2025 NFL Combine Notes: Darius Alexander, DL, Toledo

The former Toledo Rocket stood out even amongst a stacked defensive line class on Thursday afternoon.

Darius Alexander has manned the interior of the Toledo Rockets defensive line for the last two seasons as a starter, with contributions across five seasons in the Blue and Gold. He made for a curious prospect entering his redshirt senior season, with former trenchmate Desjuan Johnson earning a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NFL Draft in April, and proved himself to be everything scouts expected and more.

By season’s end, Alexander collected all-MAC honors for the second season in a row (third-team in 2023), earning second-team honors after collecting career-high numbers in tackles (40), tackles-for-loss (7.5) and pass break-ups (four), ultimately ending his Toledo tenure in style with a pick-six in a six-overtime GameAbove Sports Bowl victory over Pittsburgh.

His efforts were rewarded with an invitation to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, where he greatly improved his draft stock with an electric practice week. Alexander, considered a potential Day 2 selection going in, did enough to start finding himself in the first round conversation after Mobile, and now arrives in Indianapolis looking to solidify his case for an early selection.

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Official Combine measurements:

• Height: six-foot-three
• Weight: 304 lbs.
• Arms: 34 inches
• Hands: 10 inches
• Wingspan: 82 and one-fourth inches*

* (denotes Senior Bowl measurements)

Official Combine workout numbers:

• 40-yard dash: 4.95 seconds (t-5th in position group)
• 10-yard dash: 1.72 seconds (4th)
• Vertical jump: 31.5 inches (9th)
• Broad jump: nine feet, three inches (10th)
• Three-cone drill: 7.6 seconds (4th)
• Shuttle drill: 4.79 seconds (8th)

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What did we see?

Alexander stood out even amongst a defensive tackle class which is considered on the of the best in the NFL Draft in nearly a decade, finishing in the Top 10 of every single workout category prior to the positional drills.

Going off his workout data alone, Alexander was the sixth-best interior defensive lineman by Relative Athletic Score out of 40 in attendance.

After an initial slip in the wave drill (something which affected many Combine participants due to a recent turf change at Lucas Oil Stadium), Alexander excelled over the rest of the positional drills, showing aplomb with a variety of pass rush moves and great footwork throughout.

“Smooth” was the word of the day as it related to Alexander, as there was rarely— if ever— a moment where he looked out of place during the drills.

Alexander’s loop drill was highlighted by NFL Network as an example of an ideal rep, as he leaned over the inside of the hoop and touched the ground at both contact instances without losing balance while keeping his upper body turned towards the play.

The “run and club” drill, a gauntlet of tackling dummies which requires players to show off their pass rush variety and finishing moves, was perhaps Alexander’s strongest workout of the day, as he never lost speed and maintained a smooth operation when switching between the bull rush, the spin move and the swim move en route to the finishing tackle.

Alexander’s rip move was also on display in the “bags” drill, maintaining inside leverage and using his length and heavy hands to push past and finish hard while keeping his speed and positioning.

To end the day, Alexander aced the body control drill, keeping his posture at attention while reacting quickly to input and stopping all 305 lbs. of his body on a dime to change directions. His performance was especially notable as several of the other prospects which came after him tripped up or were otherwise stiff and unable to change direction as smoothly.

Alexander’s footwork in the positional drills was nice to see for someone who struggled in the agility workouts and has been knocked for bad short-area burst.

Alexander’s performance in Indianapolis more or less confirmed what we saw at the Senior Bowl practices, and should propel him into the “Top 50 prospects” conversation. Not bad for a prospect who was considered a late Day 2-early Day 3 curiosity at the end of the regular season.

There are a number of limits on Alexander as a prospect which will likely keep him out of the first round; Alexander will be 25 when he is drafted, which limits his ceiling once he gets to the professional level. His athletic numbers and practice reps have been impressive in the draft preparation process, but at times, his game film shows inconsistencies where it concerns pad level and his ability to shed blocks. The Senior Bowl game showed as much, with Alexander kept quiet after an initial tackle-for-loss.

That said, there is a lot of potential for Alexander to improve on some of those inconsistencies at the pro level thanks to his raw athleticism.

His ability to play multiple positions along the defensive line will be attractive to prospective teams, as he lined up at both the interior and the edge spots during Senior Bowl week and even showed off coverage prowess while at Toledo despite playing at 311 lbs. (Alexander slimmed down to 305 for the Combine.)

NFL’s Next Gen Stats project Alexander to be a solid backup with good starter upside, which should be about right given what we know between his numbers, film and potential.

Alexander’s ability to diagnose plays, bend on the snap and use his length instinctively when attacking the backfield are his major strengths, and a pro team worth their salt should be able to find a way for Alexander to contribute right away. If Alexander can live up to his raw athletic numbers (a 1.73 10-yard split is legitimately impressive at 300+ lbs.), he could well be worth the gamble for a team needing a scheme-versatile rotation player with developmental potential.

Kent Lee Platte (RAS.football)