2014 NFL Combine Bench Press Analysis: Defensive Linemen

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This is the 2014 NFL Combine Bench Press Analysis for the defensive linemen. Follow me @walterfootball for updates.


2014 NFL Combine: Bench Press Analysis – Defensive Linemen
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

  • The top talent for the 2014 NFL Draft is South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. On the bench press, he had a decent number with 21 reps. Clowney has longer arms (34 1/2) and that makes bench pressing harder. 11 defensive ends had higher totals than him, but his total was close to average. There is no doubt that Clowney has some functional strength for games, but his bench press total doesn’t help to mitigate the criticism that Clowney doesn’t train hard enough and has an underwhelming work ethic.

  • After being the star of the Senior Bowl, Pittsubrgh defensive tackle Aaron Donald started his Combine strong with 35 reps on the bench press. The 6-foot-1, 285-pounder has short arms and a well-developed upper body, so it wasn’t surprising he did so well. Only Boston College tackle Kaleb Ramsey had more with 36 reps.

  • Another Senior Bowl standout who impressed in the Combine bench press was Minnesota defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman. The 6-foot-6, 311-pounder produced 32 reps. Hageman has long arms as well, so that total was superb. He could lock up a spot in Round 1 with a strong showing at Indianapolis.



  • Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy is the second-rated defensive end in the 2014 NFL Draft and had one more rep than Clowney with 22. Ealy (6-4, 273) is a long defender who isn’t well suited to bench press. He shouldn’t be dinged for that total.

  • Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan wasn’t as impressive as Donald or Hageman. Jernigan (6-2, 299) is bigger than Donald and also has short arms, but Jernigan totaled 27 reps. It was still above average for a defensive lineman. The explosive Jernigan could perform well in the field drills.

  • LSU defensive tackle Anthony Johnson (6-2, 308) had a disappointing total of 20 reps. His arms are average length, but for a tackle that’s over 300 pounds, a higher total is reasonable. Johnson never played up to his potential at LSU, and this performance on the bench press makes one wonder if a lack of effort in training played a role in his underachieving.

  • Notre Dame defensive end Stephon Tuitt (6-5, 304) has dropped a lot of weight since the end of the season, but that weight turned out to be bad weight because Tuitt did well in the bench press with 31 reps. He has long arms as well, so that was an impressive total. With Tuitt’s improved conditioning and bench press performance, he is off to a great start.



  • There were a number of undersized defensive lineman who produced bad totals. USC tackle George Uko (6-3, 284) had 18 reps. UCLA end Cassius Marsh (6-4, 252) put up 14 reps. South Florida end Aaron Lynch (6-5, 249) totaled 18 reps. Texas end Jackson Jeffcoat (6-3, 247) had 18 reps. All of these players are giving evidence that they may not fit in their positions. These ends may have to move to outside linebacker, and Uko may have to move to end.

  • Missouri defensive end Michael Sam (6-1, 266) had an underwhelming total on the bench press of 17 reps. He has gotten a lot of attention, but lost in that has been his status as a third-day pick. Sources have told WalterFootball.com that Sam was being projected as a late-rounder, so it shouldn’t be surprising if he doesn’t impress at the Combine.

  • There were a number of noteworthy defenders who didn’t participate. That list included Notre Dame defensive tackle Louis Nix, Arizona State defensive tackle Will Sutton, Virginia defensive tackle Brent Urban, Alabama defensive end Ed Stinson and Auburn defensive end Dee Ford.



    Back to the 2014 NFL Draft Scouting Combine Page.



    2014 NFL Combine Results - Weigh-Ins and 40 Times:
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    2014 NFL Combine Stock Report:
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    2014 NFL Combine Field Drills Recap:
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    2014 NFL Combine Bench Recap:
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    2014 NFL Combine Weigh-In Recap:
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    NFL Combine Rumors by Tony Pauline








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