It was the defensive linemen's turn to shine Sunday at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
The big boys participated in on-field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium. They are part of more than 300 draft-eligible prospects being evaluated by all 32 NFL teams.
Draft prospects partake in a variety of drills that include: 40-yard dash, 225-pound bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drill. Some also do the 60-yard shuttle.
The 40-yard dash measures pure straight-line speed and is tailored toward skill positions such as running backs, wide receivers and cornerbacks.
Agility drills such as the 20-yard shuttle and 3-cone drills help gauge linebackers and safeties. The 225-pound bench press and broad jump can help with assessments of offensive and defensive linemen to measure strength and explosiveness.
Oklahoma defensive end Charles Tapper clocked the fastest 40-yard dash by a defensive lineman with a time of 4.59 seconds, while Georgia defensive tackle Chris Mayes had the most reps in the bench press with 33.
Florida defensive end Alex McCalister was the top performer in the broad jump and 20-yard shuttle.
NFL.com put together the chart below that demonstrates the target numbers for each combine drill based on player position (scroll below for top five performances by running backs in each drill):
Here were the top performers for defensive linemen at the combine:
40-yard dash
- Charles Tapper, DE, Oklahoma, 4.59 seconds
- Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State, 4.63
- Kamalei Correa, DE, Boise State, 4.69
- Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson, 4.70
- Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State, 4.73
Bench press (225 pounds)
- Chris Mayes, DT, Georgia, 33 reps
- Ronald Blair, DE, Appalachian State, 32
(tied) Matthew Ioannidis, DT, Temple, 32
- Andrew Billings, NT, Baylor, 31
- Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State, 30
Vertical jump
- Dadi Nicolas, DE, Virginia Tech, 41 inches
- Jason Fanaika, DE, Utah, 35.5
(tied) Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State, 35-5
- Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State, 35
(tied) Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State, 35
(tied) Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Mississippi, 35
(tied) Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky, 35
Broad jump
- Alex McCalister, DE, Florida, 10 feet, 8 inches
- Shawn Oakman, DE, Baylor, 10-3
- Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State, 10-1
(tied) Noah Spence, DE, Eastern Kentucky, 10-1
- Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State, 10-0
(tied) Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson, 10-0
(tied) Romeo Okwara, DE, Notre Dame, 10-0
3-cone drill
- James Cowser, DE, Southern Utah, 6.80 seconds
- Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State, 6.89
- Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State, 6.97
- Alex McCalister, DE, Florida, 7.01
- Bronson Kaufusi, DE, BYU, 7.03
20-yard shuttle
- Alex McCalister, DE, Florida, 4.00 seconds
- Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State, 4.21
(tied) Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson, 4.21
- Shilique Calhoun, DE, Michigan State, 4.25
(tied) Bronson Kaufusi, DE, BYU, 4.25
