The 10 Most Impressive NFL Combine Performances Since 2000

INDIANAPOLIS – There are countless stories of players who showed up at the NFL scouting combine and impressed scouts enough to cause their draft stock to skyrocket. Sometimes it was the start of their journey to stardom. Sometimes they turned out to be “workout warriors” who didn’t really work out. But every year, a player gets the NFL talking, either with a record-breaking performance or one that unexpectedly comes close. Here’s a look back at some of the best and most memorable combine performances of the last 25 years: 10. Jordan Davis, 2022 Davis was a mountain of a man at 6-foot-6, 341 pounds and clearly the best run-stuffing nose tackle in the draft. Everyone knew the Georgia product was athletic, but what he did in the 40-yard dash was just bizarre. He ran a 4.78, beating the times of some hopefuls who were 100 pounds lighter than him. NFL scouts were amazed: “It’s still crazy that a guy that big can run like that,” one scout told me. And Davis did more than just run. He had a vertical jump of 32 inches and recorded a broad jump of 10 feet, 3 inches, which is a big part of why the Eagles selected him with the 13th overall pick in the draft. 9. Pat O’Donnell, 2014 Never say punters aren’t athletes — or at least don’t tell that to O’Donnell, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound punter from Miami who stormed his house. O’Donnell completed most of the exercises, which was unusual for a specialist, and was exceptional in all of them. He ran a 4.64 in the 40, had a 10-foot standing broad jump and did 23 reps on the bench press. This latest feat of strength was the most impressive for the eventual sixth-round pick (by the Chicago Bears), as it included more than 19 running backs, 21 defensive linemen and all 37 wide receivers present at the combine. It was also two more reps than Jadeveon Clowney had that year, and he ended up being taken with the first overall pick. 8. DK Metcalf, 2019 A few weeks before the game, the Ole Miss wide receiver was caught in a breathtaking shirtless photo on Twitter that showed off his remarkably ripped and large physique. What really amazed me was the remarkable performance he put up during the actual training sessions. Metcalf dominated with both speed and strength. He ran blazingly fast, a 4.33 in the 40, surprising given he was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 228 pounds. He also tied the WR group record with 27 bench press reps. No one thought a receiver that size could have that combination of speed and strength. As then-Raiders coach Jon Gruden said at the time: “Look at him and ask, ‘Who’s tackling this guy?’ » 7. Byron Jones, 2015 No hopeful had ever broken the 12-foot barrier in the standing long jump. In fact, no prospect had ever come closer than 11 feet 9 inches. Then came Jones, a 6-foot-1, 199-pound cornerback from UConn. He broke the record and the barrier by jumping 12 feet, 3 inches, which also broke the world record — set by Norwegian shot putter Arne Tvervaag in 1968 — by an inch. Jones’ combined record and the world record — which is technically unofficial — still stand, 11 years later. In fact, until Texas Tech safety Tyler Owens jumped 12-2 in 2024, no NFL prospect had come within six inches of Jones’ mark. 6. Stephen Paea, 2011 Nothing excites people more at a scouting competition than the bench press, where a Tongan who grew up playing rugby stole the show. At 6-foot-1, 303, the Oregon State defensive tackle barely seemed to break a sweat as he shattered the bench press record with 49 repetitions — four more than ever before. His arms didn’t slow down until he reached 40. He didn’t take a break at all until he reached 43. And he even got halfway through a 50th rep before his arms finally gave out. And yes, he really wanted the latter. “I feel like I did well,” he said. “I didn’t do very well. My goal was 50 and I was a little angry with myself afterwards.” 5. Jadeveon Clowney, 2014 There were a lot of questions about the South Carolina edge rusher before the combine, and he didn’t answer them all. He had a disappointing performance in the bench press with only 21 reps, and he angered scouts by skipping positioning exercises because he said he had a hip flexor injury. Neither that injury nor concerns about his weight stopped him in the 40, which saw him dazzle everyone with a 4.53. It was a stunning, receiver-like result for a player who was 6-foot-5 and weighed over 270 pounds (maybe a lot more). It showed how explosive he could be as a passer, and it helped him become the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft. 4. Xavier Worthy, 2024 Everyone knew the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Texas wide receiver was the fastest man in the 2024 draft, but the question was whether he broke a record. On his first attempt at a 40-yard dash, he didn’t make it. It was timed at 4.25 seconds. On his second attempt, he was. It was first recorded unofficially at a record of 4.22, but shortly afterward the NFL announced that it had broken the seven-year-old record with an official record of 4.21. When the revised time was announced at Lucas Oil Stadium, the crowd roared. 3. John Ross, 2017 Days before the combine, Washington’s 5-foot-11, 188-pound receiver had his sights set on the nine-year-old 40-year-old record. “I will definitely try (to break it),” he said. “I will definitely go.” And he did, officially running a 4.22, breaking the old record by two hundredths of a second. “He did well!” an NFC scout told me. “He said he was going to break the record and he did. He was flying!” There was only one downside to his record-breaking performance. Sneaker company Adidas promised to offer an island to anyone who broke the record wearing their shoes. Ross did it wearing Nikes. 2. Chris Johnson, 2008 Johnson once said he thought he had the speed to beat Usain Bolt in a race. During his reconnaissance training, he showed that it was not as crazy as it seems. The East Carolina running back was literally a star when he tied the combined record with a 4.24 in the 40, matching what Eastern Kentucky wide receiver Rondel Melendez had done nine years earlier. Melendez was about 20 pounds lighter and a receiver. A running back tying the record was mind-blowing. It even moved Johnson from a third-round prospect, at best, to a late first-round pick. What’s even more astonishing is that it took nine years for anyone to touch his record. “Think about how impressive that is,” one NFL scout told me. “He’s a 200-pound RB and he held that record for a decade. It’s incredible.” 1. Saquon Barkley, 2018 The devaluation of running backs in the NFL was already beginning when the Penn State star burst onto the scene, proving at the combine that he was perhaps too athletic, too good, for anyone to pass up. Although he is 6 feet and 233 pounds, he showed off his brilliance by running a 4.40 in the 40. He then showed off his athleticism with a 41-inch vertical jump. And then he showed his strength with 29 repetitions of the bench press. “Maybe the best individual combination I’ve ever seen,” a former NFL executive told me. “(He) didn’t break records, but (it was) a complete performance. He was excellent in everything.” The New York Giants agreed and selected him second overall in the draft. Barkley’s overall performance helped convince former Giants general manager Dave Gettleman that the running back was “touched by the hand of God.”