NFL Combine Sights and Sounds Day 2: ‘Office Space,’ Defensive Prospects and Vrabel’s Interview Tips

INDIANAPOLIS — For a second, I thought Fernando Mendoza was in the middle of the moving circle of people heading my way in one of the hallways at the Indiana Convention Center on Wednesday.

Once the horde of media and this mystery subject walked past the safety and health conference, which is being held at the same time as the NFL combine, I realized that it was Titans GM Mike Borgonzi, not the popular Indiana quarterback, who was holding the walk-and-chat session.

Eventually, Borgonzi said goodbye to the local reporters before seeing them again seconds later at the podium for another interview session. It never hurts to get more opportunities to ask Borgonzi about how he plans to add more weapons for quarterback Cam Ward, last year’s No. 1 pick.

As for another combine quirk, Borgonzi was at podium No. 7, right next to Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who was speaking at the same time as the GM of his former team. Vrabel and Borgonzi didn’t cross paths in Tennessee, but Todd Monken and Mike Macdonald did for one season in Baltimore.

In 2023, Monken was the Ravens' offensive coordinator, while Macdonald was the defensive coordinator. On Wednesday, Monken and Macdonald spoke at the same time as head coaches and were side by side at podiums No. 4 and 5, to the left of Vrabel, who sported a denim shirt and offered interviewing advice to the reporters. More on how Vrabel prefers to interview draft prospects later on.

First, let’s get to what we heard from some of the top defensive prospects in the 2026 NFL draft: Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr., Texas Tech’s David Bailey and Ohio State’s Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles all spoke on Wednesday.

Here are sights and sounds from Day 2 of the NFL combine.

Ohio State top prospects credit Matt Patricia for their versatility

I always think about Office Space when the linebackers speak at the NFL combine because they’re constantly being asked, “What would you say … you do here?”

It’s difficult to keep up with everything a linebacker is tasked with, and it’s a shame that more teams don’t prioritize that kind of versatility unless it leads to sacks.

If a linebacker says he excels at rushing the passer, well, that’s good because teams value that more than anything else on the defensive side. If a prospect rattles off the terms “Sam,” “Mike” and “Will,” well, that’s when things can get confusing, but in simple terms, those are the more traditional off-ball linebackers. Teams tend to avoid those players in the first round when it comes to on-the-field qualifications.

Personally, I prefer to use edge rusher and off-ball linebacker, but that doesn’t always work because, occasionally, there are true positionless players, such as Micah Parsons, Kyle Hamilton, and what we saw from Nick Emmanwori last season with the Super Bowl champion Seahawks.

Ohio State had a pair of hybrid linebackers in Reese and Styles. Both were given the Office Space treatment on Wednesday morning. Reese, who now prefers to go by “Vell,” is expected to be a top-five pick in April due to his upside as a pass rusher.

However, Reese lined up at various positions while playing under Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia last season. Yup, that same Patricia, who had a disastrous head-coaching stint with the Lions before returning to the Patriots for a strange few seasons as an offensive coach under Bill Belichick.

Perhaps working on the offensive side and taking some time away benefited Patricia because he turned Ohio State into the best defense in college football last season. There could be four Buckeyes from Patricia’s defense that get drafted in the first round this year, including safety Caleb Downs, defensive tackle Kayden McDonald, Reese and Styles.

“He meant everything to all of us,” Reese said of Patricia. “He gave everybody an opportunity. I feel like the defense he came in with was great. I loved it. The second he came in and showed what it was going to be like and how much we could switch different packages up, I loved it.”

​The best way to not lose draft value as a linebacker is to highlight versatility and draw comparisons to current NFL stars. Styles doesn’t have the same upside as an edge rusher as Reese does, but Styles can truly do it all as a former safety who recently converted into a full-time linebacker. He’s a well-rounded athlete and a former standout high school basketball player.

Styles made a savvy move when he mentioned how the Seahawks utilized Emmanwori during his rookie year.

“I think when you have guys like that on your defense, you’re able to do a lot of different things as a coordinator,” Styles said.

As for Reese, he’s received comparisons to Parsons, and Patricia molded his game to what Jamie Collins did for the Patriots in his prime in the 2010s. But Reese made the wise financial decision to let NFL teams know he prefers to play outside linebacker or edge rusher rather than off-ball linebacker.

Versatility is valued when players are in the building. However, when it comes to the draft and free agency, it’s better to just say sacks are a speciality.

Ward wants to reunite with Bain in Tennessee

Bain, one of the top edge rushers in the draft, said his former Miami teammate Ward has been pushing the Titans to draft him with the No. 4 pick.

“Every time [Ward] came back to campus, he always told me he’s going to make sure he gets me there,” Bain said. “Hopefullly, everything ends up the right way. The interaction with them [the Titans] was great. I had a formal interview with them.”

While adding a talented wide receiver would go a long way toward helping Ward’s development, it wouldn’t hurt to pair the second-year signal-caller with a vastly improved defense. Bain could have an ideal situation playing next to star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and under the guidance of coach Robert Saleh.

Alabama’s Justin Jefferson could put on a show

Once I saw Alabama linebacker Justin Jefferson listed on Albert Breer’s players to watch at the combine story, I made sure to listen to Jefferson’s podium session to get a better understanding of his athletic gifts.

Jefferson said he competed in jiu-jitsu and kickboxing as a way to unleash the extra energy he had as a child.

“What I learned from doing jiu-jitsu is body position,” Jefferson said. “You gotta position yourself and use angles for how to take somebody down.”

That likely benefited him once he realized that he was better suited to play linebacker. Jefferson also played quarterback and running back while growing up. The speedy playmaker said he’s looking forward to showcasing himself for the 40-yard dash.

“I can’t wait to do the 40, for sure,” Jefferson said. “I feel my game revolves around speed, so it would be good to display my speed right there in the 40.”

Vrabel delivers pointers for how to interview players

Vrabel said the trick to getting the most out of the formal interviews with draft prospects at the NFL combine is to ask the right questions and to add a few extra minutes to the allotted 18.

Vrabel admitted he’s banged on a few doors to let teams know that time’s up and it’s his team’s turn to speak with the player. He also said he doesn’t go in with prepared questions.

“I go with the flow,” Vrabel said. “I listen to the responses … you guys come in with questions written down.”

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