutton did exactly what he needed to do at the NFL Combine to raise his draft stock. First, he weighed in at 6-foot-6, 256 pounds with 33 1/2-inch arms, which in this draft class is a big deal. Then he tested really well in on-field workouts, posting a 9.96 RAS.

• 40-Yard Dash: 4.63 seconds
• 10-Yard Split: 1.63 seconds
• Vertical Jump: 39.5 inches
• Broad Jump: 10 ft 11 inches
• 3-Cone Drill: 6.9 seconds

Those are all incredible numbers for a defensive end, but he also showed off his agility with his three-cone drill (anything under 7.0 for a defensive lineman is pretty incredible).

The Penn State product is much more of a prototypical edge rusher than some of the other guys in this class, and teams are going to value that.

Loser: DE Cashius Howell

Cashius Howell was another edge rusher with arm length concerns, and his measurements were even worse than Bain’s. Howell measured in with 30 1/4-inch arms, which are the shortest recorded by an edge rusher since at least 1999.

His arm measurements already put him on the back foot, but I don’t think he tested all that well either.

• 40-Yard Dash: 4.59 seconds
• 10-Yard Split: 1.58 seconds
• Vertical Jump: 32.5 inches
• Broad Jump: 9’7″

He ran an impressive 4.59-second 40-yard dash, but he only leapt 32.5 inches in the vertical and 9 feet, 7 inches in the broad jump. If a team is going to spend a first-round pick on an edge with historically short arms, he had better test better than Howell did.

Winner: DE Malachi Lawrence

Malachi Lawrence is an undersized edge rusher, coming in at 6-foot-4, 253 pounds, but he more than made up for his small frame with one of the best workouts we saw from a defensive lineman.

Lawrence posted a 4.52-second 40-yard dash, which ranked second among edge rushers behind only David Bailey (and technically Arvell Reese, but I see him as an off-ball linebacker). He also tested well in the broad jump (10 feet, 10 inches) and vertical leap (40 inches), earning a 9.90 RAS.

• 40-Yard Dash: 4.52 seconds
• 10-Yard Split: 1.59 seconds
• Vertical Jump: 40 inches
• Broad Jump: 10’10”

The UCF product definitely raised his draft stock on Thursday.

Loser: LB Harold Perkins

Harold Perkins is a unique player in this draft class. As a true freshman in college, he dominated as an edge rusher, but he’s too small to come off the edge full-time in the NFL, so LSU moved him around to different positions, but could never find the right spot for him. Pretty much every team has questions about where he’ll play in the league, but there’s one thing no one can deny: he’s an incredible athlete.

The combine was the place for Perkins to make a name for himself. If he tested well, it wouldn’t matter where he was going to play in the league. Someone was going to take a shot on him in the middle rounds, but instead of showcasing his abilities at the combine, he elected not to work out. Instead, he will work out at LSU’s pro day later in the draft process.

Perkins’ decision raised a lot of questions at the combine. As someone who is probably going to be drafted on day three and is a freak athlete, why would you not work out at the combine? That’s the best place for someone like him to raise his stock, but he turned it down. Just a head-scratching decision that certainly didn’t help.

Next up is Friday’s Combine with tight ends and defensive backs trying to prove their point.