Defensive linemen and linebackers participated Sunday in timing and testing drills as part of the annual evaluation of more than 300 draft-eligible prospects by scouts and coaches from all 32 NFL teams.
Click **here for top performances** **of running backs**. Click **here for Mock Madness 2.0** to see the pre-combine projections.
There are drills that use easy to understand metrics like how fast a player can run 40 yards in a straight line or how many times he can bench press 225 pounds, and there are also drills designed to reveal a player's agility and change of direction.
Among linemen, defensive ends posted the five fastest times in the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle and had the top performances in vertical and broad jumps. The top four rep totals in the bench press were by defensive tackles.
What do the performances mean?
Tony Villiotti processed numbers to determine which measurable drill was most important to each position for **nationalfootballpost.com**. Villiotti looked at players who have started "one full season" and whether or not they were top performers among their position. He divided defensive ends into two groups, above or below 270 pounds, and found combine performances are more important to either group of defensive ends than defensive tackles.
Villiotti also broke down which drills were most important for each position and determined the 20-yard shuttle and vertical jump were the most relevant for "small" defensive ends, the 40-yard dash and broad jump were the most relevant for "large" defensive ends and the bench press and 40 had the strongest correlation for defensive tackles.
Defensive line
40-yard dash
Danielle Hunter, LSU, 4.57 seconds
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA, 4.62
Obum Gwachum, Oregon State, 4.72
Preston Smith, Mississippi State, 4.74
Ryan Russell, Purdue, 4.75
Bench press
Deon Simon, Northwestern State (La.), 35 reps
David Parry, Stanford, 34
(tied) Danny Shelton, Washington, 34
(tied) Gabe Wright, Auburn, 34
Tyeler Davison, Fresno State, 32
(tied) Mario Edwards, Jr., Florida State, 32
Vertical jump
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA, 39 inches
Frank Clark, Michigan, 38.5
Zack Wagenmann, Montana, 37.5
Geneo Grissom, Oklahoma, 37.0
Trey Flowers, Arkansas, 36.5
Broad jump
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA, 10 feet, 7 inches
Trey Flowers, Arkansas, 10-1
(tied) Obum Gwacham, Oregon State, 10-1
(tied) Preston Smith, Mississippi State, 10-1
Mario Edwards, Jr., Florida State, 10-0
3-cone drill
Preston Smith, Mississippi State, 7.07 seconds
(tied) Zack Wagenmann, Montana, 7.07
Frank Clark, Michigan, 7.08
Anthony Chickillo, Miami, 7.17
Henry Anderson, Stanford, 7.20
20-yard shuttle
Frank Clark, Michigan, 4.05 seconds
Henry Anderson, Stanford, 4.19
(tied) Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA, 4.19
Anthony Chickillo, Miami, 4.25
Zack Wagenmann, Montana, 4.26
60-yard shuttle
Frank Clark, Michigan, 11.22 seconds
Preston Smith, Mississippi State, 11.70
Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA, 11.75
Zack Wagenmann, Montana, 12.00
Trey Flowers, Arkansas, 12.03
