INDIANAPOLIS — It never gets old seeing 300-plus-pound men show off their extraordinary athleticism.
That's what was on display at Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday night at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, as the offensive linemen were joined by the running backs and special teams players to put their athleticism to the test for the upcoming draft.
Let's take a look at how they did.
RUNNING BACKS
The star of the running back group was Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor. Many people's main gripe about him as a player was that he lacked big-time speed; he answered that by running the 40-yard dash in faster than 4.4 seconds, leading every player on the night.
Both A.J. Dillon and Darrynton Evans impressed with their scores, particularly in the 40. At 6-0 and 247 pounds, Dillon clocked a 4.53-second 40, finished in the top five in the bench press, and led all running backs in the vertical and broad jumps. He is only the ninth running back to hit at least 41 inches on the vertical in the last 10 years, and just the sixth to get to 131 inches on the broad jump. Evans finished second only to Taylor in the 40, tied for fifth in the broad jump and had a solid on-field workout.
40-Yard Dash
- Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin — 4.39
- Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State — 4.41
- Raymond Calais, Louisiana-Lafayette — 4.42
- Anthony McFarland, Maryland — 4.44
- Cam Akers, Florida State — 4.47
Bench Press
- Scottie Phillips, Ole Miss — 29
- Sewo Olonilua, TCU — 25
- Benny LeMay, Charlotte — 24
- James Robinson, Illinois State — 24
- A.J. Dillon, Boston College — 23
- J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State — 23
- Joshua Kelley, UCLA — 23
Vertical Jump
- A.J. Dillon, Boston College — 41.0
- James Robinson, Illinois State — 40.0
- LeVante Bellamy, Western Michigan — 39.5
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LSU — 39.5
- Eno Benjamin, Arizona State — 39.0
- JaMycal Hasty, Baylor — 39.0
Broad Jump
- A.J. Dillon, Boston College — 131.0
- Jet Anderson, TCU — 128.0
- Rico Dowdle, South Carolina — 127.0
- Brian Herrien, Georgia — 126.0
- LeVante Bellamy, Western Michigan — 125.0
- Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State — 125.0
- Javon Leake, Maryland — 125.0
- James Robinson, Illinois State — 125.0
Three-Cone Drill
- Joshua Kelley, UCLA — 6.95
- Eno Benjamin, Arizona State — 6.97
- J.J. Taylor, Arizona — 7.00
- Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin — 7.01
- James Robinson, Illinois State — 7.03
20-Yard Short Shuttle
- JaMycal Hasty, Baylor — 4.03
- J.J. Taylor, Arizona — 4.15
- Jet Anderson, TCU — 4.19
- James Robinson, Illinois State — 4.19
- Tony Jones, Notre Dame — 4.21
Notable players not performing due to injury/choice: J.K. Dobbins (ankle), Mike Warren II (hamstring)
OFFENSIVE TACKLES
What a day for Tristan Wirfs, who we recently featured on Colts.com. He finished tops among linemen in the 40, vertical and broad jumps, and finished in the top five in the three cone and short shuttle. It was the fifth-best 40 time for a tackle in the last 10 years, the best vertical for a tackle ever, and tied for the third-best broad jump in Combine history. It may go down as the best offensive line performance at the Combine ever.
The massive Mekhi Becton (6-7, 364) ran an excellent 5.1-second 40, which was actually the fastest ever for a player over 350 pounds, according to Adam Stites of SB Nation. Fellow likely early pick Austin Jackson also solidified his status as he finished in the top five in the bench press and both the vertical and broad jumps.
Likely Day 2 picks Matt Peart and Ezra Cleveland showed out, combining to put up high quality scores across the board and looking smooth in on-field work.
40-Yard Dash
- Tristan Wirfs, Iowa — 4.85
- Danny Pinter, Ball State — 4.91
- Ezra Cleveland, Boise State — 4.93
- Jack Driscoll, Auburn — 5.02
- Terence Steele, Texas Tech — 5.03
Bench Press
- Ezra Cleveland, Boise State — 30
- Justin Herron, Wake Forest — 27
- Austin Jackson, USC — 27
- Terence Steele, Texas Tech — 27
- Hakeem Adeniji, Kansas — 26
- Four others with 26
Vertical Jump
- Tristan Wirfs, Iowa — 36.5
- Jedrick Wills, Alabama — 34.5
- Hakeem Adeniji, Kansas — 34.0
- Justin Herron, Wake Forest — 33.0
- Austin Jackson, USC — 31.0
Broad Jump
- Tristan Wirfs, Iowa — 121.0
- Alex Taylor, South Carolina State — 116.0
- Hakeem Adeniji, Kansas —115.0
- Austin Jackson, USC — 115.0
- Jack Driscoll, Auburn — 114.0
Three-Cone Drill
- Ezra Cleveland, Boise State — 7.26
- Jon Runyan, Michigan — 7.57
- Andrew Thomas, Georgia — 7.58
- Tristan Wirfs, Iowa — 7.65
- Danny Pinter, Ball State — 7.76
20-Yard Short Shuttle
- Ezra Cleveland, Boise State — 4.46
- Danny Pinter, Ball State — 4.62
- Andrew Thomas, Georgia — 4.66
- Tristan Wirfs, Iowa — 4.68
- Jon Runyan, Michigan — 4.69
Notable players not performing due to injury/choice: Mekhi Becton (hamstring, ran 40), Prince Tega Wanogho (knee)
INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Potential first-rounder Cesar Ruiz from Michigan, Matt Hennessy from Temple and John Molchon from Boise State found themselves all over the top five throughout the linemen test scores. Both also rocked the on-field workouts, as Hennessy may have locked himself into Day 2 of the draft.
Netane Muti's 44 bench press reps are the second-most ever recorded at the Combine for an offensive lineman.
40-Yard Dash
- Cesar Ruiz, Michigan — 5.08
- Nick Harris, Washington — 5.10
- Shane Lemieux, Oregon — 5.11
- John Molchon, Boise State — 5.13
- Matt Hennessy, Temple — 5.18
Bench Press
- Netane Muti, Fresno State — 44
- Simon Stepaniak, Indiana — 37
- John Simpson, Clemson — 34
- Jake Hanson, Oregon — 33
- Jonah Jackson, Ohio State — 28
Vertical Jump
- John Molchon, Boise State — 34.0
- Cesar Ruiz, Michigan — 33.0
- Keith Ismael, San Diego State — 32.0
- Matt Hennessy, Temple — 30.0
- Damien Lewis, LSU — 30.0
- John Simpson, Clemson — 30.0
Broad Jump
- Cesar Ruiz, Michigan — 113.0
- Matt Hennessy, Temple — 110.0
- John Molchon, Boise State — 109.0
- Keith Ismael, San Diego State — 108.0
- Damien Lewis, LSU — 108.0
Three-Cone Drill
- Matt Hennessy, Temple — 7.45
- Kyle Murphy, Rhode Island — 7.81
- Jonah Jackson, Ohio State — 7.83
- John Molchon, Boise State — 7.85
- Darryl Williams, Mississippi State — 7.88
20-Yard Short Shuttle
- Matt Hennessy, Temple — 4.60
- Cesar Ruiz, Michigan — 4.64
- Keith Ismael, San Diego State — 4.65
- Kyle Murphy, Rhode Island — 4.68
- John Molchon, Boise State — 4.73
Notable players not performing due to injury/choice: Lloyd Cushenberry (hamstring, ran 40)
SPECIAL TEAMERS
With only five of them doing any combination of drills, there wasn't much to report on the special teams group. However, punters don't get much more jacked than Arizona State's Michael Turk, who put up 25 reps on the bench press, which was more than several notable offensive and defensive linemen.
40-Yard Dash
- Alex Pechin, Bucknell — 4.69
- Tommy Townsend, Florida — 4.75
- Michael Turk, Arizona State — 4.79
- Braden Mann, Texas A&M —4.83
- Arryn Siposs, Auburn — 5.09
Bench Press
- Michael Turk, Arizona State — 25
- Alex Pechin, Bucknell — 13
Vertical Jump
- Michael Turk, Arizona State — 34.5
- Alex Pechin, Bucknell — 34.0
- Braden Mann, Texas A&M — 31.0
Broad Jump
- Braden Mann, Texas A&M — 111.0
- Michael Turk, Arizona State — 108.0
Three-Cone Drill
- Braden Mann, Texas A&M — 7.03
20-Yard Short Shuttle
- Braden Mann, Texas A&M — 4.13
- Michael Turk, Arizona State — 4.72
Notable players not performing due to injury/choice: It would be easier to say who did participate, as there were only five out of 10 special teams players who did these drills.
RECAPPING THE COMBINE WORKOUTS
- Thursday: QBs, WRs And TEs
- Friday: RBs, OL And STs
- Saturday: DL And LBs
- Sunday: DBs
