The bench press may not be a huge selling point for NFL Draft prospects at positions like wide receiver and quarterback, but it does hold significance for plenty others. Teams can get tangible information from the bench press when it comes to running backs and defensive linemen, but no position more so than the offensive line.
Offensive linemen were among the first groups to arrive at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine this week, and on Thursday they were joined by running backs in the bench press. They will be the first group to see the field for workouts and other drills on Friday, but first we've got the results of the bench press.
Christian Westerman of Arizona State led the way with a total of 34 reps of 225 pounds. This year's class ultimately fell short of last year's, which was led by Ereck Flowers with 37 reps, and well short of the year before, when Russell Bodine put up a ridiculous 42 reps of 225 pounds. Still, only a handful of players ended up with under 20 reps, and multiple players had 30-plus.
Laremy Tunsil, considered a consensus top-five pick and projected by many to go first overall, did not partake in the bench press. Connor McGovern of Missouri (33), Stephane Nembot of Colorado (32) and Jason Spriggs of Indiana (31) had more than 30 reps as well, with another five players at least hitting the 30 mark. The fewest went to Nila Kasitati of Oklahoma State, who put up just 12 reps.
Name | School | Height | Weight | Bench Press (reps at 225 lbs) |
Alexander Vadal | LSU | 6'5 | 326 | 25 |
Jack Allen | Michigan State | 6'1 | 294 | 23 |
Willie Beavers | Western Michigan | 6'4 | 324 | 20 |
Caleb Benenoch | UCLA | |||
Austin Blythe | Iowa | 6'2 | 291 | 29 |
Evan Boehm | Missouri | 6'2 | 309 | 24 |
Jake Brendel | UCLA | 25 | ||
Joe Cheek | Texas A&M | 6'6 | 295 | 20 |
Le'Raven Clark | Texas Tech | 6'5 | 316 | 18 |
Shon Coleman | Auburn | 6'5 | 307 | 22 |
Jack Conklin | Michigan State | 6'6 | 308 | 25 |
Fahn Cooper | Ole Miss | 6'4 | 303 | 19 |
Joe Dahl | Washington State | 6'4 | 304 | 28 |
Taylor Decker | Ohio State | 6'7 | 310 | 20 |
Spencer Drango | Baylor | 6'6 | 315 | 30 |
Parker Ehinger | Cincinnati | 6'6 | 310 | |
Joshua Garnett | Stanford | 6'4 | 312 | 30 |
Graha, Glasgow | Michigan | 6'6 | 307 | 23 |
Darrell Greene | San Diego State | 6'3 | 321 | 28 |
Joe Haeg | North Dakota State | 6'6 | 304 | |
Jerald Hawkins | LSU | 6'6 | 305 | 23 |
Germain Ifedi | Texas A&M | 6'6 | 324 | 24 |
Dominick Jackson | Alabama | 6'5 | 313 | 20 |
Tyler Johnstone | Oregon | 6'5 | 301 | 24 |
Nila Kasitati | Oklahoma State | 6'3 | 317 | 12 |
Ryan Kelly | Alabama | 6'4 | 311 | 26 |
Denver Kirkland | Arkansas | 6'4 | 335 | 19 |
Alex Lewis | Nebraska | 6'6 | 312 | 27 |
Nick Martin | Notre Dame | 6'4 | 299 | 28 |
Tyler Marz | Wisconsin | 6'7 | 316 | 19 |
Connor McGovern | Missouri | 6'4 | 306 | 33 |
Kyle Murphy | Stanford | 6'6 | 305 | 23 |
Stephane Nembot | Colorado | 6'6 | 322 | 32 |
Rees Odhiambo | Boise State | 6'4 | 314 | 23 |
Alex Redmond | UCLA | 6'5 | 294 | 30 |
Dominique Robertson | West Georgia | 6'5 | 324 | 30 |
Isaac Seumalo | Oregon State | 6'4 | 303 | |
Brandon Shell | South Carolina | 6'5 | 324 | 22 |
Matt Skura | Duke | 6'3 | 329 | 27 |
Pearce Slater | San Diego State | 17 | ||
Jason Spriggs | Indiana | 6'6 | 301 | 31 |
Ronnie Stanley | Notre Dame | 6'6 | 312 | |
John Theus | Georgia | 6'6 | 313 | |
Joe Thuney | North Carolina State | 6'5 | 304 | 28 |
Cole Toner | Harvard | 6'5 | 306 | 22 |
Sebastian Tretole | Arkansas | 6'4 | 314 | 22 |
Max Tuerk | Southern Cal | 6'5 | 298 | 22 |
Laremy Tunsil | Ole Miss | 6'4 | 310 | |
Landon Turner | North Carolina | 6'4 | 330 | 30 |
Halapoulivaati Vaitai | TCU | 6'6 | 320 | 23 |
Christian Westerman | Arizona State | 6'3 | 298 | 34 |
Cody Whitehair | Kansas State | 6'4 | 301 | 16 |
Avery Young | Auburn | 6'5 | 328 |