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Tebow Traded to NY Jets FILE PHOTO – The Denver Broncos have traded their fan favorite quarterback TIM TEBOW to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth and sixth round draft pick. PICTURED: Jan. 08, 2012 – Denver, Colorado, U.S. – TIM TEBOW 15 of the Denver Broncos holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at the NFL, American Football Herren, USA AFC wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field. Credit Image: & 169 Gabriel Christus/Cal Media Denver Colorado U.S. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20120108_zaf_c04_037.jpg GabrielxChristusx csmphoto582950
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Tebow Traded to NY Jets FILE PHOTO – The Denver Broncos have traded their fan favorite quarterback TIM TEBOW to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth and sixth round draft pick. PICTURED: Jan. 08, 2012 – Denver, Colorado, U.S. – TIM TEBOW 15 of the Denver Broncos holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at the NFL, American Football Herren, USA AFC wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field. Credit Image: & 169 Gabriel Christus/Cal Media Denver Colorado U.S. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20120108_zaf_c04_037.jpg GabrielxChristusx csmphoto582950
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Tebow Traded to NY Jets FILE PHOTO – The Denver Broncos have traded their fan favorite quarterback TIM TEBOW to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth and sixth round draft pick. PICTURED: Jan. 08, 2012 – Denver, Colorado, U.S. – TIM TEBOW 15 of the Denver Broncos holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at the NFL, American Football Herren, USA AFC wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field. Credit Image: & 169 Gabriel Christus/Cal Media Denver Colorado U.S. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20120108_zaf_c04_037.jpg GabrielxChristusx csmphoto582950
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Tebow Traded to NY Jets FILE PHOTO – The Denver Broncos have traded their fan favorite quarterback TIM TEBOW to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth and sixth round draft pick. PICTURED: Jan. 08, 2012 – Denver, Colorado, U.S. – TIM TEBOW 15 of the Denver Broncos holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at the NFL, American Football Herren, USA AFC wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field. Credit Image: & 169 Gabriel Christus/Cal Media Denver Colorado U.S. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20120108_zaf_c04_037.jpg GabrielxChristusx csmphoto582950
The NFL Combine isn’t built for the best football players. It’s built for the best athletes.
Every year, we see a handful of prospects show up in Indianapolis and put on a show with a fast 40 time or a 40+ inch vertical leap, but then they never pan out once they get to the league. Part of an NFL scouts’ job is deciphering who are great football players, and who’s just a great athlete.
Since player workouts kick off on Thursday, I thought it would be a good time to go through some of the best combine performers who didn’t pan out in the NFL.
QB Tim Tebow
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Tebow Traded to NY Jets FILE PHOTO – The Denver Broncos have traded their fan favorite quarterback TIM TEBOW to the New York Jets in exchange for a fourth and sixth round draft pick. PICTURED: Jan. 08, 2012 – Denver, Colorado, U.S. – TIM TEBOW 15 of the Denver Broncos holds his hand over his heart during the National Anthem at the NFL, American Football Herren, USA AFC wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Sports Authority Field. Credit Image: & 169 Gabriel Christus/Cal Media Denver Colorado U.S. EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20120108_zaf_c04_037.jpg GabrielxChristusx csmphoto582950
40-Yard Dash: 4.72
Vertical Jump: 38.5 inches
Broad Jump: 9 feet, 7 inches
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.17 seconds
Tim Tebow is one of the most decorated college football quarterbacks of all time, but the NFL knew he wasn’t necessarily the best pro prospect. Teams were concerned about his accuracy and throwing motion not translating to the NFL, but after Tebow put on a show at the NFL Combine, the Denver Broncos traded back into the first round and selected him 25th overall.
Tebow actually ended up leading the Broncos to a playoff victory in 2011, but overall, he wasn’t a great quarterback. He hardly topped 2,000 career passing yards and even tried to transition to tight end late in his career. He’s a classic example of a great athlete not working out at the NFL level.
QB/WR Matt Jones
40-Yard Dash: 4.37
Vertical Jump: 39.5 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet, 9 inches
Coming out of Arkansas, everyone knew Matt Jones was a freak of nature. He’s the kind of guy the NFL Combine is made for. He was 6-foot-7, but he was an incredible athlete, running a 4.37-second 40-yard dash with a near 40-inch vertical leap.
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected him 21st overall in 2005 and converted him to receiver. He was solid, but never great, catching 166 passes for 2,153 yards and 15 touchdowns in four seasons. He was coming off the best year of his career, where he caught 65 balls for 761 yards in 2008, when he started battling some off the field issues, which caused him to never play another down in the NFL.
It’s hard to say he was a complete flop, because he was a solid No. 2 receiver in the league for four years, but he certainly didn’t live up to the hype.
WR Stephen Hill
40-Yard Dash: 4.36 seconds
Vertical Jump: 39.5 inches
Broad Jump: 11 feet, 1 inch
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.48 seconds
Coming out of Georgia Tech, Stephen Hill was a solid prospect, but he wasn’t anything special. That is, until he took the field for the NFL Combine. Hill ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash with a 39.5-inch vertical and a 11-foot, 1-inch broad jump. He was one of the best athletes on the field, and it resulted in him being selected by the New York Jets in the second round.
Hill showed flashes as a rookie, but caught just 21 of his 47 targets for 252 yards and three scores. They were hoping to get more out of him in year two, but he could only total 342 yards and one touchdown as a sophomore. He bounced around for a bit after the 2013 season, but after he tore his ACL in a preseason game in 2015, he was out of the league. Injuries and a case of the drops prevented him from reaching his true potential in the NFL.
WR Darius Heyward-Bey
40-Yard Dash: 4.30 seconds
Vertical Jump: 38.5 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet, 6 inches
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.18 seconds
Bench Press: 16
Darius Heyward-Bey didn’t have the best college production, but everyone knew he was a freak athlete coming out of Maryland, so all eyes were on him at the 2009 NFL Combine. He did not disappoint, running a 4.30-second 40-yard dash with a 38.5-inch vertical leap. His combine performance was so impressive that the Raiders selected him seventh overall.
Heyward-Bey carved out a long, 10-year NFL career, but he was never really that successful. He had a two-year stretch from 2011-2012 where he caught 105 passes for 1,581 yards and five touchdowns, but those two years accounted for roughly 75 percent of his NFL production.
You can’t call a 10-year player a bust, but he absolutely did not live up to expectations.
WR Troy Williamson
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NFL, American Football Herren, USA Washinton vs Jacksonville: Sept. 3 September 3, 2009: Washington vs Jacksonville: Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Troy Williamson 84 tries to leap for extra yardage while Washington Redskins defensive back Byron Westbrook 34 tries to tackle him during preseason action at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars defeated the Redskins 24-17.Credit Image: Gray Quetti/Cal Media Jacksonville Florida United States EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xx ZUMA-20090903_zaf_cq1_001.jpg GrayxQuettix csmphoto265820
40-Yard Dash: 4.38
Vertical Jump: 41.5 inches
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.0 seconds
In 2005, Troy Williamson was viewed as one of the best receivers in the class, but after a stellar combine performance where he ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash with a 41.5-inch vertical leap, the Minnesota Vikings selected him fifth overall, hoping he could fill the massive hole left by Randy Moss’ departure. Let’s just say they whiffed big time.
Williamson spent three years with the Vikings and two with the Jaguars, where he would amass 1,131 yards and four touchdowns. He never topped 500 yards in a single season and had two years with fewer than 10 catches. After being a top-five pick in 2005, he was out of the league by 2010.
RB Chris Darkins
40-Yard Dash: 4.43 seconds
Vertical Jump: 38.5 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet, 8 inches
Bench Press: 22
Chris Darkins weighed in at 233 pounds at the NFL Combine, so nobody really expected the Minnesota product to put on a show at the combine, but he did. Darkins ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash with a 38.5-inch vertical leap while also repping 225 pounds 22 times. He wasn’t really on anyone’s radar, but after his performance at the combine, the Green Bay Packers selected him in the fourth round.
Unfortunately for Green Bay, Darkins never recorded a single offensive snap in the NFL. He did return four kicks for 68 yards, but that was the extent of his NFL production.
DT Vernon Gholston
40-Yard Dash: 4.67 seconds
Vertical Jump: 35.5 inches
Broad Jump: 10 feet, 5 inches
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.4 seconds
Bench Press: 37
Vernon Gholston is an NFL scouts’ worst nightmare. At 6-foot-3, 266 pounds, Gholston ran a 4.67-second 40-yard dash with a 35.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot, 5-inch broad jump while also putting up 37 reps on the bench press. After seeing that, how do you not select him in the top-10?
The Jets did just that, taking him sixth overall, but he could never figure it out at the NFL level. After three seasons with the Jets, where he recorded zero sacks despite playing 45 games, Gholston was out of the league. He’s one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history.
DE Mike Mamula
40-Yard Dash: 4.58
Vertical Jump: 38.5 inches
Bench Press: 26
Mike Mamula revolutionized the NFL Combine in 1995. He was one of the first guys to train strictly for the combine, and it paid off. He ran a 4.58-second 40-yard dash and jumped 38.5 inches in the vertical leap despite being roughly 6-foot-4, 250 pounds. He also scored a 49 on the Wonderlic test, which still ranks second all time.
The Philadelphia Eagles were so impressed by his combine performance that they took him seventh overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. He wasn’t as bad as most of the guys on this list, totaling 206 tackles and 31.5 sacks in six seasons, but he never became the player everyone expected him to become.
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