Acing drills at the NFL scouting combine can lead to riches but don’t forecast football greatness
All eyes may be on the draft prospects at the NFL scouting combine as they run the 40-yard dash, bench press 225 pounds and see how high and far they can jump and how quick they are
The big question surrounding former Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy now is whether he’ll star on Sundays like he crushed it at the NFL scouting combine.
Worthy ran the fastest 40-yard dash in the event’s history Saturday, blazing through the annual gathering’s premier event in 4.21 seconds.
That bested former Bengals and Giants wide receiver John Ross III, who posted a 4.22 time in 2017 but never turned heads in the pros like he did in Indy.
Crushing it at the combine can lead a rise up the draft board but it doesn’t necessarily forecast NFL stardom.
Mike Mamula is both a legend and cautionary tale from the NFL scouting combine in that regard.
He was among the first players to train specifically for the tests that prospects undergo, particularly the 40-yard dash that measures speed, the three-cone drill that calculates agility and the 225-pound bench press that gauges strength and stamina.
Mamula’s standout performance at the 1995 combine rocketed him into the first round of the NFL draft two months later when the Philadelphia Eagles traded the 12th overall pick and two second-round selections to Tampa Bay so they could move up five spots and select the Boston College defensive end at No. 7.
Mamula had a solid five-year career with the Eagles, but never really lived up to the hype he had generated by acing the drills in Indianapolis, which helped turn the annual get-together of teams and talent into the televised spectacle it is today.
Although some prospects skip certain components of the combine, choosing instead to show off in more familiar surroundings at their college pro day or during individual team visits, the vast majority target their week in Indianapolis just like Mamula did. They train like Olympians cutting carbs in hopes of shaving milliseconds off their times, jumping just a skosh farther or higher or pumping out one more rep on the weight bench.
Many of those who ace the drills will also follow Mamula’s path in the pros as more of a workout wonder than a gridiron great, illustrating anew the inexact nature of projecting professional success at the combine, where studs can prove duds and tumbles can be temporary.
Take Orlando Brown Jr., who tumbled from the first round on everybody’s mock draft into the third round in the actual draft after managing just 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press in Indy and then lumbering through the 40-yard dash in 5.85 seconds.
Brown was undeterred by his wretched week that included equally awful vertical and broad jumps, declaring, “I’ve been fat my whole life. I wish I was fast.”
All Brown has done in the pros is plodded his way to a Super Bowl title in Kansas City, four Pro Bowl appearances and more than $57 million in career earnings.
Like Mamula, many of the top performers at the combine have found it much harder to master the game itself. Being the best at a drill doesn’t necessarily translate into successfully chasing down passes or passers.
For some players, their combine prowess proves to be the highlight of their careers. Others parlay it into stardom on Sundays.
The Bengals drafted Ross, the former Washington wideout, with the ninth overall pick in 2017, but he played in just 37 games and caught just 11 touchdown passes over his five-year pro career.
Here’s a look at the other top performances all-time in the NFL combine’s seven staple drills and how it translated on draft day and to the football field:
BENCH PRESS
49 repetitions — Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State, 2011. A second-round pick by the Bears, Paea started for three seasons in Chicago. He also spent a year each in Washington, Cleveland and Dallas.
VERTICAL JUMP
45 inches (tie) — Chris Conley, WR, Georgia, 2015. A third-round pick by Kansas City, Conley has spent 10 years in the NFL, including stints with the Jaguars, Texans and Titans. He has 16 career TDs.
45 inches (tie) — Donald Washington, CB, Ohio State, 2009. A fourth-round pick, he spent three seasons in the NFL, all in Kansas City, and never intercepted a pass.
BROAD JUMP
12 feet, 3 inches — Byron Jones, CB, UConn, 2015. The Cowboys made Jones the 27th overall pick and he missed just four games in a solid seven-year career that finished with two seasons in Miami.
THREE-CONE DRILL
6.42 seconds — Jeff Maehl, WR, Oregon, 2011. Undrafted, Maehl played three games in two seasons in Houston and in 24 games over two years in Philadelphia, where he posted his only career TD in 2013.
20-YARD SHUTTLE
3.81 seconds (tie) — Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State, 2014. The 20th overall pick by the Saints, Cooks’ spectacular 10-year career features 57 TD catches, including eight for the Cowboys last season at age 30.
3.81 seconds (tie) — Jason Allen, CB, Tennessee, 2006. The 16th overall pick by Miami enjoyed a solid seven-year NFL career that included 15 interceptions and stints in Houston and Cincinnati.
10-YARD SPLIT
1.40 seconds — Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina, 2008. Drafted 24th overall by Tennessee, he ran for 2,006 yards and 14 TDs in 2009 and scored 55 times over a stellar 10-year career with the Titans, Jets and Cardinals.
Whether prospects will eventually burn bright or flame out, fans needing their football fix between the Super Bowl and draft weekend can at least catch a glimpse of what’s to come by watching what’s known to many as the “Underwear Olympics.”
“The 40s are the highlight for everybody,” said NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, “because you have history and you can compare what this guy ran this year to what said Hall of Famer ran in years past. … It’s an apples-to-apples comparison.”
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FILE – Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Stephen Paea (99) tackles New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, in Cleveland. Paea was the top performer in the bench press at the NFL scouting combine in 2015.
FILE – Chicago Bears defensive tackle Stephen Paea (92) reacts to helping on a sack of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2014, in Atlanta. Paea was the top performer in the bench press at the NFL scouting combine in 2015.
FILE – Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson (23) is stopped by Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Stephen Paea (55) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 25, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. Paea was the top performer in the bench press at the NFL scouting combine in 2015.
FILE – Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross (11) rushes during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in Cincinnati. Ross was the top performer in the 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL scouting combine.
FILE – New York Giants wide receiver John Ross (12) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. Ross was the top performer in the 40-yard dash at the 2017 NFL scouting combine.
FILE – Philadelphia Eagles’ Jeff Maehl (88) cannot catch a pass against Indianapolis Colts’ Chance Casey (6) during the first half of a preseason NFL football game, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2015, in Philadelphia. Maehl was the top performer in the 3-cone drill at the NFL scouting combine in 2011. Played in 27 career games, zero starts.
FILE – Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley prepares to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine, Feb. 21, 2015, in Indianapolis. Conley jumped 45.0 inches for the top performance.
FILE – San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Chris Conley (84) makes the catch against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. Conley was the top performer in the vertical jump at the NFL scouting combine in 2015.
FILE – Miami Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones (24) smiles and gives a thumbs up as he walks off the field after the Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots after an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Byron Jones was the top performer in the broad Jump at the NFL scouting combine in 2015.
FILE – Connecticut defensive back Byron Jones runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. Byron Jones was the top performer in the broad jump at the NFL scouting combine in 2015.
FILE – New England Patriots wide receiver Brandin Cooks celebrates his touchdown catch against the Miami Dolphins during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. Cooks was the top performer in the 20-yard shuttle drill at the NFL scouting combine in 2014.
FILE – Philadelphia Eagles’ Mike Mamula takes a break during NFL football practice at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., July 31, 1997. Mamula’s standout performance at the 1995 combine rocketed him into the first round of the NFL draft two months later when the Eagles traded the 12th overall pick and two second-round selections to Tampa Bay so they could move up five spots and select the Boston College defensive end at No. 7.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Indianapolis.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy celebrates after running the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Indianapolis.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Indianapolis.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy celebrates with LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers after running the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Indianapolis.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, right, celebrates with Iowa defensive back Cooper Dejean after running the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine, Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Indianapolis.
