NFL Combine 2020: RB, OL, ST measurements & weigh-in results

As the first group of players met with the media today at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, another batch of draft prospects was getting measured in for their full weigh-ins. The running backs, offensive linemen, and specialists all went through their first measurements of the week, and there were a few notable numbers coming from the measuring tapes.

The running back position has perhaps more variance in size than just about any other position on the football field. Linemen are big. Linebackers tend to be of a fairly similar build. Only receivers can seem to match the range of body sizes and styles that are present at tailback. This year’s running back class ranges from 5-foot-5 to 6-foot-3 and 188 pounds all the way up to 247, more or less matching the differences between the biggest and smallest wideouts at this year’s Combine.

Here’s a look at those numbers.

Notable among this group is Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor, who weighed in at 226 pounds, around his playing weight from 2019. Taylor coming in still at that mark is notable, because one player who he is often paired up with in draft analysis and in Big Ten football over the past years, Ohio State’s JK Dobbins, came in light. Dobbins measured 5-foot-9 ¹⁄₂ but just 209 pounds, almost 10 pounds lighter than his listed weight on the Buckeyes’ roster.

Those two will surely have their workouts compared when they take the field on Friday. Taylor is an exceptional sprinter, however, with high school track times as fast as 10.49 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Even at around 220 pounds last summer, he was reportedly running the 40 in the 4.3 range. His performance should be a fun workout to watch when Friday afternoon rolls around.

There are a couple of particularly big backs in this year’s class, however, with Boston College’s AJ Dillon measuring in around expected at 6003 and 247 pounds. Mike Warren from Cincinnati is also built like a bowling ball, matching Taylor’s 226-pound weigh in but at 1-1/8 inches shorter. The title of smallest player at the position this year goes to Arizona’s J.J. Taylor (no relation), who stands just 5-foot-5 ¹⁄₄ and 185 pounds.

On the offensive line, one player stands out above all the rest, literally speaking. That is South Carolina State’s Alex Taylor, a massive human at 6-foot-8 3/8 and a lean 308 pounds. Perhaps more impressive than his height, however, are his 11-1/4-inch hands and his 88-inch (that’s 7-foot-4) wingspan. Washington’s Trey Adams comes in a fraction of an inch shorter at 6-foot-8, but with only an 81-1/2-inch wingspan.

All of the linemen are going to be large humans by nature of their position, of course, with only one player measuring in shorter than 6-foot-1. That was Adams’ teammate Nick Narris, an interior lineman who fell in at 6-foot and 7/8-inch and 302 pounds.

Finally we have the specialists, and frankly there isn’t a ton to glean from this. The one standout on the large side is South Carolina punter Joseph Charlton, who came in at 6-foot-4 1/2. Still, he’s 1-1/8 inch shorter than Packers punter JK Scott.

Stay tuned for more from Indianapolis all week long. This group of players will meet with the media on Wednesday morning, while measurements keep going with the defensive linemen and linebackers.