Thread: Bears Cap Projection [My Estimate]

Originally Posted by little bear

I wouldn't draft Travis Frederick. He's been a huge disappointment in Indy. Out of all the offensive linemen who participated in the 40-yard dash, Frederick tied for the second-slowest time. He was also near the bottom in reps on the bench press and his broad jump distance. He had an opportunity to solidify his standing and failed to do so based on how he performed compared to his fellow linemen.

The combine is not meant to replace tape and how a player performed in college football; it should only be used as a tiebreaker. Do not put much stock into the combine, here are the bench press records for the combine (this does not include Paea):

Tank Tyler (North Carolina State, 2007) and Isaac Sopoaga (Hawaii, 2004)

Bench Press Reps: 42

Since the NFL Combine records have been kept two players have notched 42 reps at their workout. Tank Tyler was the most recent to achieve the feat in 2007. Tyler played for the Chiefs from 2007 to 2009. In 2008 he started all 16 games for the Chiefs and only recorded 41 tackles. Since then Tyler has been a bench player for the Chiefs and then the Carolina Panthers.

Previous to Tyler, Isaac Sopoaga also recorded 42 reps at the NFL Combine in 2004. From 2004 to 2007 Sopoaga was used sparingly as a bench player for the San Francisco 49ers but from 2008 to 2010 Sopoaga has started all of the 49ers' game except for one. Sopoaga's best tackles total has been 41 and with his sacks high being 1.5.

Scott Young (BYU, 2005)

Bench Press Reps: 43

The rookie from BYU impressed a lot of scouts at the 2005 NFL Combine with 43 bench press reps. Young was drafted in the fifth round by the Philadelphia Eagles. Young has not started a single game yet but has gotten some playing time with the Eagles and Browns during his four-year career.

Brodrick Bunkley (Florida State, 2006)

Bench Press Reps: 44

The Florida State program has struggled through the 2000's but they still produce NFL talent. Bunkley had 44 reps at the NFL Combine and was drafted in the first round by the Eagles. Bunkley has remained with the Eagles for five seasons and has recorded 111 solo tackles and 6 sacks in his career.

Mitch Petrus (Arkansas, 2010), Mike Kudla (Ohio State, 2006) and Leif Larsen (UTEP, 2000)

Bench Press Reps: 45

Three different players have matched the second best rep total at the NFL Combine. Mitch Petrus was tops in the bench press at last year's NFL Combine. His performance convinced the New York Giants to draft him in the fifth round. Mike Kudla at one time benched 610 lbs. but was not considered a great prospect. Kudla went undrafted in the NFL Draft, was picked up by Pittsburgh as a free agent but got injured early on and was cut. Leif Larsen didn't fare much better. Larsen made the Buffalo Bills squad in 2000 but played just 16 games in two seasons and has not played since 2001.

Justin Ernest (Eastern Kentucky, 1999)

Bench Press Reps: 51

The bench press at the NFL Combine is fun to watch but not necessarily the best judge of NFL talent. Justin Ernest, a defensive tackle out of Eastern Kentucky, has the record for the best bench press at the NFL Combine with 51 reps but never made it as player in the NFL.

Top 5 bench press records in NFL Combine history - NFL - Yahoo! Sports