Running backs are going to be a big deal at the 2018 NFL Combine, just as they are every year. Saquon Barkley is the top at the position in this year’s draft, but there are other talented backs available as well.
NFL Combine results: Winners and losers from the RBs on the bench press, 40-yard dash, and other workouts
Saquon Barkley is the main attraction among the group, but there’ was more to see.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Sony Michel out of Georgia had a big year with the Dawgs, nearly winning a national title while averaging 7.9 yards per carry during the season. Fellow SEC backs Kerryon Johnson and Derrius Guice are also expected to be among the backs taken earlier in the draft.
Winners:
There’s one player who’s the clear-cut winner of the running backs group: Saquon Barkley. Barkley officially ran a 4.40 40-yard dash at 6’ and 233 pounds. He’s tied at the top of the field on the bench press with 29 reps, and his vertical of 41” was better than the likes of Julio Jones. Barkley was the top running back in the draft coming into the combine. He cemented his status in Indianapolis.
Georgia’s Nick Chubb didn’t stand out to the extent that Barkley did, but you can hardly blame him. He still tied with Barkley for 29 bench press reps, and he added a respectable 4.52 40-yard dash, a 10’8 broad jump, and a 38.5 vertical to round out his fine performance.
Losers:
USC’s Ronald Jones injured his hamstring running the 40, and he wasn’t able to participate in drills after that. Hopefully for his sake he’ll be healthy enough to bounce back at his pro day on March 21.
Oklahoma’s Dimitri Flowers had a rough day across the board. His 4.83 40-yard dash was actually worse than the best offensive lineman this year and was the second-worst time of the entire running backs group. His 9’1 broad jump was 10” shorter than the historical average for running backs. He rounded it out with a slow 7.45 on the three-cone drill.
Here’s what happened throughout their drills, and all of the measurements that stood out.
40-yard dash
Who helped themselves:
- Penn State’s Saquon Barkley continued to impress with an unofficial 4.41 in his first run of the 40-yard dash. He ran an unofficial 4.42 in his second run, and his official time would be a 4.40 flat.
Here’s Barkley’s run:
- Georgia’s Nick Chubb ran an unofficial 4.53, a solid time to go along with his 29 bench press reps, in which he scored the same as Barkley. He ran an unofficial 4.58 on his second run, and officially had a 4.52, along with Alabama’s Bo Scarbrough.
- Derrius Guice ran an official 4.49, further helping his stock in the draft. He needed it after posting just 15 reps on the bench press Thursday.
- NC State’s Nyheim Hines ran an unofficial 4.39, on his first run, just slightly better than that of Barkley. His official time would come out to be 4.38. He’s not one of the bigger names in this running back class, but having one of the best 40 times is one of the best things a back can do for his stock.
- Kalen Ballage of Arizona State, and Rashaad Penny of San Diego State both had the third fastest times with 4.46.
- Northwestern’s Justin Jackson ran a 4.50 and a 4.53 unofficially. Mayock had him a bit slower than that, and it should serve him well going into the draft.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- USC’s Ronald Jones appeared to pull up during the middle of his 40-yard dash, and ran an unofficial 4.66. NFL Network’s Kim Jones reports that he injured his right hamstring, and it would later be reported by Rich Eisen that he was done for the day. Depending on what happens, he could make up for it at USC’s pro day on March 21.
- Oklahoma’s Dimitri Flowers ran an unofficial 4.83, which was behind offensive lineman Brian O’Neill’s 4.80 from Pitt. It was the second worst time next to Western Michigan’s Donnie Ernsberger, who ran an unofficial 4.84.
- Auburn’s Kamryn Pettway ran an unofficial 4.75 on his first run, and a 4.85 on his second run. He already wasn’t one of the more highly-regarded prospects at the position, and did himself no favors with his respective times.
Vertical jump
Who helped themselves:
- Saquon Barkley continued his good Combine performance with a 41” vertical jump. The historical average is 35.1”, and his 41” is two shy of the running back record since 2006.
Here’s his air-ness:
- Alabama’s Bo Scarbrough had a 40” vertical jump, showing off his explosiveness in his lower body after a less than impressive bench press performance.
- Georgia’s Nick Chubb, who went rep for rep with Barkley on the bench press, had a 38.5” vertical. It’s obviously not as good, but it’s still above average, and good for somebody his size.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- Western Michigan’s Jarvion Franklin rough afternoon continues with a 30” vertical. He was playing behind the eight ball coming in, and things haven’t gotten better for him.
- Arizona State’s Demario Richard had the lowest vertical at 29.5”, and wasn’t particularly strong in any of the other events for measuring.
Broad jump
Who helped themselves:
- Alabama’s Bo Scarbrough appeared to set a new running back high since 2006 in the event with an 11’4 jump, though it came in officially at 10’9”:
- Georgia’s Nick Chubb posted a 10’8” broad jump, nearly a foot better than the historical position average of 9’11”. He’s already performed well at the Combine, and doing well on the board jump only further shows his lower body strength. Northwestern’s Justin Jackson also jumped 10’8”.
- Kerryon Johnson of Auburn leaped 10’6” on his broad jump, one of the better numbers of the group. It was a nice complement to his 40” vertical.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- Dimitri Flowers of Oklahoma, Darrell Williams of LSU, and Jarvion Franklin of Western Michigan both posted just 9’1” on the broad jump, well below the historical average for the position.
3-cone drill
Who helped themselves:
- Northwestern’s Justin Jackson continued to impress, this time with a 6.81 3-cone time.
- Fordham’s Chase Edmonds, who ran a 4.55 on his 40 earlier in the day, had the best 3-cone time with a 6.79.
- Oregon’s Royce Freeman had the third best time with a 6.90, adding to what has been a respectable Combine by him with a 4.54 40, and 9’10” broad jump.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- Oklahoma’s Dimitri Flowers ran a 7.45 on the drill, it wasn’t a great afternoon for him.
- NC State’s Nyheim Hines did a 7.18 on the 3-cone, which might make him a tad worse than it did this afternoon, after running a 4.38 40-yard dash.
20-yard shuttle
Who helped themselves:
- Chase Edmonds out of Fordham impressed when he tied for the top time of 4.07. That’s well below the historical average of 4.22 seconds.
- Justin Jackson from Northwestern tied with Edmonds at 4.07.
- Oregon’s Royce Freeman and Oregon State’s Ryan Nall tied for the second-best time with 4.16.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- Alabama’s Bo Scarbrough posted a below-average time of 4.34.
- The slowest time in the running backs crew was 4.35 seconds from Kalen Ballage of Arizona State.
Bench Press
The first test the running backs will face is the bench press, with the on-field drills coming Friday.
Who helped themselves:
- Barkley, who is expected to be the best running back out of the 2018 NFL Draft, put up a spectacular 29 reps of 225.
Here’s the Penn State product punching out his 29 reps:
- Nick Chubb followed up Barkley with 29 reps of his own. It’s a good showing for both backs, with most running backs falling in the teens last year, with some low-20s, and Samaje Perine’s 30.
- Chubbs’ teammate Sony Michel put up 22 reps, one of the better numbers this year. While not as impressive as Barkley and Chubb, it should help his stock.
Who didn’t help themselves:
- USC’s Ronald Jones is waiting until his pro day at the school to do his bench press. It doesn’t help or hurt him, but it’s noteworthy as one of the better backs in the class.
- LSU’s Derrius Guice, who is expected to be one of the better backs in the class, put up just 15 reps, nearly half of Chubb and Barkley’s total. The number is just below average, though his strength lies in his lower body.
- Kerryon Johnson of Auburn put up 11 reps, likely hurting his stock a bit as a middle of the pack prospect among the talented running back class.
- Alabama’s bruising back Bo Scarbrough managed 14 reps, which seems low considering his physical running style.
Here’s a summary of how the backs did collectively:
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