The 2024 NFL Combine delivered some of the best shows of athleticism in recent memory every day of the event, including Xavier Worthy setting the 40-yard dash record at 4.21. Yet, it was the last day of the event that stole the show, with some of the best pound-for-pound athletes popping up when the offensive line went through drills in Indianapolis.
NFL Combine Reaffirms the Star Power of the 2024 OL Class
A whopping 33 offensive linemen scored an 8.00 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) or better this year.
Two different records were set by this group, with South Dakota State OT Garret Greenfield setting the record for the vertical jump at 38.5″ and Wisconsin center Tanor Bortolini posting the fastest 3-cone time for a center ever at 7.16 seconds, beating Jason Kelce’s mark of 7.22 seconds
Just nine interior offensive linemen last year broke the 8.00 RAS mark. There were 10 guards who hit that mark last week at the NFL Combine. In 2022, five total offensive tackles broke that mark. This year? 14, almost triple.
The record for offensive tackles taken in the first round of the NFL Draft is seven, which seems likely to be broken this season.
Joe Alt, Olu Fashanu, Taliese Fuaga, JC Latham, Troy Fautanu, Amarius Mims, and Tyler Guyton have been consistently mocked in the first round, all seeming like locks after this weekend.
Those players alone would tie the record at seven. Adding in Graham Barton, who is seemingly a first-round lock as well but has been projected at different positions, would break it.
With BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia and Arizona’s Jordan Morgan being potential first-round players, that number could get up to 10 first-round offensive tackles alone — completely shattering the record. Just five total offensive linemen went Round 1 last year and nine the previous year. This year, there could be 10 in just the offensive tackle group.
Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson is a projected first-rounder after a standout Senior Bowl and NFL Combine. Some even have him as a top-15 player in this class.
There’s also been buzz about West Virginia center Zach Frazier sneaking into Round 1 as well, bringing the potential list to 12 total offensive linemen linked to the first round.
There were 60 total offensive linemen drafted in the first round from 2010-2020; 2024 could have a fifth of that total selected in just one class. Likewise, from 2020 to 2023, 26 offensive linemen were selected in the first round, with 2024 alone potentially reaching half that number.
I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a class like this.
Talented OL Depth Throughout
The numbers at the top are jarring, but this offensive line class also boasts some pretty inspiring depth for Days 2 and 3.
The NFL invited 70(!) offensive linemen to the Combine this year, a testament to the strength of this class. While some of them, such as Yale’s Kiran Amegadjie, did not test, it’s evident that this class boasts a deep roster of NFL-caliber talents.
Some of those 70 likely will not get drafted, but it’s possible for this group to set a record as well when you compare it to previous draft classes.
Here is a list of the total offensive linemen selected in the last several drafts:
- 2023: 43
- 2022: 49
- 2021: 46
- 2020: 47
- 2019: 40
You’d have to project nearly a third of the offensive linemen invited to the Combine won’t get drafted for them not to match the average of the previous five drafts, something I don’t foresee with the dearth of OL talent in the NFL and the talent of this draft class.
From the players projected to go on Day 2 in Amegadjie, Cooper Beebe, and Christian Haynes to the depth of Day 3 with players like Matt Lee, Dylan McMahon, Jarrett Kingston, and Josiah Ezirim, the 2024 Draft class projects as arguably the strongest of the last decade — perhaps even further back.
KEEP READING: Top OTs in the 2024 NFL Draft
The NFL Combine reaffirmed that belief and should bring plenty of reinforcements to the NFL, which desperately needs that influx of OL talent now more than ever.
All the 2024 NFL Draft resources you need — the draft order, the top QBs, the Top 100 prospects, and the full 2024 Big Board — right at your fingertips at Pro Football Network!
