Day 1 of on-the-field workouts at the 2026 NFL Combine saw Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton go through their auditions, and it’s safe to say it was a strong one for both players.
Durant was up first with the interior defensive linemen, and he showed off with an impressive 33.5-inch vertical (tied for third best for DTs) and an official 4.75 forty time at a confirmed 290 pounds.
The 4.75 forty time for was the best time for a defensive tackle in the 2026 class, and it comes in as tied for the 4th best time by a DT since 2013. Only Adetomiwa Adebawore (4.49 — 4th round pick, 2023), Calijah Kancey (4.67 — 1st round pick, 2023), and Aaron Donald (4.69 — ugh you know him, 2014) had better forty times for interior defensive lineman prospects. All those guys were listed in the 280s — Adebawore 282, Kancey 281, and Donald 285 — where as Durant was 290 flat.
Does that mean Durant will go in the first round like Donald or Kancey? Not likely, at all. Durant was good at Penn State, especially as a junior, but his production was not on par with either of those Pitt guys. Kancey had 14.5 sacks and 27.5 TFLs his last two seasons in college, and Donald had 16.5 sacks and 47 (!!!!) TFLs his last two. Comparatively, Durant had just 7 sacks and 15.5 TFLs. And sure, the Big Ten in 2024 and 2025 was steeper competition than the Big East and ACC were back then, but that’s a big gap in raw production. Still, this was an overwhelmingly good day for Durant, who probably puts himself more squarely in the 4th round area and maybe could even sneak into the 3rd round.
As for DDS, it was a banner day. As you can see from the Dane Brugler tweet below, but DDS was one of the big winners from the defensive end group.
His 40 time was 6th for a defensive end. His vertical was 4th. His broad jump was 1st. His 3-cone was first. And he did it at a shade under 6’6 and coming in at 256 pounds — which is a little on the lighter side for DDS, but it’s around the 260-ish he usually plays us.
DDS was pretty squarely in the Day 2 (rounds 2-3) mix heading into today, and I think he cemented his floor as a Day 2 guy and might have opened up the possibility to sneak into the first round. He has great size, confirmed elite athletic ability, and solid production totaling 17 sacks and 25 TFLs the last two years.
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