NFL combine bench press records: Which NFL prospects benched the most?
The annual NFL Scouting Combine is no guarantor of pro football success. But players can cement their place in league history even without playing a down on Sundays with a big performance in front of scouts.
The annual event brings some of the nation's best athletes to Indianapolis to participate in interviews and drills meant to test their NFL mettle. While the 40-yard dash may garner the most coverage, there's one exercise familiar to pretty much anyone who has stepped foot in a weight room; the bench press.
Prospects are asked to press 225 pounds as many times as possible without racking the bar, leaving a place for the league's bigger and slower linemen to shine. Indeed, the list of top 10 bench presser is littered with guards, tackles and ends -- the big, beefy boys tasked with tossing 300-plus pound foes on a snap-by-snap basis.
Who's the combine's bench press king? Let's roll through the top 10 in combine history.
T-10. Larry Allen (1994) and Scott Young (2005): 43 reps
Allen is by far the most successful member of the top 10; he was a second round pick, six-time All-Pro, 11 time Pro Bowler and NFL Hall of Famer. Young was a fifth round pick who spent three years as a backup guard.
T-6. Brodrick Bunkley (2006), Jeff Owens (2010), Dontari Poe (2012) and Netane Muti (2020): 44 reps
Bunkley and Poe were both first round picks who spent multiple years as trusted NFL starters. Owens was a seventh round selection who played a single game for the Philadelphia Eagles. Muti was a sixth round pick whose four year NFL career has included only four starts.
T-3: Leif Larsen (2000), Mike Kudla (2006) and Mitch Petrus (2010): 45 reps
Larsen was a sixth-round pick whose career lasted just 16 games and five starts. Kudla was a star at Ohio State but went undrafted and failed to catch on with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He passed away in 2018. Petrus spent three years in the pros after being selected by the New York Giants in the fifth round, serving mostly as a depth option at guard.
2. Stephen Paea (2011): 49 reps
Paea was a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears. He spent seven years in the NFL, starting 46 games and tallying 38 sacks and tackles for loss.
1. Justin Ernest (1999): 51 reps
A tremendous effort and a record that’s lasted a quarter of a century wasn’t enough to get Ernest drafted. He signed with the New Orleans Saints that offseason but failed to make the team’s active roster.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What's the NFL combine bench press record?
