Record Holders for NFL Combine and Where They are Now

The NFL combine is where athletes get to show off their freaky athleticism and size. With the combine being today I wanted to highlight the stars of the NFL combine and see how their NFL career went.

Measurements

Height: Mike Rockwood 6’10.4”.

Mike Rockwood played college football at University of Las Vegas. He only played in 11 games in 1994. In 1996, invited to the combine because of his staggering size at 6 feet 10 inches and weighed 345 pounds. He struggled with the the drills at the combine.

Signed to the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad in 1996. He was elevated from the practice squad for 3 games in December. However, he did not play a snap during any of those games. In 1997 he was on the roster as a tackle, he did not play in any games. Lastly, in 1998 he was on the injury reserve and was released after that year.

After the NFL it seems like he is living a quiet and normal life. I did find his LinkedIn profile. He looks like he is doing well, and has his family in his profile picture. He works now as safety manager at The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.

Weight: Jamie Nails 387 lbs

Jamie Nails went to Florida A&M, and drafted to the Buffalo Bills as a guard in 1997 in the 4th round. In college he was a D1-AA (FCS) All-American in 1996 and had great success at Florida A&M. After the draft it seemed like the Bills made him lose weight, because he played at 335 lbs.

Jamie Nails with the Dolphins at training camp.

In the NFL he was pretty successful. He only played in 2 games his rookie year in 1997. In 1998 and 1999 he started in 3 different games and played in all 16 in both seasons. Then, in 2000 he started all 16 games, and after the Bills would trade him to the Dolphins. In 2001 he started in 14 games and injured for the last 2 games. In 2002 he started in 15 games and was inactive for one of them.

After the NFL he was charged with mortgage fraud by stealing the identity of a teammates’ grandmother. He did not get any jail time for it. In 2021 he was added to the Florida A&M hall of fame.

Arm length: Jon Harris 38.5 inches

Jon Harris played college football at University of Virginia. The Eagles took him in the final round.

Jon Harris card when he was on the Eagles.

In the NFL he played only 2 seasons with the Eagles and started in 8 and played in 24 games with 59 tackles and 2 sacks. In 1999 he was traded to the Browns and was traded again in 1999 after week 2 to the Packers, he did not play a single game that season. He was on the Raiders practice squad in 2000 and 2001. In 2001 he went overseas and played with the Berlin Thunder.

After the NFL there is not much information about him. He does not have social media accounts. He does live in Swedesboro, New Jersey and is living a quiet life there.

Hand Length: Deforest Buckner 11.75 inches

Deforest Buckner played college football at Oregon University. He finished at Oregon with 232 total tackles, 36 tackles for loss, and 18 sacks. The 49ers drafted him in the first round.

In the NFL he was with the 49ers for 4 years and started all the games he was active for. During his time with the 49ers he had a position change from D-end to D-tackle. After the 49ers traded him to the Colts in 2020 and is still playing there to this day. He has been in 3 pro bowls, 1 2nd teams all pro, and 1 1st team all pro.

Lowest Body Fat Percentage: DK Metcalf 1.6%

DK Metcalf running the 40 yard dash at the NFL combine.

DK Metcalf went to Ole Miss and finished with 1228 yards and 14 TDS during his 3 years there. Did not see the crazy production as other superstar receivers but his size and speed got him to get drafted in the 2nd round to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks were correct drafting him in 2019. DK has not had a season under 900 yards, with 3 1000 yard seasons. Over his 5 years he has had 43 touchdowns. The NFL selected him for 2 pro bowls and one 2nd team all-pro. DK is so far having great production for a young wideout, going into year 6 we are going to see if he can keep this production up.

Jumps and Bench Press

Vertical Jump: Gerald Sensabaugh 46 inches

Gerald Sensabaugh went to East Tennessee State University for 3 years and then transferred to North Carolina University for his senior year. Vertical jump is not the only record he holds, his junior year he blocked a staggering 5 punts which is a single year conference record. During that season he blocked 3 punts in a single game against Georgia Southern University, and that ties the single game record for the NCAA. The Jaguars selected him in the 5th round in 2005.

Gerald Sensabaugh playing DB for the Cowboys.

He played 4 seasons with the Jaguars. Then, the Jaguars released him and then he signed to Dallas. He played in 112 games and started in 84 of them. He finished with 411 total tackles and 14 picks. While with the Jaguars, they had to release him because of his 3 arrests. With the Cowboys he was a versatile player making plays on defense and special teams. The Cowboys released him and he retired that same year.

After the NFL Gerald tried to get into politics. In 2018 he ran for mayor in Sullivan County, Tennessee and lost. He then ran for Alderman in 2021 in Kingsport, Tennessee and got 8th out of 9 people running.

Broad Jump: Byron Jones 12’3” (World Record)

Bryon Jones broad jumping at the combine.

Byron Jones went to University of Connecticut. During college he was used all over the backend of the defense playing both safety and corner. With his world record broad jump of 12 feet and 3 inches, his draft stock went up a lot and the Cowboys drafted him in the first round in 2015.

In the NFL he played Free Safety for the Cowboys for 3 seasons. With the Cowboys in 2018 he got switched him to Corner and this was his best season of his career and in 2018 the NFL selected him for his only Pro Bowl. In 2019 he got a 82 million dollar contract with the Dolphins and that made him the highest paid Corner ever. In 2021 he tore his achilles and missed the 2022 season. He failed a physical during the 2023 season and was released by the Dolphins. He tweeted out in 2023 that he could not run or jump because of the NFL’s medicine so his comeback to the league is unlikely.

Bench Press: Justin Ernest 51 reps

Justin Ernest went to Eastern Kentucky University. He was 1997 All-Ohio Valley conference pick. He had a tough time his senior year with injuries. The Saints would sign him to their practice for one year in 1999. He never played a down in the NFL and was never on a team again. The only update I saw was an article saying he was worth 3 million dollars if that is true that is great for him. Not much else besides that.

Sprints and Agility

20 yard shuttle: Kevin Kasper 3.73

Kevin Kasper went to University of Iowa, and almost 2000 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his 4 years there. Half of his production came from his senior year where he had 1010 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Broncos drafted him in the 6th round in 2001.

During the NFL he became a kick return specialist because of his quickness. He averaged 24 yards per return over the 39 games he played. He was on the Broncos in 2001. In 2002 he was with the Broncos, Seahawks, and Cardinals. He had stayed with the Cardinals in 2003. Had won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2004. In 2005 he was with the Texans practice squad and played in arena football with the Chicago Rush. In 2006 he was with the Seahawks and Vikings practice squads and then signed to the Lions active roster. Then was on the Browns practice squad in 2008. That’s 9 different pro teams in a 7 year period.

Kevin Kasper with his family at his son’s Kyle Casper spring game.

After the NFL, he has a family, with 2 sons and one daughter. His one son Kyle is following in his father’s footsteps. He is a wideout for Oregon University. From his Instagram it looks like he spends most of his time going to Cardinal’s and Oregon Duck games, and spending time with his wife and kids.

3 Cone Drill: Jordan Thomas 6.28

Jordan Thomas went to Oklahoma University. He had a 25 game stretch during his sophomore and junior year where he defended 21 passes and had 7 picks. Issues off the field got him suspended twice and he was arrested in December of 2015 and during the summer of 2016 he was arrested for assault. During his senior year his production went down because of injuries that kept him off the field. He had only 2 passes defended and 1 pick. Because of the injuries and off the field issues he went undrafted to the Eagles.

In the NFL the Eagles cut him before the 2018 season started. No other team in the NFL signed him and he never played a down in the NFL. In 2019 he played for both the Columbus Destroyers and San Antonio Commanders. In 2022 he played for the Wichita Force and had one of the most skilled interceptions I have ever seen. His Instagram is jayytee2 check it out to see the pick. Sadly the team shut down in 2022 and I do not see any updates of him playing somewhere else.

40 yard dash: John Ross III 4.22

John Ross went to Washington University. He showed his versatility on the field having 1700 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns (17 of them his senior year). Also having a pick and 18 tackles and having 4 kick return touchdowns. He did all this in 3 years, he did not play his 2015 season because of a torn ACL, this would be a foreshadow of the rest of his career. With his speed and production in college the Bengals took a chance and took him in the first round in the 2017 draft.

In the NFL, his rookie season he had only one touch for a 12 yard rush that he fumbled and was benched after. Because of the fumble, he did not play another down that year because of injury. In 2018 he had 21 receptions and 210 yards with 7 touchdowns. That is crazy having a touchdown on every 3 catches. In 2019 he had his most yards and receptions which were 28 receptions and 506 yards with 3 touchdowns. Then, in 2020 he only played in 3 games because of injury and holding out for a trade earlier in the season. In 2020 he was picked up by the Giants and he only had 11 receptions with 224 yards with 1 touchdown. In 2023 he signed with the Chiefs and before the season started he announced he was retiring.

After the NFL since it has only been a year there is not much to update. He has not been posting on social media much. If he does it is with family who he seems to spend a lot of time with.

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References:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39592073/nfl-combine-viral-stars-40-yard-dash-bench-press-long-jump

https://www.sportskeeda.com/nfl/how-much-dk-metcalf-s-body-fat-a-peek-seahawks-wr-s-physique#:~:text=According%20to%20NFL%20Network’s%20Ian,the%20validity%20of%20Rapoport’s%20report.

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/nfl-hand-sizes-scouting-combine/

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/how-does-the-nfl-measure-arm-length-at-the-nfl-combine/#:~:text=As%20for%20the%20longest%20arm,without%20needing%20to%20bend%20down.

https://nflcombineresults.com/nflcombinedata.php?year=all&pos=OT&college=&proday=off

https://247sports.com/longformarticle/2024-nfl-combine-ranking-the-strongest-players-in-history-227765432/#2373376

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39592073/nfl-combine-viral-stars-40-yard-dash-bench-press-long-jump

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/wonderlic-scores-nfl-highest-lowest-combine-history/e60oggcptcx616ly9p96bmt7q

https://www.topendsports.com/sport/gridiron/nfl-draft-results-top.htm

http://static.espn.go.com/nfl/profiles/profile/3688.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Buffalo_Bills_season