17 NFL greats who were terrible at the scouting combine

The NFL Scouting Combine is a useful tool for comparing a college star’s athletic traits against the rest of his draft class. It’s not the ultimate judgment of a player’s worth or an airtight indicator of his future success.

The Combine is littered with prospects who absolutely lit up their workouts in Indianapolis only to go on to forgettable NFL careers. They’re cantilevered by a smaller group of players whose unimpressive performance in front of scouts obscured the great pro players they’d become. Jerry Rice, arguably the most famous example of this, only ran a 4.71 second 40-yard dash at the Combine — a time that would have ranked dead last among all linebackers in 2023.

Rice, of course, went on to become the greatest wide receiver in NFL history. He stands alone atop the league’s record books when it comes to receiving stats, but not when it comes to struggling in workouts before putting together a long, fruitful career.

So who else fits that bill?