Demetrius Knight Jr.’s Scrooge McDuck cleats stole the show.
The NFL Scouting Combine is built for numbers, 40-yard dash times, vertical jumps, bench press reps. But South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. walked in with something more. A statement. A marketing move. A moment.
He ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash, landing in the top third of his position group. Solid. But no one is replaying that clip because of his time. They’re replaying it because of what was on his feet—Adidas cleats featuring Scrooge McDuck.
A fictional billionaire duck on the cleats of a linebacker trying to secure an NFL contract? That’s not subtle. That’s branding. That’s knowing how to grab attention in a sea of prospects all trying to do the same thing.
And in case you thought it was all part of some carefully calculated personal brand strategy, it wasn’t even his idea. “My wife found them,” Knight Jr. admitted.
Every linebacker walking into the NFL Scouting Combine is trying to prove something. For Demetrius Knight Jr., it was all about speed and coverage ability. Scouts knew he had the instincts. They knew he was smart. But could he move? Could he be a sideline-to-sideline guy?
A 4.58-second 40-yard dash doesn’t scream elite speed, but it’s respectable. What mattered more was how he handled the drills. He looked smooth, covered ground well, and showed he can move in space. That’s what teams needed to see.
No one is drafting a linebacker off a 40-yard dash alone. But Knight Jr. showed enough to make teams take a closer look.
Every year, the NFL Scouting Combine is filled with fast, strong, well-coached athletes trying to move up draft boards. It’s a blur of drills, interviews, and measurements. Most players blend in. Demetrius Knight Jr. didn’t.
The Scrooge McDuck cleats weren’t just a gimmick. They were a flex. A moment of personality in an environment where players are usually stripped down to pure athletic ability. He turned a routine 40-yard dash into something people actually talked about.
Big-name prospects like Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter skipped workouts. The biggest storylines were mostly about who wasn’t participating. But Knight Jr. found a way to make people remember him.
Every prospect wants to prove they belong in the league. But in a process designed to measure who’s the best athlete, sometimes the smartest move is making sure you’re the most memorable one.
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