Happy NFL Scouting Combine week! The top NFL Draft prospects have made the journey to Indianapolis to strip down to their undies and compete in drills to eventually become millionaires. Workouts begin on Friday.
The Combine has provided a stage for freakish athletes to put their skills on display. Here is a list of downright scary performances which stand as combine records.
40-Yard Dash:
Washington wide receiver John Ross holds the most prestigious record in combine history. Ross blazed 40 yards in just 4.22 seconds beating out ex-Cardinals running back Chris Johnson's record. Did you know Johnson was once shot?
Ross has be rumored to be on the move, but the wideout earned himself a 9th overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bench Press:
Real life Hulk, Oregon State defensive tackle, Stephen Paea went nuts by benching 225 pounds 49 times in 2011. It's a number that even steroid era MLB sluggers would be jealous of. Unfortunately, the top interior D-lineman this year, Quinnen Williams from Alabama, won't be participating in the bench.
Paea was selected in the second round by the Chicago Bears that draft.
Vertical Jump:
Who has the best ups of all-time? Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley put an exclamation point on his insane combine workout by tying the record for highest vertical jump at 45 inches in 2015. Conley shares the record with ex-Ohio State cornerback Donald Washington, who leaped to the mark in 2009.
Conley went in the third round to the Kansas City Chiefs. Washington was picked by the Chiefs a few years prior in the fourth round and spent three seasons in the NFL.
Broad Jump:
Byron Jones can leap across tall buildings like a damn super hero. The UConn safety jumped 12 feet, 3 inches in 2015. The feat helped justify the Dallas Cowboys selecting Jones 27th overall.
3 Cone Drill:
Oklahoma cornerback Jordan Thomas owns the record for the 3 Cone Drill. In 2018, Thomas shuffled himself to a combine record 6.28 seconds. Ripping through the drill was the highlight of the combine for Thomas, who went undrafted. He managed only four reps on the bench press and ran a 4.64 second 40-yard dash. He has spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles organization but has not seen the playing field. He current plays for the San Antonio Commanders of the AAF.
Wonderlic:
Former Cincinnati Bengals punter, Pat McInally is the biggest brainiac of all. He owns the only perfect 50 Wonderlic score in combine history. He also played some wide receiver at the NFL level. McInally was selected in the fifth round of the 1975 NFL Draft out of, shocker, Harvard.