The biggest NFL Combine busts

The NFL Scouting Combine starts this week, and top prospects from colleges throughout the country will travel to Indianapolis to perform a series of physical challenges and medical evaluations that may determine their future in the NFL.

The combine, a controversial and somewhat archaic practice, could have the ability to skyrocket or tank a prospect’s draft stock. While there are a lot of factors that teams take into consideration while determining which players to sign, combine numbers frequently make headlines.

As we head into the 2022 combine, we looked back at some standouts in combines of the past whose performance didn’t quite translate to on-field success in the NFL, causing several teams to blow top-ten picks.

Mandarich himself refers to his time in Green Bay as a “bust” after a stellar combine performance in 1989 that led to him being selected second overall in that year’s NFL draft. At 330 lbs, he put up a 4.65-second 40-yard dash and completed 39 bench press reps, feats that were practically unheard of at the time.

But couldn’t live up to the expectations that come with being the second player selected in a class that included Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, and Derrick Thomas. He dealt with substance abuse issues during his time at Michigan State and with the Packers, which he referred to as a “poorly kept secret” that ended up doing him in.

However, Mandarich also told ESPN a few years ago that he still thinks that the combine holds some real value, “It’s not a great amount of value. I’d call it a spoke in the wheel,” he said. Mandarich stayed with the Packers for only three seasons, and after going through rehabilitation, he played for the Colts between 1996 and 1998 before retiring from the sport. GM

Mike Mamula was a combine standout on purpose. He had spent months of the off-season specifically preparing for the combine drills, including the bench press, the 40-yard dash, and even the now-defunct Wonderlic test. Mamula serves as the prime example of why the combine isn’t everything, and has quickly become an outdated and mostly useless way to determine the talent and fit of a prospective player.

A former defensive end at Boston College, Mamula was picked 7th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1995 draft. While he wouldn’t necessarily be described as an NFL bust, his five seasons in the league were not as productive as combine-based projections would have expected. He recorded 209 total tackles and was forced to retire due to injuries in 2000.

Perhaps this pick wouldn’t have looked quite so unfortunate had the Eagles not traded up for a higher draft pick with the Buccaneers, who used their lower pick to select a future DPOY and All-Pro in defensive tackle Warren Sapp. It’s not that Mamula shouldn’t have been drafted at all, but his combine performance raised his draft stock far higher than he actually deserved. - GM

The Raiders and speed — a combo that never fails to disappoint yet the Raiders always suspiciously crawl back to during draft season. Nebraska defensive back Fabian Washington blew the socks off NFL scouts in attendance with an unofficial 4.25 40-yard dash. He also demonstrated great leaping ability with a 41.5-inch vertical, which would definitely come in handy for a DB.

The Raiders took their shot on Washington with the 23rd overall pick, and he actually had a decent year in 2006, recording four interceptions and 15 passes defended in his sophomore year. However, injuries started to eat away at Washington. After leaving Oakland, Washington never played more than 14 games, and never started more than 12 in a single season. Although Washington did technically spend the 2011 season on the New Orleans Saints’ roster, he missed the entirety of the year on IR, and was never heard from again. - JH

Matt Jones was a standout QB at the University of Arkansas in the early 2000s, leading the Razorbacks to two nine-win seasons in a row that included two seven-OT victories. Standing 6-foot-6 at 242 lbs with a 4.37-second 40-yard dash, Jones was a combine darling — but not in the way you’d expect.

Jones was drafted as the 21st pick overall in 2005 by the Jacksonville Jaguars as a wide receiver. He’d never played wide receiver as a full-time position, and though he wasn’t necessarily bad — he ended up with 166 receptions for 2,153 yards in his four-season career with the Jags — his NFL career ended in 2009 after he was arrested for possession of illegal substances. He never played another game again. - GM

Georgia product David Pollack was too athletic to be a D-lineman in the NFL. At least, that’s what everyone thought after watching him perform at the 2005 NFL combine. Among all DL at the combine, Pollack finished 7th in the 40 (4.81), tied for fourth in the vertical (37 inches), tied for sixth in the broad jump (118 inches), and first in the shuttle by a long shot (3.9 seconds — next closest was 4.07).

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Pollack 17th overall and all in all, didn’t have a bad start to his NFL career. Pollack finished his rookie campaign with 4.5 sacks in just five games started. It seems he was taking to his new position fairly well and would likely be a stalwart piece of that Bengals’ defense for years to come. However, that all came to a screeching halt on September 17, 2006. Pollack suffered a broken sixth cervical vertebrae in a game against the Cleveland Browns. While medical professionals did say that Pollack could recover and potentially resume his career if the rehabilitation process went as planned, Pollack wound up retiring in 2008.

After retiring, Pollack started up a company called FanBan, which built banners for teams using professional photographs. In 2008, FanBan helped raise over $4,000 in YMCA Scholarships for underprivileged youth. In 2011, He joined ESPN’s College GameDay crew and has served as an analyst on that show ever since. - JH

The Baltimore Ravens have endured a streak of mediocre wide receiver play for quite some time now. In fact, the team hasn’t had a Pro Bowl or All-Pro wide receiver since Jermaine Lewis in 1998. Yes, Devin Duvernay was named a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro in 2021, but that was as a return specialist. This was also the case for Jacoby Jones in 2012, but the last time a legitimate wide receiver earned All-Pro or Pro Bowl recognition for the Baltimore Ravens was 1998.2007 draftee Yamon Figurs was supposed to break that streak when the Ravens selected him 74th overall. Not the earliest pick, but it was hard not to get excited for Figurs after what he was able to accomplish at the 2007 combine. His 4.3 40-yard dash remains one of the fastest in combine history, and he used that speed very well in his first season, returning one punt and one kickoff for touchdowns during his rookie campaign.

That was all Figurs was good for though. On offense, Figurs was useless. In his four year career, Figurs caught a whopping five passes. In all fairness, he did record one touchdown as well. He just couldn’t put his blazing speed to good use, and after two years in Baltimore, Figurs bounced around the league before vanishing altogether.Oh, Figurs also had 65 more opportunities on kickoff and punt returns in the final three years of his career. He never recorded another return touchdown.

Vernon Gholston was a record-setting defensive end at Ohio State between 2005 and 2007, recording 22.5 sacks and 87 tackles throughout his college career. At the 2008 combine, he tied the bench press score and ran a 4.58 with a 41-inch vertical. The New York Jets were enamored, and used their sixth overall pick on Gholston, who barely saw the field in the three years that the Jets kept him on the roster.

Mostly used for special teams, Gholston never found his fit within the Jets defensive scheme and was waived in 2011. He recorded 17 tackles in 2009, the year after his rookie season, essentially averaging one tackle per game — not exactly the production you want out of the guy you used your sixth overall pick on. He never recorded a sack. - GM

Hey look! It’s another receiver that people overhyped because “Wow! He’s fast!” Darrius Heyward-Bey was supposed to be the next Cliff Branch when the Raiders drafted him seventh overall in 2009, ahead of Biletnikoff Award winner (best WR in college football) Michael Crabtree. Unlike Branch, who received a bust earlier this year, Heyward-Bey was labeled a bust.

The Maryland product had one of the best combines of all-time in 2009, leading all wide receivers in 40 time (4.25), finishing top-5 in both the vertical and broad jumps, and top-ten in both the shuttle and bench press. Yeah, you could imagine the size of the mischievous grin that befell Al Davis’s face when he saw those numbers.

Unfortunately, Heyward-Bey didn’t pan out. He had a solid third season, racking up 64 receptions for 975 yards and four touchdowns, but he could never reproduce similar numbers. His highest yardage total outside of that 2011 season was 2012 where he totaled only 606 yards through the air. After that, his highest total was 366 yards. Yeah, I think the 49ers would take what they got out of Crabtree any day of the week. - JH

Mitch Petrus had one of the most interesting transitions in college sports. At the University of Arkansas, he spent his first two years as a running back then transitioned to the offensive line for his senior season. You’d think somebody with that history wouldn’t fare very well in the strength categories.

Petrus dominated, putting up 45 reps on the bench press. While Petrus didn’t have the insane time in the 40 like you’d expect a former running back to have (5.38 seconds), his strength alone was enough for the New York Giants to take a flier on him in the fifth round.

Petrus started four games in his NFL career, which actually isn’t too terrible for a fifth-round draft pick. He was out of the league after three seasons. He did win a Super Bowl in New York though, and that’s more than most people on this list can say. - JH

Another great member of the 2010 Draft class, Bruce Campbell was another offensive lineman that lasted only three seasons in the NFL.

There was already some buzz surrounding Campbell heading into the combine, but after measuring just over 6-foot-6 with an arm length of 36.25 inches and weighing in at 314 pounds, people started to get excited. All of those figures were elite for an offensive tackle prospect.

As the combine progressed, Campbell only improved his draft stock. The hefty Maryland tackle ran a 4.85 40-yard dash, the fastest of any offensive lineman that year, and was the fourth-fastest time ever posted by an offensive lineman to that point. It was a time that most tight ends would struggle to achieve, yet Campbell did it at 314 pounds.

Campbell also made jaws hit the floor with his vertical (32 inches) and his bench press (34 reps). Somehow though, Campbell plummeted down draft boards and fell to the Raiders at 106th overall. It’s still unknown what scouts saw in Campbell that caused such an unexpected drop in draft stock, but whatever it was, the scouts were obviously right. - JH

Much like Washington, Taylor Mays was a speedy DB prospect with a great vertical. While falling slightly behind Washington in both categories (4.31 40, 41-inch vertical), Mays was able to accomplish those feats at 6’3”, 220 pounds compared to Washington’s 5’10.5”, 188 pounds. That speed combined with those measurables piqued many NFL scouts’ interests. Mays was the perfect strong safety candidate.

He was not the perfect strong safety. After just one disappointing season in San Francisco, the 49ers shipped the second-round pick to Cincinnati…for a seventh-round pick. Think about that. After one year, Mays had shown so little that the 49ers were willing to send him away for something so minuscule as a seventh. I’m usually not one for giving up on highly-touted prospects so easy, but the 49ers were clearly in the right.

Mays started just nine games the rest of his career. He recorded no interceptions, one forced fumble, and one sack. His most notable play came in his rookie season. In a loss to Atlanta, Mays blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. His most notable play didn’t even come on defense. It came on special teams. That’s a bust if I’ve ever seen one. - JH

Since the dawn of time, mankind has had but one goal: “I. MUST. GO. FAST!” In the world of sports, no event best exemplifies this human desire better than the combine’s 40-yard dash. Washington product John Ross has the fastest-ever official time at 4.22 seconds. That sort of game-breaking speed was sure to have a remarkable impact on the sport in the same way that Tyreek Hill and Chris Johnson did.

That didn’t quite happen.

Ross could never make the most of his speed. A lot of that has had to do with a slew of injuries Ross has faced. Through five seasons in the NFL, Ross has never played a full 16-game season. However, even when healthy, Ross hasn’t produced the “elite” deep threat numbers many experts thought he would. While he’s shown flashes of greatness, he’s clearly more a product of the people around him taking most of the attention. - JH