Most Quarterback Bench Press Reps at NFL Combine (By Year)
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 considering many strength coaches don’t even allow quarterbacks to bench press), 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 Quarterback 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 Quarterback Bench Press Reps All-Time
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine History | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Rhett Bomar | Sam Houston State | 25 | 2009 |
| Brady Quinn | Notre Dame | 24 | 2007 |
| Jay Cutler | Vanderbilt | 23 | 2006 |
| Tarvaris Jackson | Alabama State | 22 | 2006 |
| Levi Brown | Troy | 20 | 2010 |
| Tim Hiller | Western Michigan | 18 | 2010 |
| Kurt Benkert | Virginia | 16 | 2018 |
| Anthony Morelli | Penn State | 16 | 2008 |
| Reggie Ball | Georgia Tech | 15 | 2007 |
| MarQueis Gray | Minnesota | 15 | 2013 |
Year By Year Top Quarterback 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 quarterback that benched more than 10 reps.
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2023 NFL Combine
2023
There are no bench press numbers for 2023.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2023 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| n/a | n/a | n/a | 2023 |
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2022 NFL Combine
2022
There are no bench press numbers for 2022.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2022 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| 2022 | |||
| 2022 | |||
| 2022 | |||
| 2022 | |||
| 2022 | |||
2020
There are no bench press numbers for 2020.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2020 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| 2020 | |||
| 2020 | |||
| 2020 | |||
| 2020 | |||
| 2020 | |||
2019
There are no bench press numbers for 2019.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2019 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| 2019 | |||
| 2019 | |||
| 2019 | |||
| 2019 | |||
| 2019 | |||
2018
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2018 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Kurt Benkert | Virginia | 16 | 2018 |
| 2018 | |||
| 2018 | |||
| 2018 | |||
| 2018 | |||
2017
There are no bench press numbers for 2017.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2017 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| 2017 | |||
| 2017 | |||
| 2017 | |||
| 2017 | |||
| 2017 | |||
2016
There are no bench press numbers for 2016.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2016 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| 2016 | |||
| 2016 | |||
| 2016 | |||
| 2016 | |||
| 2016 | |||
2015
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2015 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Nick Marshall | Auburn | 15 | 2015 |
| 2015 | |||
| 2015 | |||
| 2015 | |||
| 2015 | |||
2014
There are no bench press numbers for 2014.
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2014 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| 2014 | |||
| 2014 | |||
| 2014 | |||
| 2014 | |||
| 2014 | |||
2013
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2013 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| MarQueis Gray | Minnesota | 15 | 2013 |
| 2013 | |||
| 2013 | |||
| 2013 | |||
| 2013 | |||
2012
| Most QB Bench Reps in NFL Combine 2012 | |||
| Player | School | Reps | Year |
| Jordan Jefferson | LSU | 14 | 2012 |
| Darron Thomas | Oregon | 14 | 2012 |
| 2012 | |||
| 2012 | |||
| 2012 | |||
Notes
As you can obviously see, rarely do quarterbacks participate in the bench at the combine. Only 5 quarterbacks in the past 10 ten years have benched and none at the last three combines.
And, honestly, why would they?
I highly doubt any quarterback has ever been drafted because of how many times they could rep 225 pounds on bench press. What matters (at least physically) is how well they throw the ball. So why take any chance whatsoever in straining (or worse) a shoulder or pec before you get a chance to throw?
Many more quarterbacks (but not all) participate in the 40 than the bench and I’ve also broken down the best quarterback 40 times of all-time if you’d like to give that a look.
Finally, the one thing every player gets on record? Their height and weight. Here are the average heights and weights of all the current active quarterbacks in the NFL.
*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 (This is even more prevalent with quarterbacks). 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 (and had success at the NFL level) that don’t receive an NFL Combine invite.
