With the college football season complete, the 2026 NFL scouting combine is one of the last major chances draft prospects have to make an impact on NFL teams.
Throughout the week, prospects will take part in interviews and on-field drills, all with the goal of convincing an NFL team they are worth a draft pick. While some players head into the event knowing they’ll get drafted no matter how they perform, a few players will see their status rise dramatically after delivering standout physical displays.
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For NFL fans who don’t follow college football with the same amount of fervor, the combine provides football fans with an early glimpse at future NFL stars. Want to see if that quarterback prospect actually has a cannon for an arm, or if that wideout really is as fast as everyone says? This is the opportunity for both fans and NFL teams to find that out.
Thursday begins on-field workouts for kickers, defensive linemen and linebackers, with tight ends and defensive backs on Friday, quarterbacks, wide recievers and running backs on Saturday and offensive linemen on Sunday.
Follow along as Yahoo Sports provides updates of the 2026 NFL scouting combine, including the latest rumors, news and standout performances during the event. We’ll also follow news across the league.
How to watch the 2026 NFL scouting combine
Dates: Feb. 23 through March 2 (on-field workouts from Feb. 26 through March 1)
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis
TV channel: NFL Network
Follow along with the latest news coming out of the 2026 NFL scouting combine.
Live72 updates
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 3:49 PM PST
Andy Backstrom
While the NFL Players Association couldn’t release team report cards publicly this year, due to the NFL winning a grievance arguing that the surveys violated the CBA, they still came out in a report from ESPN.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler disclosed the grades for each of the categories — from treatment of families to team ownership — for all 32 franchises.
Check them out here.
CANTON, OHIO – AUGUST 24: A detail of the NFL Players Association logo on August 24, 2025 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
(Aaron M. Sprecher via Getty Images)Thu, February 26, 2026 at 3:36 PM PST
Andy Backstrom
Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles already wowed with his 43.5-inch vertical.
But he just turned in a broad jump of 11 feet, 2 inches, which, according to ESPN’s Benjamin Solak, is the fourth best among linebackers at the NFL combine since 1999.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 3:30 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Ohio State product had the best in combine history for a linebacker at 43.5 inches. That’s by far the best of the day among LBs.
And he also leads the group in broad jump with a mark of 11 feet, 2 inches.
Here’s the rest of the top of the group in both workouts:
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 3:19 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Styles, who’s 6-foot-5 and 244 pounds, put up a 43.5” vertical. Per NFL Media’s Eric Edholm, that’s 1.5 inches off the all-time mark set by a wide receiver and cornerback.
Here’s where Styles’ vertical ranked among the rest of the LBs participating at this year’s combine, per The Athletic’s Dane Brugler:
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 2:51 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Texas Tech’s David Bailey comes out on top with his official time adjusted to 4.50 seconds.
Here are the top 5 times among edge rush prospects:
Edge rusher 40-yard dash times (NFL.com)
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 2:15 PM PST
Tarohn Finley
Texas Tech defensive lineman David Bailey ran an official 4.50 in the 40-yard dash.
Bailey is expected to be a first-round pick. The 22-year-old had 52 tackles, 14.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in his first season at Texas Tech. He spent his first three seasons with Stanford.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 1:45 PM PST
Yahoo Sports
Penn State defensive lineman Zane Durant turned some heads on Thursday during the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 1:30 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Florida edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. nearly made history on Thursday with a 41-inch vertical jump that currently leads all combine participants and was just a half inch shy of tying the record for edge rushers set by Nolan Smith at 41.5 inches.
Gumbs measured in at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, coming off his fifth NCAA season and second at Florida. After playing two seasons as a tight end with Northern Illiois, Gumbs moved to defense to play the edge, tallying 7.5 sacks over 22 games with the Gators.
Analyst Lance Zierlein notes him as a potential Day 3 selection in this year’s draft with plenty of room for refinement in his technique.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 1:24 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton, UCF’s Malachi Lawrence, Wisconsin’s Mason Reiger and Texas Tech’s Romello Height all put up top-5 marks in both workouts today.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 12:53 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Modern scouting puts more emphasis on 10-yard split times, rather than the full 40-yard time, among defensive line prospects. Here’s how the top times shake out so far, with Penn State’s Zane Durant leading the way.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 12:48 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
Durant’s official time of 4.75 seconds in the 40-yard dash stands as the best time among defensive tackles so far today.
That’s faster than QBs Dak Prescott (4.79) and Patrick Mahomes (4.80) ran at their combines 👀
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 12:21 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Penn State product clocked an unofficial 4.76-second 40 time in his first attempt. And his all-important 10-yard split was also a strong 1.66 seconds.
That’s fast for a 6-foot-1, 290-pound guy.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 12:19 PM PST
Yahoo Sports Staff
The Oklahoma prospect recorded the third-best time ever by a defensive tackle at the combine.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 10:23 AM PST
Tarohn Finley
The Indianapolis Colts will reportedly seek a trade partner for quarterback Anthony Richardson, according to NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. Richardson trade talks come soon after it was reported that the Colts were discussing an extension for Colts quarterback Daniel Jones.
Richardson lost out to Jones in the starting quarterback competition and battled injuries throughout the season. The 23-year-old quarterback has made 15 starts in 17 games since being drafted with the No. 4 pick in 2023.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 9:33 AM PST
Andy Backstrom
Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr.’s arm length measurement of 30 7/8 inches is generating buzz at the NFL combine.
But another highly touted EDGE prospect has even shorter arms. Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, whom Yahoo Sports also projects as a first-round pick in its latest mock draft, has arms that are 30 1/4 inches, according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.
Those are the shortest arms ever recorded for an edge rusher in the mockdraftable database, according to PFF’s Max Chadwick.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 9:28 AM PST
Andy Backstrom
Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods, whom Yahoo Sports projects as a first-round pick in its latest mock draft, won’t work out at the NFL combine.
Instead, he’ll perform fully at Clemson’s Pro Day on March 12, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 8:36 AM PST
Andy Backstrom
Miami EDGE Rueben Bain Jr. is one of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s draft class.
On one hand, he’s a tenacious pass rusher who dominated during the Hurricanes’ College Football Playoff run.
On the other hand, his arm length has been the subject of scrutiny as he prepares to make the jump to the next level.
At the NFL combine, Bain’s arms were measured at 30 7/8 inches, according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, meaning, per ESPN’s Benjamin Solak, Bain has the third-shortest arms for an edge rusher in the mockdraftable database.
For reference, Aaron Donald’s arms are two inches longer than Bain’s, per ESPN’s Matt Miller.
That said, longtime NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein made an important point on X:
“Bain’s explosive power in both his hands and hips combined with his natural leverage create consistent advantages in wrestling mode when both parties are trying to control or manipulate the other through force and leverage,” Zierlein wrote.
“Length matters but it is relative to the combatants. There are plenty of long-armed tackles who are late or sloppy with their punch causing their advantage to completely evaporate.”
Thu, February 26, 2026 at 7:36 AM PST
Jori Epstein
As front-office executives and player representatives meet across lobbies, hotel rooms and hallways of the NFL scouting combine, an annual tradition returns.
Speculation about teams’ next moves and players’ next destinations often far outpaces the reality of deals that will materialize in the coming weeks and months. But the speculation is not usually emerging from thin air. More often, it reflects the conversations teams are having with each other and with player agents, as each party susses out what’s possible by discussing the many plans that are not.
So with an unusual free-agent quarterback market shaping up, let’s break down some of the buzz traveling through combine meetups — with the acknowledgment that much of it will reach its peak of reality in teams’ meetings this week.
Wed, February 25, 2026 at 2:32 PM PST
Andy Backstrom
It looks like second-year Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward will have a new center in 2026.
The Titans are releasing Lloyd Cushenberry, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Cushenberry signed a four-year, $50 million deal ahead of the 2024 season, per Rapoport, who also reported that the LSU product was due $8 million this season.
Cushenberry is coming off shoulder surgery, according to Rapoport, but, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 2020 third-round pick was released with a failed physical designation.
Schefter also reported that the Titans have released safety Xavier Woods, who has previously played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers as well.