After going through media interviews on Friday, the tight ends took to the field Saturday at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.
Standout tight ends from across the country participated in timing and testing drills at Lucas Oil Stadium, striving to best showcase their speed and agility to NFL coaches and scouting personnel.
Prior to the combine, Penn State's Mike Gesicki was ranked as the third and fourth best tight end in the class by NFL Media analysts Mike Mayock and Bucky Brooks, respectively.
Gesicki built on an already-strong reputation by placing first among his position group in the broad jump (10 feet, 9 inches), 3-cone drill (6.76 seconds), 20-yard shuttle (4.10 seconds) and the 60-yard shuttle (11.33 seconds). He tied for first with a time of 4.54 seconds in the 40-yard dash and placed second among tight ends in the bench press with 22 reps, behind South Dakota State's Dallas Goedert, who lifted 225 pounds 23 times.
Here were the top performers for tight ends at the combine:
40-yard dash
Combine position record: Vernon Davis, Maryland, 4.38 seconds in 2006
T1. Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 4.54 seconds
T1. Jaylen Samuels, N.C. State, 4.54
T3. Mark Andrews, Oklahoma, 4.67
T3. Hayden Hurst, South Carolina, 4.67
T5. Ian Thomas, Indiana, 4.74
T5. Jordan Thomas, Mississippi State, 4.74
Bench press (225 pounds)
Combine position record: Orson Charles, George, 35 reps in 2012
- Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State, 23 reps
- Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 22 reps
- Chris Herndon, Miami, 21 reps
- David Wells, San Diego State, 20 reps
T5. Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan, 18 reps
T5. Ryan Izzo, Florida State, 18 reps
T5. Jaylen Samuels, N.C. State, 18 reps
T5. Durham Smythe, Notre Dame, 18 reps
Broad jump
Combine position record: Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech, 11 feet, 2 inches in 2017
- Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 10 feet, 9 inches
- Ian Thomas, Indiana, 10-3
- Jaylen Samuels, N.C. State, 10-1
T4. Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan, 10-0
T4. Hayden Hurst, South Carolina, 10-0
T4. Dalton Schultz, Stanford, 10-0
- Marcus Baugh, Ohio State, 9-9
Vertical jump
Combine position record: Dorin Dickerson, Pittsburgh, 43.5 inches in 2010
Official results have not been posted on NFL.com.
3-cone drill
Combine position record: Dennis Pitta, BYU, 6.72 seconds in 2010
- Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 6.76 seconds
- Jaylen Samuels, N.C. State, 6.93
- Dalton Schultz, Stanford, 7.00
- Will Dissly, Washington, 7.07
- Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan, 7.13
20-yard shuttle
Combine position record: Anthony Scheffler, Western Michigan, 4.01 seconds in 2006
- Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 4.10 seconds
- Ian Thomas, Indiana, 4.20
T3. Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan, 4.23
T3. Durham Smythe, Notre Dame, 4.23
- Jaylen Samuels, N.C. State, 4.28
60-yard shuttle
Combine position record: Michael Mills, Tulsa, 11.05 in 2006
- Mike Gesicki, Penn State, 11.33 seconds
- Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan, 11.43
- Durham Smythe, Notre Dame, 11.86
- Marcus Baugh, Ohio State, 12.06
- Will Dissly, Washington, 12.12
