NFL Combine live updates, highlights from Day 1 of draft workouts

NFL Combine live updates, highlights from Day 1 of draft workouts originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The NFL fans alike gather in person or around a television to witness something unique to football. Football is not the only sport that conducts a “Combine” to put incoming rookies through interviews, drills, medical evaluations and mental tests. However, it is the only sport where the “Combine” has become must-see TV.

Also known as the National Invitational Camp (NIC), the combine like everything else has a history. The four day football evaluation did not begin as the television event it is now. Just like the images of the NFL Draft decades ago, the combine used to be a small affair. Before 1976, the combine did not exist.

In the pre-1970s, NFL teams rarely conducted any sort of physical assessment of potential incoming college players. During that same period, the NFL Draft was also 17 rounds. Not the seven rounds it is today.

The NFL Combine in today's world

The first implementation any sort of physical assessment was actually started by the New York Jets who in 1976 invited prospects to their headquarters to be interviewed and tested.

“Besides character and intelligence, the other non-football thing we put a premium on is the medical aspect,” Mike Hickey, the Jets’ director of player personnel, wrote in a column for The New York Times in April 1983. “We attempt to have every player we are interested in have an orthopedic physical by our team physicians.”

The early days of what would eventually become the Scouting Combine were just a series of visits. The opposite of pro day visits we have now. Instead of all the scouts and front office personnel travelling to Florida’s pro day or USC’s pro day, the prospects would travel to the respective NFL cities to be tested.

The process was complicated and expensive. In the early 1980s, Dallas Cowboys general manager Tex Schramm recommended to the NFL’s competition committee that teams should work together to “centralize the evaluation process”.

The first Combine took place in 1982 in Tampa, Florida. That first Combine included 16 teams and 163 players. The number of invitees has doubled over time to around 300 over the last decade plus.

More:2026 NFL combine: Full list of draft prospects

Initially there were three groups of camps. The Indianapolis-based National Football Scouting Inc (NFS), BLESTO and Quadra Scouting. In 1985, all three camps were merged to save on operating costs. The central location in 1985 was Phoenix, Arizona. The central location for 1986 was New Orleans, Louisiana, however, in 1987 the venue was moved to Indianapolis where it has remained ever since.

Over time more and more aspects were added to the process. Just like the old NFL Drafts consisted of a closed-door operation not open to the fans, so was the Combine. As the Combine itself evolved, so did the public’s interest in it.

More:How the NFL Scouting Combine got its name: Schedule, history and origins of the biggest NFL Draft event

The first ever televised NFL Scouting Combine didn’t occur until 22 years after its inaugural event in 1982. In 2004 the then new NFL Network aired six one-hour end of the day recaps on the events of the Combine. In 2005, those one hour recaps became two hour recaps. In 2006 and 2007 the Combine coverage grew to over 25 hours of television coverage.

In the 2020s, the Combine is viewed as the second largest and most important event in the pre-draft process. Second only to the NFL Draft itself. Today, the combine evaluations are critical to the work NFL teams do on these prospects. Game tape will always be No. 1, but right behind the in game evaluations is the NFL Scouting Combine.

NFL Combine live updates, highlights from Day 1

Defensive Tackle 40 times:

Albert Regis - DT - Texas A&M: 1st attempt: 4.92 / 2nd attempt: 4.88

Regis had the best 'looking' start (1.73 split) of the tackles thus far. The first tackle to not have the drag foot start. High knees and driving through the line. 

Good start, not as good as the first one. Form got a little wide in the first ten, but he cleaned it up and improved on his already good time. 

Kaleb Proctor - DT - SE Lousiana: 1st attempt: 4.80 / 2nd attempt: 4.84

Clean start (1.69 split), very fluid gate. Runs smoother than hard. Giving a very solid first 40 time. 

The form lost a little something on the back end. Still a good time, he'll stick with the first 4.80 time. 

Chris McClellan - DT - College: 1st attempt: 5.05 / 2nd attempt: 5.08

A very clunky start (1.80 split), but recovered down the stretch make up some of that time. Comes out of his form early, but the drive/kick makes up for it. 

First step was faster but still had a drag foot on the second step. Really pushed through yards 10-20. 

Jackie Marshall - DT - Baylor: 1st attempt: 4.88 / 2nd attempt: 4.92

Really nice run. Good start (1.69 split) fluid throughout. Despite the smoothness, strong steps led to a very nice time. Shaving almost a tenth off the expectation. 

Tim Keenan III - DT - Alabama: 1st attempt: 5.32 / 2nd attempt: 5.31

Keenan is another larger DT. Another less than explosive start (1.84 split) but he recovered nicely with a steady but strong gate. 

Good start again. He looked to be ahead of his own pace at the midway point, but began to slow in the last ten yards. Giving him a slightly longer time. 

Lee Hunter - DT - Texas Tech: 1st attempt: 5.25 / 2nd attempt: 5.18

The first attempt will seem like a bad number, but Hunter is a large man. 6'4, 325. The 1.82 10-yard split is a little underwhelming; lacks a first step explosion you want to see. 

Hunter made a significant improvement. Similar slower split but he drove hard down the stretch. Improving the time by seven one hundredths. 

Gracen Halton - DT - Oklahoma: 1st attempt: 4.83 / 2nd attempt: 4.86

Faulted on the first start. Strange kick down the stretch, but it works. Halton gives a very good sub 4.9 time. 

Less than ideal start but with that same strange kick down the stretch. The start hurt this time as the back end was almost the same. 

David Gusta - DT - Kentucky: 1st attempt: 4.88 / 2nd attempt: 4.90

Really solid first run. Good start, steps get more aggressive with each passing yard. Very solid at 4.88. 

The second attempt was a very different run. Same good but not explosive start, but this time with a pronounced wide stride. 

Bryson Eason - DT - Tennessee: 1st attempt: 5.12 / 2nd attempt: 5.09

Eason has a relatively fluid movement for a man his size. In control and steady. At 6'3, 315 that was a solid run. Could be big for Eason if he can get under 5.10. 

Same controlled, steady run except this time he cleaned up the start and improved his time. Getting under the 5.10 mark as previously predicted. 5.09 on the second attempt. 

Zane Durant - DT - Penn State: 1st attempt: 4.76 / 2nd attempt: 4.77

Durant comes in with an explosive expectation. Another angry runner. "We weren't expecting turbulence, but we were expecting a fast 40 time. Both require a seat belt" Daniel Jeremiah said on the broadcast. 

Durant delivers another impressive sub 4.8 time. Almost a carbon copy form wise. Good start and he drives with every step. 

Brandon Cleveland - DT - NC State: 1st attempt: 5.11 / 2nd attempt: 5.22

Cleveland maintains decent upper body form and didn't come out of his crouch until the finish line. Solid measured movement, in control.

Cleveland looked to have a good start, but something happened in the middle third. Appeared to be a hamstring pull, but he fought through it and didn't fully pull up until after the finish line. Eisen and Jeremiah could be heard audibly reacting with saying "oh great" at almost the same time. 

DeMonte Capeheart - DT - Clemson: 1st attempt: 4.85 / 2nd attempt: 4.86

Capeheart is the first of this batch of 40 times to really move. Capeheart had a similar first start to Barrett, but Capeheart fully recovered in before the 10-yard mark and was really churning. Runs like he's angry at the ground.  

Capeheart has a way of running, but it works. Same angry, hard steps. Once he gets up to speed it looks awkward, but he's moving. 

Nick Barrett - DT - South Carolina: 1st attempt: 5.11 / 2nd attempt: 5.11

Barrett had a less than clean start on the first attempt but recovered after his second step. The time was not great at 5.11, but if he can clean up the start, he can shave a few hundredths off that time. 

Barrett 2nd attempt was exactly the same as the first. In time and form. Start was better, first step was much better, but lost a little something towards the end of the run. "I think he's a 5.11 runner..." Rich Eisen said as he crossed the finish line. 

Caleb Banks - DT - Florida: 1st attempt: 5.05 / 2nd attempt: 5.13

Banks false faulted on the first two starts of the first attempt. On the third start, Banks ran a respectable time for his size. He looked like a large DT running a 40, but form remained constant.

Banks struggled through his second run adding almost a full tenth to his time. Seemed to lose form and had labored steps in the final third. 

Cameron Ball - DT - Arkansas: 1st attempt: 5.11 / 2nd attempt: 5.13

Ball's first attempt was mildly concerning. Clean start, however, his form broke down just after the 10-yard split and struggled to regain it until about the 30-yard mark. Could improve on the second attempt. 

Second run was not better, but still acceptable. Clean start but slow in the first five. Came out of his form a little early. 

Final Defensive Tackle 40-time leaders: Zane Durant - 4.75, Kaleb Proctor - 4.80, Gracen Halton - 4.82, DeMonte Capeheart - 4.85, David Gusta - 4.88

Stacey Dales reporting: 6'3, 335 Florida DT Caleb Banks will perform today despite a broken foot suffered in September. He will be a full participant. Ohio State DT Kayden McDonald will not run the 40 but is expected to participate in the bag drills to show his explosiveness. 

Rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah have begun the broadcast from the NFL Network perch. First up will be defensive tackles. This group has some big names, a few could even crack the first round. Jeremiah has Lee as his No. 1 DT in the class. With Kayden McDonald, Caleb Banks, Peter Woods, and Christen Miller making up the top 5. All with the exception of Hunter have something to prove during this Combine. 

2026 NFL Scouting Combine: Defensive players with the most to prove

A few guys to be on the lookout for in Group 1. @MoveTheSticks

2026 NFL Combine on @nflnetwork
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/pDiKbmbXm4

— NFL (@NFL) February 26, 2026

2026 NFL Scouting Combine Schedule

Position groups split up over the next four days in Indy 🏈

2026 NFL Combine starts Thursday 3pm ET on @nflnetwork
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/XK47clg2Za

— NFL (@NFL) February 26, 2026

Remembering a viral Joe Burrow Combine tweet:

When Joe Burrow joked about retiring after getting his hand measurements at the NFL combine 😂🤚 pic.twitter.com/T1F5FytNxa

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) February 26, 2026

Combine News: According to the New York Post, Eagles General Manager has reversed his position on keeping WR AJ Brown. 

More NFL Combine news: 

• 2026 NFL scouting combine rankings: Quarterbacks
• 2026 NFL scouting combine rankings: Running backs
• 2026 NFL scouting combine rankings: Offensive line
• 2026 NFL scouting combine rankings: Wide receivers
• 2026 NFL scouting combine rankings: Tight ends
• 2026 NFL scouting combine: Defensive players with the most to prove

How to watch 2026 NFL scouting combine

• Live stream: Fubo (free trial), NFL+

The NFL Combine can be live streamed wioth Fubo, which offers a free trial. NFL Network will also broadcast the Combine on NFL+, the league's paid subscription service.