Sooners’ Kendal Daniels is making a huge decision while at the NFL Combine that could either help him or hurt him
Daniels is one of the best athletes in the draft.
The Oklahoma Sooners had standout athletes on the field in 2025, especially on defense. This week at the NFL Combine is the perfect time for them to show what they can do.
Sooners LB Kendal Daniels will not participate in critical NFL Combine drill
The Sooners have 10 guys at the NFL Combine, and we should see most of them participate in drills throughout the week. However, we won’t see linebacker or cheetah Kendal Daniels run the 40-yard dash, as reported by Ryan Roberts of A to Z Sports on Wednesday.
The 40-yard dash is the one drill Daniels kind of needed to run, unless he’s slower than he’s thinking he will be, or is dealing with an injury that would hamper his time. One of the few drills at the combine that can actually change where a team puts you on their big board is the 40-yard dash. It can either boost or hurt your draft stock.
Over the years, we have seen guys run way faster times than most thought they would, and it ends up getting them drafted a round or two earlier than most thought they would go. The 40-yard dash is a critical drill. However, it’s important to remember that maybe Daniels has a good reason why he’s not running it—maybe he’s got an injury he doesn’t want to strain too much.
What Daniels did this last season on tape is enough for NFL teams, though. He played a crucial role in the best defense in college football and was a huge reason they were as good as they were. In 54 career games, Daniels finished with 293 total tackles, 32 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, five interceptions, and 16 pass deflections. The numbers should be enough to get him drafted, too. It’s fair to say someone will get a steal in Daniels; now it’s just a matter of who.
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