The NFL combine gives college prospects the chance to really enhance their value just weeks before the draft takes place. But of course, the combine is also a place where many players hurt their draft value with poor and lackluster showings.
But of course, a bad showing at the combine doesn’t mean a player is going to disappoint in the NFL. Some of the best football players in the country had downright horrible showings, and they looked like anything but a future superstar. Sure enough, they bounced back from an awful performance and wound up becoming Pro Bowlers, some of them even future Hall of Famers.
10. Josh Norman
The Coastal Carolina prospect wasn’t exactly a hyped-up corner coming into the 2012 Draft. Josh Norman also didn’t do much to help his value after a disappointing showing at the combine.
Norman ran an unimpressive 4.61 40-yard dash, and a large quantity of corners topped his 33-inch vertical jump. He also had just 14 bench press reps, which was among the lowest for all players at the combine.
But the Carolina Panthers took a chance on Norman and selected him in the fifth round with the 143rd pick in 2012. He broke out in 2015 with a Pro Bowl selection and helped the Panthers reach Super Bowl 50, where they fell to the Denver Broncos.
Norman hasn’t quite been the same player since signing with the Washington Redskins in 2016, but he’s still a difference-maker in the secondary. He’s certainly better than what we expected after a poor combine showing. Also, how many fifth-round selections become Pro Bowlers these days?
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9. Joe Haden
Florida cornerback Joe Haden came into the combine as one of the elite prospects at the position. But his combine performance was quite brutal, and you couldn’t help but wonder at the time if it would hurt his draft stock.
Haden ran a mere 4.52 40-yard dash; nearly two-dozen corners finished with better times. His 35-inch vertical jump wasn’t terrible by any means, but again, a great deal of corners finished better in that department.
That’s okay, though. Haden wound up going seventh overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 draft. And he’s been one of the better cornerbacks of this era, earning Pro Bowl selections in 2013 and ‘14. Haden joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2017 and also fixed their leaky secondary.
Ya see? Nothing to worry about. This man turned out just fine.
8. Jarvis Landry
You’d think with his supreme athleticism and speed that Jarvis Landry would have actually performed well at the NFL draft. But compare his results to the other tight ends at the 2014 combine, and you’d be surprisingly disappointed.
Landry only ran 40-yard dash time of 4.65; wide receiver Dri Archer of Kent State topped everybody at the combine with a time of 4.26 seconds. Brandin Cooks was second at 4.33, and John Brown third at 4.34. So yeah, Landry was way behind much of the wide receiver field.
Landry also had a 28.5-inch vertical jump. That was way off Tevin Reese’s 41, which topped all wideouts. A bundle of wideouts finished with a vertical jump of 39 inches or higher, so Landry definitely was an outcast here, if you will.
Ah well, he wound up as one of the best wideouts to come out of this class. The Miami Dolphins took Landry with the 63rd pick in the 2014 draft. Now? He’s a four-time Pro Bowl wideout. He’s going to have so much fun padding those stats with Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham Jr. in Cleveland.
Who needs a good combine performance these days?!
7. Jason Peters
Yes, Philadelphia Eagles fans. We know Jason Peters is a Pro Bowl offensive tackle. But did you kids know back in his college days at Arkansas, Peters was actually a tight end? That was the position he held at the Combine, but boy oh boy was Peters’ performance there not fun at all.
Peters’ 40-yard dash time was clocked in a 4.93, and his vertical was 29 inches. Peters also only had 21 bench press reps; Benjamin Watson led all tight ends with 34. So as you can see, Peters didn’t exactly look like somebody who should play tight end. At all.
Peters would sign with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He’d later move to offensive tackle, and it wound up being a career-saving move for Peters.
He’s a nine-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman and has earned two First-team All-pro selections. And oh yeah, he helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl 52 championship. Can you spell future Hall of Famer?
Dear future tight end prospects who fail at the combine: Never be afraid to work out as an offensive lineman! It saved Peters’ career! And it might save yours!
6. Justin Houston
The Georgia outside linebacker should have been a first-round pick, but Houston scared teams off when he failed a drug test at the combine. It didn’t help that Houston ran a mere 4.62 40-yard dash time with a 36.5-inch vertical jump and 125-inch broad jump. Definitely not the best linebacker performance at the combine.
Well, the Kansas City Chiefs saw enough to like Houston, and they took him with the 70th pick in 2011. Houston has since emerged as one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers, earning four Pro Bowl selections. He posted an impressive 22 sacks in 2014, which led the NFL. Houston had 78.5 sacks through the 2018 season, and he led the Chiefs to an AFC Championship appearance that year.
Houston has been one of the more underrated defensive players for some time; perhaps because KC’s awful secondary has forced people to overlook his talent. Houston was released by the Chiefs in the 2019 offseason, but the man has plenty of football left in him. We’d like to think he’ll make it to the Hall of Fame.
A Super Bowl ring or two would certainly help his case.
5. Calais Campbell
Obviously, you don’t expect a 6-foot-8, 290-pound defensive end to impress in a 40-yard dash time, but Campbell didn’t perform all that well in most areas. His dash time was 5.04 seconds. Quite slow, we know. Makes Tom Brady look like Usain Bolt.
But Campbell managed just 16 bench press reps, while other defensive linemen were putting in reps of 30-plus. Campbell’s 29.5-vertical jump left and 111-inch broad jump wasn’t exactly inspiring, either.
Campbell was selected with the 50th pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2008, and like a fine wine, he’s only gotten better with age.
Campbell recorded zero sacks in his rookie year, though the Cardinals reached Super Bowl 43. He wasn’t even name to a Pro Bowl until the 2014 season. Campbell joined the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017 and recorded back-to-back double-digit sack seasons, the firsts of his career.
Campbell’s 14.5 sacks in 2017 were a career-high, too. Like we said, he’s only gotten better with age. Pretty nice story for a guy who did very little to impress at the combine.
4. Terrell Suggs
Good thing the Baltimore Ravens made Terrell Suggs the 10th overall pick in the 2003 Draft, rather than judge him solely on a bad combine performance.
The Arizona State linebacker/defensive end ran a cringeworthy 4.84 40-yard dash time. How bad was it? Consider that Shurron Pierson led all defensive ends with a dash time of 4.63.
That’s okay, though. Suggs wound up carving out quite a career for himself in Baltimore. The seven-time Pro Bowler joined a terrifying defense led by Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. Suggs was named 2011 Defensive Player of the Year and helped the Ravens win Super Bowl 47 over the San Francisco 49ers.
Through the 2018 season, Suggs had logged 132.5 sacks and 35 forced fumbles. Say hello to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Terrell. A bad 40-yard dash time was never going to stop this guy from emerging as one of the most dominant defensive players ever.
3. Antonio Brown
The Central Michigan product was not among the more highly-regarded prospects entering the 2010 draft. Antonio Brown was overlooked from the get-go, and he certainly didn’t leave the greatest impression at the 2010 combine.
A.B. ran 40-yard dash time of 4.56 . In comparison, fellow wideout Jacoby Ford ran the fastest time among all players at 4.28 seconds. He only had a 33.5-inch vertical jump and managed a mere 13 bench press reps. In comparison, four different wide receivers had 20 reps.
Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers took a chance on Brown in the sixth round, with the 195th selection. A.B. formed terrific chemistry with Ben Roethlisberger and emerged as the NFL’s best wide receiver in 2014.
Brown has led the NFL in receiving yards twice and has earned seven Pro Bowl selections. He’s good for over 100 receptions and 1,000-plus yards a year. No matter how he fares now with the Oakland Raiders, Brown has done enough to earn a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Not bad for a guy with a sixth-round pick with a poor combine performance!
2. Drew Brees
The New Orleans Saints’ legend was a star at Purdue, but boy did he leave a lot to be desired after a brutal showing at the 2001 NFL combine. Brees ran a, uh, very slow 40-yard dash time of 4.83. His vertical jump was measured at 32 inches; his broad jump at 105 inches and a three-cone drill time of 7.09 seconds.
There were questions about his size, too. Brees was finally taken with the 2nd pick by the San Diego Chargers in the 2001 Draft. Let’s just say it didn’t take long for Brees to show the world that great combine showings are overrated.
Brees quickly established himself as one of the NFL’s top passing quarterbacks; but the team moved on from him after the 2005 season. They wanted to roll with Philip Rivers, and the Chargers were worried about his shoulder injury.
One more time, Brees had to defy all odds and silence the doubters again. He signed with the Saints in 2006. And, well? How does a Super Bowl 44 championship and MVP feel? How about being the NFL’s all-time passing yards leader? And the soon-to-be touchdown passes king?
12 Pro Bowl selections isn’t half bad, either. Brees didn’t do much to impress at the combine, but he was the classic example of “it’s now how you start but how you finish.”
1. Tom Brady
TB12 played four years at Michigan, but he was a backup for two of them. Brady never put up great stats, and when the man simply had no future in the NFL. At least, that’s what we thought after watching him at the combine.
Brady had a brutal 40-yard dash time of 5.28 seconds. It was one of the worst dash times EVER for a quarterback In his now-infamous combine photo. On top of that, Brady had a lackluster 24.5 inch vertical jump. Brady was a skinny kid who simply looked like he was disinterested and just wanted this whole thing done with.
At the 2000 draft, Brady waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, the New England Patriots drafted Brady in the sixth round with the 199th pick. And before we knew it, the NFL landscape had changed forever.
Brady has only become the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history, with six Super Bowls and three MVP Awards. He’s the consensus “GOAT” among NFL fans and analysts. Love him or hate him, Brady is the ultimate underdog story.
The best part is how absolutely nobody thought this guy would amount to much after a putrid combine showing. But hey, this is why Bill Belichick is the greatest coach ever. He saw the skinny and slow Michigan QB and turned him into an American sports icon. The usual.
What other NFL stars had horrible performances at the combine?
