Mason Reiger is in the top-5 of an NFL Combine drill that scouts care the most about

Mason Reiger is getting lots of headlines for his 40" vertical, as he should. That was impressive and tied for second among the defensive linemen. That is a stat that scouts are watching as it showcases explosiveness, but it's not the combine drill they care the most about for defensive linemen. It's actually from a drill that allows NFL scouts to see how fast a player can get to the quarterback.

The drill is called the "pass rush drill," a name that doesn't pull any punches for what the point is. In that drill, there are a few things to watch for: how the player moves, what their swim move looks like, and more. But it's also speed around the corner. Reiger hit 13.79 miles per hour, good for fourth among all the defensive linemen.

Mason Reiger was over 13 mph in the pass rush drill and NFL Scouts are watching

Related: Mason Reiger is already drawing comparisons to T.J. Watt

If you look at the above list, you'll see that Texas A&M's Cashius Howell was the only player above 14 mph. He hit a quick 14.52 mph, blazing fast. You may also notice that Reiger is above David Bailey, who is getting a lot of attention pre-combine and during the combine for his NFL potential.

This is important for Reiger, as he's not considered one of the top edge rushers in the draft. That's changing fast. It started with his dominance at the East-West Shrine Bowl, where Reiger won the defensive MVP. He showed up at the combine with confidence, saying he was going to surprise people with how well he tested.

He has done exactly that. The former Badger is getting a lot of attention and is among the top players across virtually all metrics. He scored a 9.53 on the RAS scale. According to that model, "This ranked 98 out of 2046 DE from 1987 to 2026." He's a top-100 defensive lineman in combine testing in three decades. That's impressive, now to convert it to a wonderful NFL career.