2025 NFL Combine Takeaways! ⏱️

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• Bengals place the franchise tag on WR Tee Higgins for the second-straight year, will seek long-term extension

  • Higgins was the only skill position player to receive the tag this season and was just one of two players overall in 2025 to get it. The tag affords the Bengals more time to negotiate a long-term deal while preventing Higgins from hitting the open market – a place where Cincinnati likely would have been outbid. It remains to be seen whether it will be a long term extension for the franchise tag once again that Higgins winds up inking this offseason, but one thing is clear: he’ll be with the Bengals for the immediate future. That’s music to fantasy managers’ ears, as Cincinnati is without a doubt the optimal environment for Higgins to be in – he was second in PPR points per game last season (11 games played) and is tied to Joe Burrow as his quarterback. While it would have been fun to see what would have happened if he wound up in New England with Drake Maye or in LA with Justin Herbert, it’s hard to imagine him hitting the same heights he has the past few years with the Bengals in Year 1 of a new offense. The Bengals still face the tall task of navigating negotiations for long-term deals for Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and Trey Hendrickson, and time will tell if they’re able to get all three done this offseason. Chase nearly held out of 2024 early in the season in search of a long-term deal of his own, something that the Bengals brass hasn’t given up easily to either of their star pass catchers.

• The Vikings neglect to place the franchise tag on QB Sam Darnold, will allow him to test free agency next week

  • The move was largely expected around the league despite a strong 2024 season from Darnold, who crashed out along with the rest of the Vikings team in a dreadful wild card loss to the Rams after a 14-win season. Of course, the onus can’t be put exclusively on Darnold’s shoulders for Minnesota’s elimination from the playoffs, but considering the fact that the Vikings have second-year QB J.J. McCarthy waiting in the wings for 2025 as he makes his recovery from a meniscus injury he suffered in the preseason, it’s easy to understand why Minnesota wouldn’t want to commit long-term resources to a player who was, after all, a reclamation project just one year ago. Darnold will now hit the open market and is expected to have plenty of suitors, both those seeking to make him a starter and a backup. Among the most notable destinations is the Raiders, who have seemingly lost out on the Matthew Stafford sweepstakes after rumors swirled late last week about connections between the Rams QB and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. Darnold would step into a brand new offense spearheaded by former Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and have the likes of Brock Bowers, Jakobi Meyers, and whoever Las Vegas brings in through the draft to work with should he ultimately wind up being their Week 1 starter. Complicating Darnold’s future is the potential for whatever team he signs with to draft a QB in April, which could shorten his leash or even exclude him from starting conversations altogether.

• Jets officially release WR Davante Adams after failing to find a trade partner ahead of new league year

  • The move saves the Jets nearly $30M in cap space this season ($29.9M to be exact) while leaving just $8M in dead cap. That’s the good news, but the Jets will also eat the loss of the third-round pick they traded to acquire Adams for the back half of what was – even at the time they traded for him – a lost season. New York was reportedly shopping the veteran wide receiver this past weekend, but it’s likely that no team wanted to give up any draft capital in a potential trade when it was clear that outright releasing Adams would be the best move for the Jets. Adams will enter the free agent market as likely the top option available with Tee Higgins being tagged early on Monday, and reports are indicating that he’d like to land with a team on the west coast (or, presumably, with Aaron Rodgers wherever he lands). Adams is far from finished even at 33 years old and despite horrendous QB play in Las Vegas and not much better in New York with Rodgers, Adams still managed a top-12 finish at the position in PPR formats. Wherever he lands next, he’ll certainly be in consideration as a WR1 going into 2025, with a solid floor inside the mid-high WR2 range.

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Harold Fannin Jr. disappoints

Fannin’s elite production at the college level can’t be denied, and he even proved himself with big performances against Power-4 competition while playing at a G5 school. While Fannin Jr. didn’t test terribly, we were hoping for him to be over thresholds we like to see for significant early fantasy production. It’s also worth noting that he was not one of the tight ends who stood out to me during the week of practice at the Senior Bowl. For me, his elite production profile is far more important than these factors, and I’m still going to have my shares in rookie drafts, but his stock is down.

Terrance Ferguson continues to soar

Ferguson was one of my two favorite tight ends during Senior Bowl week (Elijah Arroyo being the other, did not test due to injury), and he lit it up at the Combine, placing 1st in the 40 yard dash, vertical jump, and 10-yard split (tied). He’s officially in the good-enough athletic range you want to see for the position, and with potential Day 2 draft capital, he should be one of the tight ends you target in all fantasy formats.

Gunnar Helm bombs, but…

Helm was a potential Day 2 pick, and he had an extremely rough showing overall at the Combine. However, it came out that he twisted his ankle on his first attempt at the 40-yard dash, and despite a nasty looking injury, he finished testing. +10 points for toughness. It’s worth noting that his rough vertical jump was before the 40-yard dash, so that one should probably still count. I doubt teams will be holding this Combine performance against him, but we’ll see if this ends up getting him knocked back into Day 3.

Jayden Higgins continues to stack

Higgins has one of the best production and efficiency profiles in this class, had a great Senior Bowl week (started slow, but picked it up as week progressed), has great size, and had an insane NFL Combine performance - we’re talking 98th-percentile athlete at 6’4 215 pounds. Higgins has had a 3rd round projection, but teams won’t be able to ignore those numbers - I can’t see him falling out of Round 2 at this point. He’s someone who should be targeted in every rookie draft, as he’ll likely be a value either way.