I’ve always loved the NFL Combine. A one-week event where some of the best athletes in the world compete in a series of physical challenges. It’s like an Olympic decathlon, but for college football players.
When I train players for the combine, one of the things we always do is look at previous years’ results to see how we stack up. It is a great tool for goal-setting and motivation.
This guide is simply me sharing this information with you. I went through all the previous NFL Combines (going back to 2006) to find the best Defensive Tackle Vertical Jumps of all time.
Note: These are the official NFL Combine times from NFL.com. Some resources online will also include pro-day numbers, but because there are so many other variables with pro-day numbers I’ve stuck strictly to the official results from Indianapolis.
Best Defensive Tackle Vertical Jumps of All-Time
| Best DT Vertical Jumps in NFL Combine History |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Al Woods |
LSU |
37″ |
2010 |
| Ed Oliver |
Houston |
36″ |
2019 |
| Ra’Shede Hageman |
Minnesota |
35.5″ |
2014 |
| Ndamukong Suh |
Nebraska |
35.5″ |
2010 |
| Trysten Hill |
Florida |
35″ |
2018 |
| Taven Bryan |
UCF |
35″ |
2019 |
| Robert Nkemdiche |
Ole Miss |
35″ |
2016 |
| Lawrence Thomas |
Michigan State |
35″ |
2016 |
| Javon Hargrave |
South Carolina State |
34.5″ |
2016 |
| Markus Kuhn |
NC State |
34.5″ |
2012 |
| Sheldon Rankins |
Louisville |
34.5″ |
2016 |
| Kendall Reyes |
Connecticut |
34.5″ |
2012 |
| Connor Wujciak |
Boston College |
34.5″ |
2016 |
| Jalen Redmond |
Oklahoma |
34.5″ |
2023 |
Year By Year Top Defensive Tackle Vertical Numbers
Here is a breakdown of the top 5 Vertical Jumps from each year going back to 2006. In addition to the top 5 each year, I’ve also included any defensive tackle that jumped 32″ or higher.
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2023 NFL Combine
2023
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2023 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Jalen Redmond |
Oklahoma |
34.5″ |
2023 |
| Moro Ojomo |
Texas |
33″ |
2023 |
| Gervon Dexter Sr |
Florida |
31″ |
2023 |
| Zacch Pickens |
South Carolina |
30.5″ |
2023 |
| Nesta Jade Silvera |
Arizona State |
29.5″ |
2023 |
| Keeanu Benton |
Wisconsin |
29.5″ |
2023 |
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2022 NFL Combine
2022
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2022 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Eyioma Uwazurike |
Iowa State |
33″ |
2022 |
| Jordan Davis |
Georgia |
32″ |
2022 |
| Matthew Butler |
Tennessee |
32″ |
2022 |
| Christopher Hinton |
Michigan |
31.5″ |
2022 |
| Devonte Wyatt |
Georgia |
29″ |
2022 |
| Jonathan Ford |
Miami |
29″ |
2022 |
2020
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2020 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Casey Toohill |
Stanford |
30″ |
2020 |
| Terrell Lewis |
Alabama |
29.5″ |
2020 |
| Carter Coughlin |
Minnesota |
29″ |
2020 |
| Jonathan Garvin |
Miami |
29″ |
2020 |
| Alton Robinson |
Syracuse |
28.5″ |
2020 |
2019
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2019 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Ed Oliver |
Houston |
36″ |
2019 |
| Trysten Hill |
UCF |
35″ |
2019 |
| Jerry Tillery |
Notre Dame |
32″ |
2019 |
| Renell Wren |
Arizona State |
32″ |
2019 |
| Dre’Mont Jones |
Ohio State |
31.5″ |
2019 |
2018
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2018 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Taven Bryan |
Florida |
35″ |
2018 |
| Breeland Speaks |
Ole Miss |
32.5″ |
2018 |
| Trenton Thompson |
Georgia |
32.5″ |
2018 |
| Harrison Phillips |
Stanford |
32″ |
2018 |
| Matt Dickerson |
UCLA |
31″ |
2018 |
| Nathan Shepherd |
Fort Hays |
31″ |
2018 |
2017
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2017 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Larry Ogunjobi |
Charlotte |
32″ |
2017 |
| Elijah Qualls |
Washington |
31.5″ |
2017 |
| Isaac Rochell |
Notre Dame |
31.5″ |
2017 |
| Montravius Adams |
Auburn |
29″ |
2017 |
| DJ Jones |
Ole Miss |
28.5″ |
2017 |
| Malik McDowell |
Michigan State |
28.5″ |
2017 |
| Vincent Taylor |
Oklahoma State |
28.5″ |
2017 |
| Eddie Vanderdoes |
UCLA |
28.5″ |
2017 |
2016
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2016 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Robert Nkemdiche |
Ole Miss |
35″ |
2016 |
| Lawrence Thomas |
Michigan State |
35″ |
2016 |
| Javon Hargrave |
South Carolina State |
34.5″ |
2016 |
| Sheldon Rankins |
Louisville |
34.5″ |
2016 |
| Connor Wujciak |
Boston College |
34.5″ |
2016 |
| Joel Heath |
Michigan State |
33″ |
2016 |
| Jonathan Bullard |
Florida |
32″ |
2016 |
| Hassan Ridgeway |
Texas |
32″ |
2016 |
2015
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2015 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Arik Armstead |
Oregon |
34″ |
2015 |
| Rakeem Nunez-Roches |
Southern Miss |
34″ |
2015 |
| Carl Davis |
Iowa |
33″ |
2015 |
| Tyeler Davison |
Fresno State |
33″ |
2015 |
| Mario Edwards |
Florida State |
32.5″ |
2015 |
| Bobby Richardson |
Indiana |
32.5″ |
2015 |
| Ellis McCarthy |
UCLA |
32″ |
2015 |
| Louis Trinca-Pasat |
Iowa |
32″ |
2015 |
2014
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2014 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Ra’Shede Hageman |
Minnesota |
35.5″ |
2014 |
| Kerry Wynn |
Richmond |
34″ |
2014 |
| Jay Bromley |
Syracuse |
33.5″ |
2014 |
| Aaron Donald |
Pittsburgh |
32″ |
2014 |
| Tenny Palepoi |
Utah |
30.5″ |
2014 |
| Shamar Stephen |
Connecticut |
30.5″ |
2014 |
2013
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2013 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Jared Smith |
New Hampshire |
32.5″ |
2013 |
| Sheldon Richardson |
Missouri |
32″ |
2013 |
| Everett Dawkins |
Florida State |
30″ |
2013 |
| Sharrif Floyd |
Florida |
30″ |
2013 |
| Akeem Spence |
Illinois |
30″ |
2013 |
2012
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2012 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| JR Sweezy |
NC State |
36″ |
2012 |
| Kendall Reyes |
Connecticut |
34.5″ |
2012 |
| Markus Kuhn |
NC State |
34.5″ |
2012 |
| Kheeston Randall |
Texas |
34″ |
2012 |
| Derek Wolfe |
Cincinnati |
33.5″ |
2012 |
| Mike Martin |
Michigan |
33.5″ |
2012 |
2011
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2011 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Nick Fairley |
Auburn |
31″ |
2011 |
| Colby Whitlock |
Texas Tech |
30.5″ |
2011 |
| Drake Nevis |
LSU |
30.5″ |
2011 |
| Marvin Austin |
North Carolina |
30.5″ |
2011 |
| Phil Taylor |
Baylor |
29.5″ |
2011 |
2010
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2010 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Al Woods |
LSU |
37″ |
2010 |
| Ndamukong Suh |
Nebraska |
35.5″ |
2010 |
| Lamarr Houston |
Texas |
33.5″ |
2010 |
| Corey Peters |
Kentucky |
33″ |
2010 |
| Mike Neal |
Purdue |
33″ |
2010 |
| Geno Atkins |
Georgia |
33″ |
2010 |
2009
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2009 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Chris Baker |
Hampton |
35.5″ |
2009 |
| Mitch King |
Iowa |
33.5″ |
2009 |
| Vance Walker |
Georgia Tech |
33″ |
2009 |
| Sen’Derrick Marks |
Auburn |
33″ |
2009 |
| Ziggy Hood |
Missouri |
33″ |
2009 |
| BJ Raji |
Boston College |
32″ |
2009 |
| Roy Miller |
Texas |
32″ |
2009 |
| Adrian Grady |
Louisville |
32″ |
2009 |
2008
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2008 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Trevor Laws |
Notre Dame |
30.5″ |
2008 |
| Kentwan Balmer |
North Carolina |
29″ |
2008 |
| Ahtyba Rubin |
Iowa State |
28″ |
2008 |
| Dre Moore |
Maryland |
28″ |
2008 |
| Red Bryant |
Texas A&M |
28″ |
2008 |
2007
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2007 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Quinn Pitcock |
Ohio State |
34″ |
2007 |
| David Patterson |
Ohio State |
32.5″ |
2007 |
| Turk McBride |
Tennessee |
31″ |
2007 |
| Justin Harrell |
Tennessee |
30.5″ |
2007 |
| Amobi Okoye |
Louisville |
30″ |
2007 |
| Keith Jackson |
Arkansas |
30″ |
2007 |
2006
| Best DT Vertical Jumps at NFL Combine 2006 |
| Player |
School |
Height |
Year |
| Manaia Brown |
BYU |
34.5″ |
2006 |
| Dusty Dvoracek |
Oklahoma |
34″ |
2006 |
| Barry Cofield |
Northwestern |
34″ |
2006 |
| Jonathan Lewis |
Virginia Tech |
33.5″ |
2006 |
| Kedric Golston |
Georgia |
33″ |
2006 |
| Brodrick Bunkley |
Florida State |
32.5″ |
2006 |
| Rodrique Wright |
Texas |
32″ |
2006 |
| Babatunde Oshinowo |
Stanford |
32″ |
2006 |
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that not everyone that gets invited to the NFL Combine actually jumps (although verticals along with running the 40 and broad jumps are still heavily participated in by most positions). So, some players that potentially could put up a big jump don’t have an official number on the record.
One thing every guy is almost guaranteed to get put on record? Their height and weight.
Finally, don’t forget that there are many players each year that would have put up big numbers that don’t receive an NFL Combine invite. I’ve been at many pro days where some of the numbers our guys put up would have been top 5 or even top 3 at the combine that year.
Featured Image Photo Credit: Alena Veasey / Shutterstock.com
References
NFL.com
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