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"I just wanna go fast." - Ricky Bobby.

This is the mentality fans want to see out of their wide receivers, and it's why the 40 is one of the most fun parts of NFL Combine wide receiver workouts. "But Mike, these guys have multiple years of film. Why does the Combine matter?" I'm glad you asked! The NFL Combine is great for sorting wide receivers in their tiers, projecting draft capital, or matching raw athleticism scores with their performance.

Ryan Heath over at Fantasy Points ran the numbers, and athletic testing is actually negatively correlated with fantasy points when adjusted for draft capital. In other words, NFL teams think they can fix receivers who didn't shine in college once they hit the pros and overdraft speedsters. In practical application, this means that a player who wasn't on anyone's radar before the NFL Combine but is now in first-round or top-50 consideration should be avoided relative to their other, similarly drafted peers. 

Seems like a great time to remind people of this.

Athleticism is NEGATIVELY correlated to production at the WR position!

(Once you control for draft capital, the massively more predictive data point).

This is mostly because NFL teams love over-drafting fast receivers. pic.twitter.com/E2nZTFWPI0

— Ryan Heath (@RyanJ_Heath) March 1, 2025

So if a player rises multiple rounds because of their testing, that's good to know! They're still a better bet than later-drafted players. But if they didn't move the needle enough to move up on real-life draft boards, they should stay put on our fantasy and dynasty draft boards as well. With that context in mind, let's get into the 2025 NFL Combine wide receiver risers and fallers.

NFL Combine Wide Receiver Risers

Matthew Golden, Texas

Golden was already a riser following the college football playoff, but his Combine performance seals him in as a first-round pick. He was the fastest of every wide receiver and looked smooth through all of the receiver drills. Many were surprised when he declared for the 2025 NFL Draft, but now that he's set to hear his name called on a Thursday, it was the correct choice.

Jayden Higgins, Iowa State

Higgins measured as one of the tallest receivers at the Combine. That was expected. What many didn't expect was the 4.47 40-yard dash he put on the field in Indianapolis. When accounting for his size, which Kent Lee Platt does wonderfully, Higgins had one of the best Combine performances of the past decade. He has the frame and explosiveness coaches covet and may have moved from a late-day-two selection to a top-50 pick with this performance.

Jayden Higgins is a WR prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.87 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 46 out of 3408 WR from 1987 to 2025.

Splits projected, times unofficial.https://t.co/bew6rmnwBD pic.twitter.com/iOEFCg0HFX

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 1, 2025

Jaylin Noel, Iowa State

The smaller, twitchier classmate of Jayden Higgins, Noel put on a show. Noel was a riser after the Senior Bowl and moved his draft stock even higher with this weekend's workout. It wasn't just the blazing 40 time. His explosive testing was exceptional, with the best vertical and broad jump among all wide receivers this year. Noel put himself firmly into day two consideration and could be a steal in dynasty rookie drafts. 

NFL Combine Wide Receiver Fallers

Isaiah Bond, Texas

If Bond had just gone out and run a 4.39 40, that would be exceptional. Instead, he told reporters he was going to break Xavier Worthy's record. He ran closer to the 220-pound bruising running back Damien Martinez than the record. It's one thing to run a little slower than expected. It's another to put all eyes on you and then fail to meet the mark by so much. 

Savion Williams, TCU

Williams could be a riser or faller, depending on how you look at it. He was asked to work as a running back during the workouts but didn't participate in any during the public portion. Williams also skipped the jumps and agility testing, which isn't the end of the world, but if he's the freak athlete analysts hope for, that would have been his time to show it and shoot up draft boards. Teams already have questions about how to employ him, and while he tested exceptionally for his size, he's got a tough road to climb to beat the Cordarrelle Patterson comp. 

Tez Johnson, Oregon

It's one thing to come in under thresholds. That happens; there are outliers. It's another to come in more than ten pounds lighter than Tank Dell and run a 4.51. Tez's game is all about his initial burst, and he was the fastest-tracked receiver during the receiver drills, so a savvy front office will look at that and not worry about the time. However, the severe lack of body mass, coupled with the slow time, will take him off some boards entirely, which isn't ideal for fantasy points. 

Tez Johnson put together the weirdest workout composite of any WR.

Historically small at 154lbs (0th percentile)
Pedestrian 40 time relative to that size (4.51)
Only above average/good 10-split (1.53)
Elite 3-cone (6.65)

And clocked the fastest MPH of any WR during drills.

— Sam Monson (@SamMonsonNFL) March 2, 2025