The workouts are underway at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.
Offensive linemen and tight ends participated Friday in timing and testing drills as part of the annual evaluation of more than 300 draft-eligible prospects by scouts and coaches from all 32 NFL teams.
Click **here for top performances** of offensive linemen. Click **here for Mock Madness 2.0** to see the pre-combine projections.
There are drills that use easy to understand metrics like how fast a player can run 40 yards in a straight line or how many times he can bench press 225 pounds, and there are also agility and receiving drills like "the gauntlet" for tight ends and receivers that serve as eyeball tests for talent evaluators.
MyCole Pruitt, out of Southern Illinois, clocked the fastest time by a tight end in the 40, running it in 4.58 seconds, and Gerald Christian out of Louisville did 28 reps in the bench press.
What do those performances mean?
Tony Villiotti processed numbers to determine which measurable drill was most important to each position for **nationalfootballpost.com**. Villiotti looked at players who have started "one full season" and whether or not they were top performers among their position. He concluded a modest relation between top performances and starting roles.
Villiotti also broke down which drills were most important for each position and determined the 3-cone drill and the 40-yard dash had the strongest correlation for starting tight ends.
Golden Gophers star and Waconia native Maxx Williams put up top performances in several drills Friday. The redshirt sophomore is the son of center Brian Williams, a first-round pick of the New York Giants in 1989. He told reporters Wednesday that he laid out pros and consequences of leaving early or staying at Minnesota with his parents and decided he wanted to improve by going against the best.
The younger Williams said his father has emphasized to him how to be a pro and told him his whole life to be a gentleman. He said he considers strength his biggest weakness at this point, but feels that can change with more time in the weight room.
Tight ends
40-yard dash
MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois, 4.58 seconds
Wes Saxton, South Alabama, 4.65
Maxx Williams, Minnesota, 4.78
Clive Walford, Miami, 4.79
Blake Bell, Oklahoma, 4.80
Bench press
Gerald Christian, Louisville, 28 reps
Jeff Heuerman, Ohio State, 26
(tied) Jesse James, Penn State, 26
Nick O'Leary, Florida State, 21
E.J. Bibbs, Iowa State, 20
(tied) Nick Boyle, Delaware, 20
(tied) Randall Telfer, USC, 20
(tied) Clive Walford, Miami, 20
Vertical jump
MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois, 38.0
Jesse James, Penn State, 37.5
Wes Saxton, South Alabama, 36.0
Clive Walford, Miami, 35.0
Maxx Williams, Minnesota, 34.5
20-yard shuttle
Nick Boyle, Delaware, 4.23 seconds
Blake Bell, Oklahoma, 4.32
MyCole Pruitt, 4.37
(tie) Maxx Williams, 4.37
Cameron Clear 4.38
60-yard shuttle
Nick Boyle, Delaware, 11.65 seconds
Blake Bell, Oklahoma 11.81
MyCole Pruitt, Southern Illinois, 11.85
Cameron Clear, Texas A&M, 12.07
Jesse James, 12.15
Note: 3-cone drill times from tight ends had not been posted
