2025 NFL Draft: Most athletic Senior Bowl prospects shine via player tracking data, sparking excitement ahead of NFL Combine

The 2025 NFL Draft class looks like it may be one of the most athletic that we have ever seen.How do we already know that?Thanks to the on-field player tracking data acquired at the Senior Bowl we can already predict who some of the most impressive athletes might be when the NFL Combine takes place […]

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor
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Feb 1, 2025; Mobile, AL, USA; National team tight end Harold Fannin Jr. of Bowling Green (44) attempts to score a touchdown against the American team during the second half of the 2025 Senior Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
© Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL Draft class looks like it may be one of the most athletic that we have ever seen.

How do we already know that?

Thanks to the on-field player tracking data acquired at the Senior Bowl we can already predict who some of the most impressive athletes might be when the NFL Combine takes place just a few weeks from now.

The development and expansion of advanced on-field player tracking data has changed how we interact with the game of football forever. It has allowed teams, coaches, scouts, media, and fans to access an understanding of just how athletic football players are as they're playing the game.

Zebra Technologies, the Senior Bowl's partner since 2018, provides data for things like top and average speed, acceleration, deceleration, explosive efforts, throw velocity, throw spin rate, and more.

"But how can we take that information and convert it into something useful?"

By scaling and combining speed, acceleration, and deceleration data to create our own custom On-Field Athleticism Score for every player and position group. That's how. Doing so allows us to create fairly straight forward on-field athleticism rankings with players possessing a score between 0 and 100.

For quarterbacks we do something similar, but slightly different because they aren't typically engaging in full athletic efforts during Senior Bowl practice. We created a QB "Speed & Spin Score" using velocity, spin rate, and air yardage data to essentially provide an objective measure of raw arm talent put on display throughout the week of Senior Bowl action.

Before we dive into the results from this year's Senior Bowl, it's important to note that these scores aren't a perfect representation of a player's overall athleticism. However, historically on average these measures do explain about 30% of the variance in both forty-yard dash times and agility scores at the NFL Combine, which is fairly statistically significant.

So, without further ado, here are the results that should tell us exactly who the most athletic offensive players at the 2025 Senior Bowl were when it came to the On-Field Athleticism Score and QB Speed & Spin Score.

Quarterbacks Speed & Spin Score

  1. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon – 84.25
  2. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss – 83.09
  3. Jalen Milroe, Alabama – 79.38
  4. Seth Henigan, Memphis – 71.47
  5. Taylor Elgersma, Laurier – 60.67
  6. Tyler Shough, Louisville – 55.36
  7. Riley Leonard, Notre Dame – 48.54

Most people understand that Dillon Gabriel doesn't necessarily possess the most raw arm talent in the 2025 NFL Draft class, but he was certainly trying to showcase every bit of his arm strength at the Senior Bowl. He averaged a higher initial air speed than any other quarterback there, clearly trying to prove something to scouts. You can see a great example on his intermediate throw to Tez Johnson in the post below.

Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe likely have the best raw arm talent among the seven Senior Bowl quarterbacks, but both were aiming to put some touch on the ball quite often throughout practices. Dart did his best to put the ball up high and away for his targets. Milroe was frequently looking for chances to prove he could throw accurately and with touch when necessary. After that trio there was a clear drop off in arm talent.

Running Backs On-Field Athleticism Score

  1. RJ Harvey, UCF – 85.26
  2. Jarquez Hunter, Auburn – 83.49
  3. Trevor Etienne, Georgia – 78.87
  4. LeQuint Allen, Syracuse – 68.51
  5. Damien Martinez, Miami – 68.22
  6. Bhayshul Tutan, Virginia Tech – 66.90
  7. Devin Neal, Kansas – 64.76
  8. Marcus Yarns, Delware – 64.63
  9. Brashard Smith, SMU – 61.90
  10. Woody Marks, USC – 57.61

RJ Harvey displayed the special speed, burst, and agility that he did throughout his college career all week long at the Senior Bowl. He was not only clearly one of the most athletic running backs there, but might prove to be a top tier athlete among the entire 2025 NFL Draft class. He and Trevor Etienne were the only running backs to eclipse 20 miles per hour on any play.

Jarquez Hunter showcased his athleticism most with his acceleration, deceleration, and agility. He's a likely candidate to dominate the agility drills at the NFL Combine. 

Ollie Gordon and Donovan Edwards looked like the least athletic running backs (outside the top ten) at the Senior Bowl based on the tracking data, as neither displayed much agility or top speed unless they had a rather clear runway.

Wide Receivers

  1. Tai Felton, Maryland – 99.26
  2. Isaac TeSlaa, Arkansas – 92.15
  3. Arian Smith, Georgia – 87.59
  4. Jaylin Noel, Iowa State – 87.18
  5. Kyle Williams, Washington State – 85.19
  6. Xavier Restrepo, Miami – 71.95
  7. Pat Bryant, Illinois – 66.31
  8. Jack Bech, TCU – 61.46
  9. Tez Johnson, Oregon – 61.36
  10. Da'Quan Felton, Virginia Tech – 59.06

Tai Felton measured in as the single most athletic wide receiver to grace the Senior Bowl since 2018. That checks out when watching him play as well. He has the top speed, but can also throttle down and get out of his breaks cleanly.

Isaac TeSlaa (WR, Arkansas) was a bit of a surprise athletically, showing he could move fluidly with speed at X wide receiver size.

Arian Smith (Georgia), Jaylin Noel (Iowa State), and Kyle Williams (Washington State) all three proved to be wildly impressive speedsters that helped their potential NFL Draft stock with excellent movement skills. Smith won the most vertically of the trio, impressing throughout the week (albeit with some drops sprinkled in).

Tight Ends

  1. Harold Fannin Jr., Bowling Green – 100.00
  2. Gavin Bartholomew, Pittsburgh – 78.28
  3. Terrance Ferguson, Oregon – 77.77
  4. Moliki Matavao, UCLA – 71.39
  5. Elijah Arroyo, Miami – 66.43
  6. CJ Dippre, Alabama – 61.54
  7. Jackson Hawes, Georgia Tech – 59.73
  8. Thomas Fidone, Nebraska – 47.55
  9. Mason Taylor, LSU – 46.44
  10. Jake Briningstool – 43.27

Harold Fannin Jr. essentially broke the tight end on-field athleticism model because he was so fast and agile. He posted the fourth highest top speed of any Senior Bowl tight end since 2018 while also posting agility scores similar to a slot wide receiver. He's a slightly smaller tight end, but Fannin could test unbelievably well at the NFL Combine as a clearly elite athlete in a deep 2025 NFL Draft class at the position.

The entire tight end group posted impressive on-field athleticism scores, with the absolute worst score coming in above the 43rd percentile (Jake Briningstool, Clemson). Terrance Ferguson and Elijah Arroyo both testing in the top third of Senior Bowl athleticism scores definitely pushed their expected NFL Draft capital range into early round consideration.

Offensive Linemen

  1. Anthony Belton, NC State – 93.15
  2. Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona – 90.59
  3. Jonah Monheim, USC – 87.64
  4. Caleb Rogers, Texas Tech – 75.57
  5. Clay Webb, Jacksonville State – 74.67
  6. Garrett Dellinger, LSU – 74.43
  7. Grey Zabel, North Dakota State – 74.00
  8. Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon – 73.54
  9. Marcus Mbow, Purdue – 72.85
  10. Carson Vinson, Alabama A&M – 71.39

Anthony Belton (OT, NC State) entered Senior Bowl week as a fringe Top 100 player, but after displaying elite movement skills he could be skyrocketing up the 2025 NFL Draft board.

Both Jonah Savaiinaea and Jonah Monheim moved far too well for lineman of their size, testing near the 90th percentile. If Savaiinaea wasn't a first round pick before he probably is now. Monheim asserted himself as one of the top tier true centers in the class.

Garrett Dellinger (LSU) looked a lot more athletic than some assumed he might, but even more impressive were the athletic scores of small school players like Clay Webb (Jacksonville State) and Grey Zabel (North Dakota State). Zabel looked like a Top 60 player all week long with flexibility to play multiple offensive line positions.

We'll be back with more NFL Draft coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

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