All-Time Leaders for Every NFL Scouting Combine Drill

Remember the President's Challenge in school gym class where a number of physical activities had to be completed in order to win awards such as recognition among your peers and invaluable ribbons?

Well, think of the NFL Scouting Combine as the President's Challenge for adults, only they are some of the best athletes in the world and millions of dollars are at stake.

It may seem borderline ridiculous that performances in shorts and T-shirts will play such a deciding factor in where some of the nation’s top college prospects end up going on draft day, but such is the nature of the NFL offseason. Fans, scouts and teams are starving for news, and how fast someone runs the 40-yard dash is close enough to football to make headlines.

These combine performances, though, get the most attention when they break records. With that in mind, here is a look at the all-time leaders for the combine drills.

Keep in mind that the NFL’s official database only goes back to 2006 for combine statistics.

Event	Player	Mark
40-yard dash	Chris Johnson, RB	4.24 seconds
Bench press	Stephen Paea, DT	49 reps
Vertical jump	Donald Washington, DB	45 inches
Broad jump	Jamie Collins, LB	11'7"
3 Cone drill	Jeffrey Maehl, WR	6.42 seconds
20-yard shuttle	Jason Allen, CB	3.81 seconds
60-yard shuttle	Brandin Cooks, WR	10.72 seconds

Drawing Conclusions

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Anyone who has taken Statistics 101 understands that sample size is everything, and you would be hard-pressed to find a sample size much smaller than seven individuals in years of NFL combine performances.

Still, it is interesting to look at some of these record holders and how their careers have panned out and then compare it to how much importance is placed on the combine for drafting purposes.

The name that immediately jumps out is Chris Johnson, both because of how much coverage the 40-yard dash receives and how effective he was as a running back when he was in his prime. He also attended East Carolina for school, which isn’t exactly a football powerhouse, and was able to turn heads before the draft with his record-breaking performance.

From 2008-13, Johnson topped 1,000 rushing yards every season, including his 2006 campaign where he ran for 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns. He was arguably the top overall player in the league that year, and he often used his speed to break free for long, game-breaking runs.

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

Whichever player turns in the fastest 40-yard dash time during the 2015 combine can point to Johnson when it comes to making a case for the drill translating to on-field results.

You can bet that will be in the back of scouts' minds as well this year.

Brandin Cooks appears to be another success story in terms of speed and quickness in space in the combine translating to the next level. The record holder in the 60-yard shuttle tallied 550 receiving yards this year for the New Orleans Saints but missed time with injury. The good news is he looked like a receiver who will make some waves before his career is over.

Defensively, Stephen Paea has proved to be an effective run-stuffer at times for the Chicago Bears, and Jamie Collins could be an up-and-coming star for the New England Patriots. Both players are encouraging case studies for defensive players who rely on their strength in the case of Paea and their athleticism in the case of Collins.

Brian Kersey/Getty Images

If there was any doubt that Collins’ broad jump in the combine would transfer, look at this quote from tight end Rob Gronkowski, via Doug Kyed of NESN.com:

"

Yeah, when he jumps. He’s a middle linebacker, and when the ball gets thrown, he’ll just jump in the air and snag the ball out of nowhere. That just shows what a freak athletically he is. He just jumps in the air, you don’t think he’s going to catch it, and then boom, he snags it out of the air and just jumps super high. It’s crazy.

"

Unfortunately for those involved, not every combine record holder is an example players can point to when trying to place importance on their individual results. 

Donald Washington, Jason Allen and Jeffrey Maehl didn’t make much noise at the NFL level, although Maehl has only been in the league two years. Still, he has a whopping nine catches in those two seasons, so the book may be out on him as a productive receiver at the pro level.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Tim Graham of ESPN.com noted in the case of Allen that impressive combine and draft results (he was the 16th overall selection in the 2006 draft) don’t always guarantee success in the NFL.

"Allen never panned out," Graham writes. "At best he was a top-notch special-teams player. At worst, he couldn't get on the field despite his lofty draft position. He was the last player remaining from the '06 draft class, leaving the Dolphins with only two players on their roster from 2006 and 2007 drafts."

Therein lies the guessing game that front offices and scouting departments have to play at the combine and during the lead-up to the draft. The fact that the all-time record holders are somewhat of a mixed bag when it comes to NFL results isn’t much of a surprise given the myriad of other factors that go into being an impressive player outside of just raw athleticism.

At best, the combine should probably be used as an appetizer in the predraft evaluation process. It is important, but only as something to enhance the entree, be it college production, film study or something else. 

It will still be interesting to see if any of the records fall in this year’s combine.

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