To put it kindly, many of the draft prospects that tested off the charts in their NFL scouting combine drills were unable to take their athletic feats to the NFL with any level of success.
Former Eagles linebacker and defensive lineman Mike Mamula is the object lesson we talk about every year when insisting that combine measurables don’t always translate to football performance. Mamula blew up the 1995 combine with a 4.58-second 40-yard dash, a 38.5-inch vertical leap, a 10-foot-5-inch broad jump and 28 reps of 225 pounds at the bench press. He also scored 49 out of a possible 50 on the Wonderlic test.
But the Boston College alum was one of the first players to prepare specifically for the combine in ways other players didn’t — and when it came time to hit the field for the Eagles, things didn’t go as well. Mamula was selected seventh overall in the 1995 draft and managed just 209 tackles and 31.5 sacks over five seasons. Not a complete washout, but certainly not what was expected.
Whether it’s Mamula, Matt Jones, or anybody Al Davis drafted in the last decade of his life, we always talk about the guys who amazed at the combine and subsequently underwhelmed in the NFL. But here are 10 players who took the exemplary combine performances and actually turned their skill sets into Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame careers.
Deion Sanders, 1989
“Prime Time” was the best cover cornerback of his era, and certainly one of the most dynamic return men in NFL history. And you knew the game speed was on lock. Sanders ran an unofficial 4.2 40-yard dash at his combine, and basically left the building after that, because what else does one need to do?
Dwight Freeney, 2002
With 125.5 sacks in his 16-year career, Freeney had quite a few dominant seasons for the Colts in the early 2000s. One could argue that he was as important to the defense as Peyton Manning was to the offense, and Freeney’s spin move is considered by many to be the finest in league history. Indianapolis took him 11th overall in the 2002 draft following a combine in which he ran a 4.48 40-yard dash, put up a 37-inch vertical leap and repped 28 at the bench press.
Vernon Davis, 2006
The star of the 2006 combine, Davis came in out of Maryland and shocked observers by running a 4.38 40-yard dash at 6-3 and 254 pounds, adding in a 42-inch vertical leap, a 10-8 broad jump and 33 reps at the bench press. He was selected sixth overall by the 49ers. While it took him a few years to get up to speed with NFL concepts, he did lead the NFL with 13 receiving touchdowns in 2009, made the Pro Bowl twice, and finished with 909 catches for 7,439 yards and 62 touchdowns.
Calvin Johnson, 2007
Not only did “Megatron” run a 4.35 40-yard dash at 6-5 and 237 pounds at his combine, but he did it on a dare wearing borrowed shoes. Of course, Johnson had all the other requisite skills for the position — especially in 2012, when he became the NFL’s single-season record-holder in receiving yards with 1,964; just shy of a once-unthinkable 2,000-yard season.
Chris Johnson, 2008
The East Carolina star shocked the world at his combine by running a record-setting 4.24 40-yard dash and adding a 35-yard vertical leap and a 10-10 broad jump. Of course, it was the speed that got Johnson drafted by the Titans with the No. 24 overall pick. In 2009, he became one of just seven backs in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard mark in a single season. He had six straight seasons with over 1,000 yards before injuries started to take their toll.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, 2008
DRC was selected with the No. 16 overall pick of the 2008 draft by the Cardinals after running a 4.29 40-yard dash, jumping 37.5 inches in the vertical and putting up college tape that showed him to be a rare athlete. Throughout his career with the Cards, Eagles, Broncos, Giants and Raiders, Rodgers-Cromartie has always been athletic, and while his play-to-play consistency could be debated, he has been good enough to pick off 30 passes in his career and make two Pro Bowls.
Julio Jones, 2011
If Jones isn’t the best receiver of the last few years, he’s certainly on a very short list. Few at his position can match Jones’ size (6-3, 220 pounds), blazing speed, ability to make the contested catch and the potential to overpower defenders to make things happen after the catch. His 4.34 40-yard dash was all the Falcons needed to trade up to get him with the sixth overall pick in the draft. Atlanta sent five picks, including two first-rounders, to the Browns for the right to get Jones, and nobody in that front office regrets it.
Dontari Poe, 2012
Big men with speed get paid in the NFL. Really big men with supernatural speed get paid even more, and that’s what happened to Poe when he came out of Memphis in 2012 and set the combine on its ear. At 6-3 and 346 pounds, Poe ran an official 4.98 40-yard dash and showed his strength by with 44 reps at the 225-pound bench press. Selected 11th overall by the Chiefs, Poe was one of the league’s prototypical big nose tackles for a while, making the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014.
Aaron Donald, 2014
The best defensive player in the NFL today, and perhaps the best player overall, set the tone at his combine by putting up an athletic freak show. At 6-1 and 285 pounds, Donald ran a 4.69 40-yard dash, led all defensive tackles in his class with a 1.63 10-yard split, topped everyone at his position with 35 bench press reps and completed the three-cone drill in 7.17 seconds. Not that the Rams needed this performance to convince them to take Donald with the No. 11 overall pick; it was more that Donald’s relatively small stature downgraded his potential in the eyes of 10 other teams that have lived to regret it over and over again.
Myles Garrett, 2017
Jadeveon Clowney’s 2014 combine performance was the recent standard by which all edge rushers were measured until Garrett took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2017. He ran a 4.64 40-yard dash at 6-4 and 272 pounds, amazed with a 1.63-second 10-yard split and performed in the top percentile in every other drill. Garrett was certainly in line to go with the first overall pick in the 2017 draft before the combine, but what he did in Indianapolis sealed the proverbial deal.
