Most Offensive Line Bench Press Reps at NFL Combine All-Time
I’ve always loved the NFL Combine. A series of events to evaluate the physical characteristics of the best college football players each year. It’s basically an Olympic decathlon for football.
Some will debate how valuable this whole event actually is (it’s confusing that we’re still doing 225 rep tests with quarterbacks and wide receivers), but my fascination with it has never waned.
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 to find the top Offensive Linemen Bench Press performances 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 reps from Indianapolis.
Most Offensive Line Bench Press Reps All-Time
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine History | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Mitch Petrus | Arkansas | 45 | 2010 |
| Netane Muti | Fresno State | 44 | 2020 |
| Russell Bodine | North Carolina | 42 | 2014 |
| David Molk | Michigan | 41 | 2012 |
| Justin Blalock | Texas | 40 | 2007 |
| Manny Ramirez | Texas Tech | 40 | 2007 |
| Sua Opeta | Weber State | 39 | 2019 |
| Louis Vasquez | Texas Tech | 39 | 2009 |
| Russell Okung | Oklahoma State | 38 | 2010 |
| Andrew Vorhees | USC | 38 | 2023 |
Year By Year Top Offensive Line Bench Press Numbers
Here is a breakdown of the top 5 Bench Press reps from each year going back to 2012. In addition to the top 5 each year, I’ve also included any offensive lineman that benched more than 30 reps.
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2023 NFL Combine
2023
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2023 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Andrew Vorhees | USC | 38 | 2023 |
| Anthony Bradford | LSU | 34 | 2023 |
| Jovaughn Gwyn | South Carolina | 34 | 2023 |
| Tyler Steen | Alabama | 31 | 2023 |
| Peter Skoronski | Northwestern | 30 | 2023 |
2020
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2020 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Netane Muti | Fresno State | 44 | 2020 |
| Simon Stepaniak | Indiana | 37 | 2020 |
| John Simpson | Clemson | 34 | 2020 |
| Jake Hanson | Oregon | 33 | 2020 |
| Ezra Cleveland | Boise State | 30 | 2020 |
2019
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2019 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Sua Opeta | Weber State | 39 | 2019 |
| Garrett Bradbury | N.C. State | 34 | 2019 |
| Phil Haynes | Wake Forest | 33 | 2019 |
| Yodny Cajuste | West Virginia | 32 | 2019 |
| Hjalte Froholdt | Arkansas | 31 | 2019 |
2018
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2018 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Will Hernandez | Texas El Paso | 37 | 2018 |
| Quenton Nelson | Notre Dame | 35 | 2018 |
| Braden Smith | Auburn | 35 | 2018 |
| Colby Gossett | Appalachian State | 32 | 2018 |
| Wyatt Teller | Virginia Tech | 30 | 2018 |
2017
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2017 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Isaac Asiata | Utah | 35 | 2017 |
| Aviante Collins | TCU | 34 | 2017 |
| Jermaine Eluemunor | Texas A&M | 34 | 2017 |
| Forrest Lamp | Western Kentucky | 34 | 2017 |
| Nico Siragusa | San Diego State | 28 | 2017 |
2016
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2016 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Christian Westerman | Arizona State | 34 | 2016 |
| Connor McGovern | Missouri | 33 | 2016 |
| Stephane Nembot | Colorado | 32 | 2016 |
| Jason Spriggs | Indiana | 31 | 2016 |
| Spencer Drango | Baylor | 30 | 2016 |
| Joshua Garnett | Stanford | 30 | 2016 |
| Alex Redmond | UCLA | 30 | 2016 |
| Dominique Robertson | West Georgia | 30 | 2016 |
| Landon Turner | North Carolina | 30 | 2016 |
2015
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2015 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Ereck Flowers | Miami | 37 | 2015 |
| Mitch Morse | Missouri | 36 | 2015 |
| Sean Hickey | Syracuse | 35 | 2015 |
| Mark Glowinski | West Virginia | 31 | 2015 |
| Cameron Erving | Florida State | 30 | 2015 |
| Ali Marpet | Hobart | 30 | 2015 |
2014
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2014 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Russell Bodine | North Carolina | 42 | 2014 |
| Matt Feiler | Bloomsburg | 36 | 2014 |
| Tyler Larsen | Utah State | 36 | 2014 |
| Corey Linsley | Ohio State | 36 | 2014 |
| Brandon Thomas | Clemson | 35 | 2014 |
| Greg Robinson | Auburn | 32 | 2014 |
| Gabe Jackson | Mississippi State | 30 | 2014 |
| Brandon Linder | Miami | 30 | 2014 |
| John Urschel | Penn State | 30 | 2014 |
2013
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2013 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Eric Herman | Ohio | 36 | 2013 |
| Jonathan Cooper | North Carolina | 35 | 2013 |
| Lamar Mady | Youngstown State | 35 | 2013 |
| Reid Fragel | Ohio State | 33 | 2013 |
| Zach Allen | N.C. State | 32 | 2013 |
| T.J. Johnson | South Carolina | 32 | 2013 |
| Vinston Painter | Virginia Tech | 32 | 2013 |
| Terron Armstead | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | 31 | 2013 |
| Luke Marquardt | Azusa Pacific | 31 | 2013 |
| Brian Schwenke | California | 31 | 2013 |
2012
| Most OL Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2012 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| David Molk | Michigan | 41 | 2012 |
| David DeCastro | Stanford | 34 | 2012 |
| Kelechi Osemere | Iowa State | 32 | 2012 |
| Tony Bergstrom | Utah | 32 | 2012 |
| Justin Anderson | Georgia | 32 | 2012 |
| Kevin Zeitler | Wisconsin | 32 | 2012 |
| Ryan Miller | Colorado | 32 | 2012 |
| Cordy Glenn | Georgia | 31 | 2012 |
| Johnnie Troutman | Penn State | 31 | 2012 |
| Brandon Mosley | Auburn | 30 | 2012 |
| Matt Kalil | USC | 30 | 2012 |
| Ronald Leary | Memphis | 30 | 2012 |
Notes
There are two things most people will probably notice when looking through the numbers above.
First, you might have expected to see much bigger numbers. The only time bench press reps at the combine make the main news stream is when someone has benched around 50 reps which leads many people to assume all linemen can get at least 30 reps. But, that’s simply not the case.
Why?
One of the biggest reasons is that offensive linemen are really tall. NFL Offensive Linemen average around 6’5″. Tall guys with long arms are not really built to rep out bench press reps. Additionally, most college strength programs focus on developing strength, not muscular endurance, so doing a high volume of reps isn’t something most guys have trained a lot for.
The second thing many people may notice is – are offensive linemen getting weaker? By looking at the numbers above, you could easily come to that conclusion.
But, I strongly doubt that. The reason you see so many more guys putting up 30+ reps ten years ago vs now is more about pure participation.
To give you an example, in 2012 24 offensive tackles participated in the bench press. In 2022? Only 6.
Teams simply don’t put a lot of stock into the bench. It looks cool, but it’s not the reason a player is going to be drafted. So, players avoid the chance of injury and focus on things like running a fast 40, having good jumps and performing well in the position drills.
*Fun Fact: Did you know not all bars and weight plates weigh exactly the same? 20kg bars weigh less than a 45-pound bar. Some plates due to manufacturing variances and wear and tear will weigh slightly differently.
We used to weigh every 45-pound plate in the entire weight room to find the 4 that weighed the least, no matter how small of a difference it was.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that not everyone that gets invited to NFL Combine actually bench presses (in fact, the majority of guys do not bench press at the combine anymore). So, some players that potentially could put up a lot of reps don’t have an official number on the record.
On top of that, there are many players each year that would have put up big numbers that don’t receive an NFL Combine invite.
