Friday was the first day of on-field workouts for the 2019 NFL Combine.
With their measurements and bench press reps out of the way, Friday was a chance for the offensive line and running backs to get on the field and begin proving their athletic metrics in preparation for the draft.
Starting with the offensive linemen, some of the day’s standouts were Eric McCoy out of Texas A&M, Chris Lindstrom out Boston College, Garrett Bradbury out of N.C. State and Andre Dillard out of Washington State.
For McCoy, the center ran the fastest 40-yard dash time of the group, clocking in at an unofficial 4.89 with a 30.5 inch vertical jump which was good enough to sneak into the group’s top 10.
Lindstrom also posted a vertical jump of 30.5 inches and a 20-yard shuttle time of 4.54 seconds while his unofficial 40-yard time ranked second only behind McCoy at 4.91 seconds.
Bradbury and Dillard followed just behind with 4.92 and 4.96 40-yard times, respectively, and while Dillard’s vertical came in at just 29 inches, Bradbury was able to post a vertical of 31 inches in addition to his 34 bench press reps, a number good for second among all offensive linemen.
Full list of OL to run 40's under 5 flat at the Combine
Erik McCoy 4.89
Chris Lindstrom 4.91
Garrett Bradbury 4.92
Andre Dillard 4.96Interesting that the top 3 are interior offensive lineman. #NFLDraft
— Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) March 1, 2019
Offensive Linemen don't always get credit for "winning" the Combine, but NC State's Garrett Bradbury had a fantastic day. You'll start seeing late Day 1 talk for him.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 1, 2019
Bradbury and Dillard also dominated the 20-yard shuttle and three cone drill. Dillard finished the 20-yard shuttle with the group’s best time of 4.40 seconds while Bradbury finished with a 4.53. In the three cone drill Bradbury topped the list at 7.41 second with Dillard just behind at 7.44 seconds.
Andre Dillard's Combine workout among OL:
No. 1 short shuttle 4.40
No. 1 broad jump 9'10"
No. 2 3-cone 7.44
No. 4 forty 4.96— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) March 1, 2019
Other notable 20-yard shuffle times include Kansas States’ Dalton Risner coming in third at 4.52 seconds and McCoy finishing at 4.62 seconds, and in the three cone drill Lindstrom posted a time of 7.61 seconds.
Out of Morgan State, offensive tackle Joshua Miles posted a vertical jump of 36 inches, the best number out of any offensive lineman dating back to at least 2006.
Jonah Williams, one of the nation’s top rated offensive linemen, didn’t particularly stand out during any of the athletic testing but his 5.12 40-yard time was good enough for 12-best in the group.
Moving to a less-than-stellar running backs class, there were a lot of guys that entered the day with things to prove, whether that be size, strength or speed.
On Thursday Kansas State’s Alex Barnes stole the show, posting 34 reps on the bench press, the most by a running back since fullback Tommy Bohanon in 2013, and the second-highest number from the position (trailing only Bohanon) since 2006.
When it came to the 40-yard dash several running backs impressed while some failed to meet expectations.
After the official results were posted, Mike Weber out of Ohio State was the only running back on the day to break the 4.40 threshold with an official time of 4.38, although Memphis’ Darrell Henderson ran an unofficial 4.37, followed by UF’s Jordan Scarlett at 4.41 and Oklahoma State’s Justice Hill at 4.42 seconds. Hill also posted stellar 10’10” broad jump, which tied him for the best number in the group with Miami’s Travis Homer and Notre Dame’s Dexter Williams.
Hill and Homer topped the vertical jump rankings as well, with Hill reaching 40 inches flat and Homer just behind at 39.5 inches. Barnes ranked third at 39 inches.
Justice Hill told us on @sticktofootball he was going to shock everyone at the combine and hasn’t disappointed
10’10” broad
40” vert
21 bench reps
4.4 forty yard dash🔥🔥🔥
— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) March 1, 2019
LSU’s Nick Brossette fell flat in the 40-yard dash, running an unofficial 4.72 and 4.75 in his two attempts while Kentucky’s Benny Snell (4.66 seconds) and UGA’s Elijah Holyfield (4.78 seconds) also disappointed as they entered the combine with questions about their speed.
On Saturday it will be the combine’s tight ends, quarterbacks and wide receivers’ turn to show off during their on-field workouts.