Pearce, Stewart shine in DE 40 runs … The DEs are now going thru their positional drills at the combine as we speak after running their 40s. And while there were some decent performances the word that maybe best summarizes the results is ‘peedestrian.’ Indeed, only three edges were able to get under the 4.6-second mark this afternoon compared with over a dozen last year. James Pearce of Tennessee, though, did have a standout run as he clocked a 4.47 40 with a 1.56 split, both of which would have been the 2nd fastest times for the position in 2024. Perhaps the most impressive performance, though, may have been turned in by Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M who ran a 4.59 40 with a 1.58 split running at 6-5, 267 ponds. For good measure, Stewart also posted a 40″ vertical, although some scouts are probably still wondering how those physical skills didn’t turn into more than 1.5 sacks in any one season. Landon Jackson of Arkansas was another big DE (6-6, 265) to check off soem boxes as he posted a decent 4.68 clocking along with a tremendous 40-5″ vertical. Same for 6-4, 280-pound Jordan Burch of Oregon who also clocked in at just under 4.7 seconds. At the same time, the one top DE prospect who maybe didn’t really match what scouts were hoping to see was South Carolina’s Kyle Kennard who only clocked in the 4.73 range; they probably would also have liked to see Virginia Tech’s Antwuan Powell-Ryland, an undersized edge who led the country in sacks last fall, be a little quicker than 4.7. Here are the unofficial 40 times for the DEs. Of course, one reason perhaps for the disappointing results today was that almost half the edges in Indianapolis this week did not work out including Abdul Carter, Mykel Williams, Mike Green, Nic Scourton, Donovan Ezeirauku, Ashton Gillotte, Jared Ivey, Sai’vion Jones, and Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau.
