Offensive Line Bench Press Reps at NFL Combine

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.

References

NFL.com

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