Auburn DE Carl Lawson Was The 2017 Combine Bench Press Champion

by Chase Stuart on April 10, 2017

Lawson, when he’s not on the bench press

Yesterday, I looked at the best weight-adjusted 40-yard dash times at the 2017 NFL Combine. The Browns are expected to select Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett with the first overall pick, and with good reason: he had the 2nd best weight-adjusted 40-yard dash time, and he comes in 2nd place again today in the height and weight adjusted bench press.

In 2015, Clemson/Atlanta Falcon Vic Beasley was the bench press champion, using a formula involving expected bench press reps based on a player’s height and weight. That turned out to be pretty predictive of future success; on the other hand, last year’s winner was Nebraska fullback Andy Janovich, who wound up being a 6th round pick and a minor contributor as a rookie with the Broncos.

The best-fit formula to project bench press reps for the 2017 Combine was:

17.401 -0.3354 * Height (Inches) + 0.1075 * Weight (Pounds)

Using that formula, Garrett — at 76 inches and 272 pounds — would be projected to bench press 225 pounds for 21.1 reps. In reality, Garrett produced a whopping 33 reps, or 11.9 more than expected. The only way to top him was Auburn’s Carl Lawson, who measured at 74 inches and only 261 pounds. Being shorter is better, but being lighter is worse, and Lawson would be projected using the regression to have 20.6 reps on the bench press. Instead, he had 35, or 14.4 more than projected, easily the largest margin at the combine.

Rk	Name	College	Pos	Ht	Wt	Exp BP	Bench Press	Diff
1	Carl Lawson	Auburn	DE	74	261	20.6	35.0	14.4
2	Myles Garrett	Texas A&M	DE	76	272	21.1	33.0	11.9
3	Derek Rivers	Youngstown St.	DE	76	248	18.6	30.0	11.4
4	Samaje Perine	Oklahoma	RB	71	233	18.6	30.0	11.4
5	Aviante Collins	TCU	OT	76	295	23.6	34.0	10.4
6	Forrest Lamp	Western Kentucky	OG	76	309	25.1	34.0	8.9
7	Solomon Thomas	Stanford	DE	75	273	21.6	30.0	8.4
8	Ben Gedeon	Michigan	ILB	74	244	18.8	27.0	8.2
9	Isaac Asiata	Utah	OG	75	323	27.0	35.0	8.0
10	Brendan Langley	Lamar	CB	72	201	14.9	22.0	7.1
11	Dylan Donahue	West Georgia	DL	75	248	18.9	26.0	7.1
12	Marquel Lee	Wake Forest	LB	75	240	18.0	25.0	7.0
13	Matt Milano	Boston College	OLB	72	223	17.2	24.0	6.8
14	Josh Carraway	TCU	DE	75	242	18.3	25.0	6.7
15	Jeremiah Ledbetter	Arkansas	DE	75	280	22.3	29.0	6.7
16	Elijah Qualls	Washington	DT	73	313	26.6	33.0	6.4
17	Jermaine Eluemunor	Texas A&M	OL	76	332	27.6	34.0	6.4
18	Christopher Carson	Oklahoma St.	RB	72	218	16.7	23.0	6.3
19	Jack Tocho	N.C. State	CB	72	202	15.0	21.0	6.0
20	Justin Davis	USC	RB	73	208	15.3	21.0	5.7
21	Haason Reddick	Temple	DE	73	237	18.4	24.0	5.6
22	Freddie Stevenson	Florida St.	FB	72	234	18.4	24.0	5.6
23	Dalvin Cook	Florida St.	RB	70	210	16.5	22.0	5.5
24	Ashton Lampkin	Oklahoma St.	CB	72	189	13.6	19.0	5.4
25	Pharaoh Brown	Oregon	TE	78	255	18.6	24.0	5.4
26	Noble Nwachukwu	West Virginia	DE	73	268	21.7	27.0	5.3
27	Ifeadi Odenigbo	Northwestern	DL	75	258	20.0	25.0	5.0
28	Carroll Phillips	Illinois	DE	75	242	18.3	23.0	4.7
29	Wayne Gallman	Clemson	RB	72	215	16.4	21.0	4.6
30	Raekwon McMillan	Ohio St.	LB	74	240	18.4	23.0	4.6
31	Takkarist McKinley	UCLA	DE	74	250	19.4	24.0	4.6
32	De'Veon Smith	Michigan	RB	71	223	17.6	22.0	4.4
33	Jonathan "Rudy" Ford	Auburn	S	71	205	15.6	20.0	4.4
34	Jeremy Clark	Michigan	CB	75	220	15.9	20.0	4.1
35	Gerald Everett	South Alabama	TE	75	239	17.9	22.0	4.1
36	Taco Charlton	Michigan	DE	78	277	21.0	25.0	4.0
37	O.J. Howard	Alabama	TE	78	251	18.2	22.0	3.8
38	Art Maulet	Memphis	DB	70	189	14.2	18.0	3.8
39	Billy Brown	Shepherd	WR	76	255	19.3	23.0	3.7
40	Jadar Johnson	Clemson	S	72	206	15.4	19.0	3.6
41	Harvey Langi	BYU	DE	74	251	19.6	23.0	3.4
42	Josh Jones	N.C. State	S	73	220	16.6	20.0	3.4
43	Curtis Samuel	Ohio St.	WR	71	196	14.6	18.0	3.4
44	Eric Saubert	Drake	TE	77	253	18.8	22.0	3.2
45	Robert Davis	Georgia State	WR	75	219	15.8	19.0	3.2
46	Riley Bullough	Michigan St.	LB	74	226	16.9	20.0	3.1
47	Jonnu Smith	Florida International	TE	75	248	18.9	22.0	3.1
48	Speedy Noil	Texas A&M	WR	71	199	15.0	18.0	3.0
49	Isaac Rochell	Notre Dame	DT	76	280	22.0	25.0	3.0
50	Eddie Vanderdoes	UCLA	DT	75	305	25.0	28.0	3.0
51	Shaquill Griffin	Central Florida	DB	72	194	14.1	17.0	2.9
52	Adam Shaheen	Ashland	TE	78	278	21.1	24.0	2.9
53	JoJo Mathis	Washington	OLB	74	266	21.2	24.0	2.8
54	DeAngelo Henderson	Coastal Carolina	RB	67	208	17.3	20.0	2.7
55	Rushel Shell	West Virginia	RB	70	227	18.3	21.0	2.7
56	Kenny Golladay	Northern Illinois	WR	76	218	15.3	18.0	2.7
57	Jamal Carter	Miami	S	73	218	16.3	19.0	2.7
58	David Njoku	Miami	TE	76	246	18.3	21.0	2.7
59	Al-Quadin Muhammad	Miami	DE	75	253	19.4	22.0	2.6
60	Noah Brown	Ohio St.	WR	74	222	16.4	19.0	2.6
61	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan	LB	71	213	16.5	19.0	2.5
62	Vince Biegel	Wisconsin	OLB	75	246	18.7	21.0	2.3
63	J.J. Dielman	Utah	C	77	309	24.8	27.0	2.2
64	Tyus Bowser	Houston	LB	75	247	18.8	21.0	2.2
65	Michael Tyson	Cincinnati	S	73	204	14.8	17.0	2.2
66	James Conner	Pittsburgh	RB	73	233	18.0	20.0	2.0
67	T.J. Watt	Wisconsin	LB	76	252	19.0	21.0	2.0
68	Tedric Thompson	Colorado	FS	72	204	15.2	17.0	1.8
69	Nico Siragusa	San Diego St.	OG	76	319	26.2	28.0	1.8
70	Jamal Adams	LSU	S	72	214	16.2	18.0	1.8
71	Matt Dayes	N.C. State	RB	69	205	16.3	18.0	1.7
72	T.J. Logan	North Carolina	RB	69	196	15.3	17.0	1.7
73	Evan Engram	Mississippi	TE	75	234	17.4	19.0	1.6
74	Charles Harris	Missouri	DE	75	253	19.4	21.0	1.6
75	Tashawn Bower	LSU	DE	77	250	18.4	20.0	1.6
76	Cole Hikutini	Louisville	TE	76	247	18.5	20.0	1.5
77	Sean Harlow	Oregon St.	OG	76	303	24.5	26.0	1.5
78	Ethan Pocic	LSU	C	78	310	24.6	26.0	1.4
79	Corey Clement	Wisconsin	RB	70	220	17.6	19.0	1.4
80	Amara Darboh	Michigan	WR	74	214	15.6	17.0	1.4
81	Dan Feeney	Indiana	OG	76	305	24.7	26.0	1.3
82	Kendell Beckwith	LSU	ILB	74	243	18.7	20.0	1.3
83	Ben Boulware	Clemson	ILB	72	238	18.8	20.0	1.2
84	Corey Levin	Tennessee-Chattanooga	OL	76	307	24.9	26.0	1.1
85	Vincent Taylor	Oklahoma St.	DT	75	304	24.9	26.0	1.1
86	Chidobe Awuzie	Colorado	CB	72	202	15.0	16.0	1.0
87	Tanoh Kpassagnon	Villanova	DE	79	289	22.0	23.0	1.0
88	Obi Melifonwu	Connecticut	S	76	224	16.0	17.0	1.0
89	Nate Gerry	Nebraska	S	74	218	16.0	17.0	1.0
90	Larry Ogunjobi	North Carolina Charlotte	DT	75	305	25.0	26.0	1.0
91	Rasul Douglas	West Virginia	CB	74	209	15.0	16.0	1.0
92	Jourdan Lewis	Michigan	CB	70	188	14.1	15.0	0.9
93	Delano Hill	Michigan	SS	73	216	16.1	17.0	0.9
94	Danny Isidora	Miami	OG	75	306	25.1	26.0	0.9
95	Kareem Hunt	Toledo	RB	70	216	17.1	18.0	0.9
96	Cethan Carter	Nebraska	TE	75	241	18.1	19.0	0.9
97	Zay Jones	East Carolina	WR	74	201	14.2	15.0	0.8
98	William Likely	Maryland	FS	67	180	14.3	15.0	0.7
99	Ejuan Price	Pittsburgh	DE	71	241	19.5	20.0	0.5
100	Ryan Ramczyk	Wisconsin	OT	78	310	24.6	25.0	0.4
101	Chuck Clark	Virginia Tech	DB	72	208	15.6	16.0	0.4
102	Dion Dawkins	Temple	OG	76	314	25.7	26.0	0.3
103	Antonio Garcia	Troy	OT	78	302	23.7	24.0	0.3
104	Keon Hatcher	Arkansas	WR	73	212	15.7	16.0	0.3
105	Sam Rogers	Virginia Tech	FB	70	231	18.7	19.0	0.3
106	Isaiah Ford	Virginia Tech	WR	73	194	13.8	14.0	0.2
107	Budda Baker	Washington	S	70	195	14.9	15.0	0.1
108	Malik McDowell	Michigan St.	DT	78	295	22.9	23.0	0.1
109	K.D. Cannon	Baylor	WR	71	182	13.1	13.0	-0.1
110	Duke Riley	LSU	OLB	72	232	18.2	18.0	-0.2
111	Hardy Nickerson	Illinois	LB	72	232	18.2	18.0	-0.2
112	Tyler Orlosky	West Virginia	C	75	298	24.3	24.0	-0.3
113	D'Onta Foreman	Texas	RB	72	233	18.3	18.0	-0.3
114	Garrett Sickels	Penn St.	DE	75	261	20.3	20.0	-0.3
115	Nate Hairston	Temple	CB	72	196	14.3	14.0	-0.3
116	Brian Allen	Utah	DB	75	215	15.4	15.0	-0.4
117	Carlos Watkins	Clemson	DT	75	309	25.5	25.0	-0.5
118	George Kittle	Iowa	TE	76	247	18.5	18.0	-0.5
119	Stevie Tu'ikolovatu	USC	DT	73	331	28.5	28.0	-0.5
120	Elijah Hood	North Carolina	RB	71	232	18.5	18.0	-0.5
121	Erik Austell	Charleston Southern	OT	75	301	24.6	24.0	-0.6
122	Aaron Jones	Texas-El Paso	RB	69	208	16.6	16.0	-0.6
123	Devine Redding	Indiana	RB	68	205	16.6	16.0	-0.6
124	Justin Evans	Texas A&M	S	72	199	14.6	14.0	-0.6
125	Ricky Seals-Jones	Texas A&M	WR	77	243	17.7	17.0	-0.7
126	Bucky Hodges	Virginia Tech	TE	78	257	18.9	18.0	-0.9
127	Jerome Lane	Akron	WR	74	226	16.9	16.0	-0.9
128	Charles Walker	Oklahoma	DT	74	310	25.9	25.0	-0.9
129	Adam Bisnowaty	Pittsburgh	OT	78	304	23.9	23.0	-0.9
130	JuJu Smith-Schuster	USC	WR	73	215	16.0	15.0	-1.0
131	Trent Taylor	Louisiana Tech	WR	68	181	14.0	13.0	-1.0
132	Jayon Brown	UCLA	LB	72	231	18.1	17.0	-1.1
133	Ethan Cooper	Indiana (PA)	OG	74	322	27.2	26.0	-1.2
134	Amba Etta-Tawo	Syracuse	WR	73	208	15.3	14.0	-1.3
135	Jordan Leggett	Clemson	TE	77	258	19.3	18.0	-1.3
136	Cordrea Tankersley	Clemson	CB	73	199	14.3	13.0	-1.3
137	Brian Hill	Wyoming	RB	73	219	16.5	15.0	-1.5
138	Marlon Mack	South Florida	RB	71	213	16.5	15.0	-1.5
139	Desmond King	Iowa	S	70	201	15.5	14.0	-1.5
140	Travis Rudolph	Florida St.	WR	72	189	13.6	12.0	-1.6
141	Connor Harris	Lindenwood	ILB	71	242	19.6	18.0	-1.6
142	Ben Braden	Michigan	OG	78	329	26.6	25.0	-1.6
143	John Johnson	Boston College	S	72	208	15.6	14.0	-1.6
144	Artavis Scott	Clemson	WR	70	193	14.7	13.0	-1.7
145	Kyle Fuller	Baylor	CB	72	190	13.7	12.0	-1.7
146	Scott Orndoff	Pittsburgh	TE	77	253	18.8	17.0	-1.8
147	Darrell Daniels	Washington	TE	75	247	18.8	17.0	-1.8
148	Elijah McGuire	Louisiana-Lafayette	RB	70	214	16.9	15.0	-1.9
149	Alvin Kamara	Tennessee	RB	70	214	16.9	15.0	-1.9
150	Chunky Clements	Illinois	DT	74	301	24.9	23.0	-1.9
151	Carlos Henderson	Louisiana Tech	WR	71	199	15.0	13.0	-2.0
152	Jonathan Allen	Alabama	DE	75	286	23.0	21.0	-2.0
153	Damarius Travis	Minnesota	S	73	206	15.1	13.0	-2.1
154	Zach Pascal	Old Dominion	WR	74	219	16.1	14.0	-2.1
155	Alex Anzalone	Florida	LB	75	241	18.1	16.0	-2.1
156	Daeshon Hall	Texas A&M	DE	77	266	20.2	18.0	-2.2
157	D.J. Jones	Mississippi	DT	73	319	27.2	25.0	-2.2
158	James Quick	Louisville	WR	72	186	13.2	11.0	-2.2
159	Fadol Brown	Mississippi	DE	76	273	21.2	19.0	-2.2
160	Hayden Plinke	Texas-El Paso	TE	76	264	20.3	18.0	-2.3
161	Zach Cunningham	Vanderbilt	LB	75	234	17.4	15.0	-2.4
162	Taywan Taylor	Western Kentucky	WR	71	203	15.4	13.0	-2.4
163	Jalen Myrick	Minnesota	CB	70	200	15.4	13.0	-2.4
164	Avery Gennesy	Texas A&M	OT	75	318	26.4	24.0	-2.4
165	Nate Theaker	Wayne St. (MI)	OG	77	315	25.4	23.0	-2.4
166	Dare Ogunbowale	Wisconsin	RB	71	213	16.5	14.0	-2.5
167	Collin Buchanan	Miami (OH)	OL	77	316	25.5	23.0	-2.5
168	Montravius Adams	Auburn	DT	76	304	24.6	22.0	-2.6
169	Malachi Dupre	LSU	WR	74	196	13.6	11.0	-2.6
170	Damontae Kazee	San Diego St.	CB	70	184	13.7	11.0	-2.7
171	Tanzel Smart	Tulane	DT	73	296	24.7	22.0	-2.7
172	Kevin King	Washington	CB	75	200	13.7	11.0	-2.7
173	Cameron Sutton	Tennessee	CB	71	188	13.8	11.0	-2.8
174	Pat Elflein	Ohio St.	C	75	303	24.8	22.0	-2.8
175	Dorian Johnson	Pittsburgh	OG	77	300	23.8	21.0	-2.8
176	Taylor Moton	Western Michigan	OG	77	319	25.9	23.0	-2.9
177	Jalen Robinette	Air Force	WR	75	220	15.9	13.0	-2.9
178	Gabe Marks	Washington St.	WR	71	189	13.9	11.0	-2.9
179	Ryan Switzer	North Carolina	WR	68	181	14.0	11.0	-3.0
180	Jessamen Dunker	Tennessee St.	OG	76	318	26.1	23.0	-3.1
181	Krishawn Hogan	Marian (IN)	WR	75	222	16.1	13.0	-3.1
182	Jarron Jones	Notre Dame	DT	78	316	25.2	22.0	-3.2
183	Gareon Conley	Ohio St.	CB	72	195	14.2	11.0	-3.2
184	Josh Harvey-Clemons	Louisville	S	76	217	15.2	12.0	-3.2
185	Chad Hansen	California	WR	74	202	14.3	11.0	-3.3
186	Shalom Luani	Washington St.	S	71	202	15.3	12.0	-3.3
187	Jahad Thomas	Temple	RB	70	190	14.3	11.0	-3.3
188	Tarik Cohen	North Carolina A&T	RB	66	179	14.5	11.0	-3.5
189	Jon Toth	Kentucky	C	77	307	24.6	21.0	-3.6
190	Drew Morgan	Arkansas	WR	72	190	13.7	10.0	-3.7
191	Treston Decoud	Oregon St.	CB	74	206	14.7	11.0	-3.7
192	Keevan Lucas	Tulsa	WR	69	192	14.9	11.0	-3.9
193	Daniel Brunskill	San Diego St.	OT	77	273	20.9	17.0	-3.9
194	Demarcus Walker	Florida St.	DE	76	280	22.0	18.0	-4.0
195	Jehu Chesson	Michigan	WR	75	204	14.2	10.0	-4.2
196	Stacy Coley	Miami	WR	72	195	14.2	10.0	-4.2
197	Caleb Brantley	Florida	DT	75	307	25.2	21.0	-4.2
198	Marlon Humphrey	Alabama	CB	72	197	14.4	10.0	-4.4
199	Jordan Morgan	Kutztown (PA)	OG	75	309	25.5	21.0	-4.5
200	Javarius Leamon	South Carolina St.	OL	79	332	26.6	22.0	-4.6
201	Josh Malone	Tennessee	WR	75	208	14.6	10.0	-4.6
202	Ryan Glasgow	Michigan	DT	75	302	24.7	20.0	-4.7
203	Victor Bolden	Oregon St.	WR	68	178	13.7	9.0	-4.7
204	Lorenzo Jerome	St. Francis (PA)	S	70	204	15.8	11.0	-4.8
205	Eddie Jackson	Alabama	S	72	201	14.9	10.0	-4.9
206	Rodney Adams	South Florida	WR	73	189	13.2	8.0	-5.2
207	Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	RB	71	202	15.3	10.0	-5.3
208	Quincy Adeboyejo	Mississippi	WR	75	197	13.4	8.0	-5.4
209	Jalen "Teez" Tabor	Florida	CB	72	199	14.6	9.0	-5.6
210	Kendrick Bourne	Eastern Washington	WR	73	203	14.7	9.0	-5.7
211	Fred Ross	Mississippi St.	WR	73	213	15.8	10.0	-5.8
212	Tarell Basham	Ohio	DE	76	269	20.8	15.0	-5.8
213	Shelton Gibson	West Virginia	WR	71	191	14.1	8.0	-6.1
214	Noel Thomas	Connecticut	WR	72	205	15.3	9.0	-6.3
215	Chase Roullier	Wyoming	C	76	312	25.4	19.0	-6.4
216	Zach Banner	USC	OT	80	353	28.5	22.0	-6.5
217	Avery Moss	Youngstown St.	DE	75	264	20.6	14.0	-6.6
218	Kevin Davis	Colorado St.	LB	74	235	17.8	11.0	-6.8
219	Julie'n Davenport	Bucknell	OT	79	318	25.1	18.0	-7.1
220	Cameron Lee	Illinois St.	OG	77	312	25.1	18.0	-7.1
221	Jaleel Johnson	Iowa	DT	75	316	26.2	19.0	-7.2
222	Jerry Ugokwe	William & Mary	OT	79	321	25.4	18.0	-7.4
223	Davon Godchaux	LSU	DT	75	310	25.6	18.0	-7.6
224	Channing Stribling	Michigan	CB	73	188	13.1	5.0	-8.1
225	Darreus Rogers	USC	WR	73	216	16.1	8.0	-8.1
226	Donnel Pumphrey	San Diego St.	RB	68	176	13.5	5.0	-8.5
227	David Sharpe	Florida	OT	78	343	28.1	19.0	-9.1
228	Sam Tevi	Utah	OT	77	311	25.0	15.0	-10.0

Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine had a remarkable 30 reps, 7 more than any other player at his position.

At the bottom of the list are a pair of tackles from power 5 schools in Sam Tevi and David Sharpe. At 311 pounds, Tevi somehow only put up 15 reps; the other players with 15 reps ranged from 180 pounds to 269 pounds. Sharpe was the 2nd heaviest player at the combine, but for comparison, five of the other seven heaviest players had at least 25 reps.

Tagged as: Combine

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