The Scouting Combine moved the bench press to the same day as on-field drills this year. That prompted most prospects to opt out of showing how many times they can bench 225 pounds.
Only 18 of 59 offensive linemen opted to lift Friday, the Associated Press reports. Other positions saw similar numbers of non-participants in the bench press.
“I’m just going to do it at my Pro Day,” Colorado linebacker Nate Landman said, via the AP. “My bench would be at 10 a.m., and my 40 is at 8 p.m. You don’t want to rile up and go back down and then try to rile back up again, which a lot of guys are finding out.
“And it’s a lot of stress, this whole process. And so, when I can relieve that by pushing some stuff to Pro Day, then why not? Just to be at peak performance.”
Organizers suggested the change was made to shorten the time players are in Indianapolis and came in response to previous post-combine surveys. Some players complained that soreness from the day after lifting impacted their workout results.
The Associated Press also indicated the schedule change was made to accommodate the shift of the workouts to prime time for television.
Zion Johnson, a guard from Boston College, has the most reps of participants thus far with 32.
