The NFL Combine starts Wednesday in Indianapolis and it will give the top players in the upcoming NFL Draft a chance to impress the scouts while wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Depending on how much importance your team puts on the combine, it's either a normal scouting day or the most important weekend in the history of human civilization.
The biggest event at the combine is the 40-yard dash, and the draft position of the participants can be altered drastically by a poor performance in the event. Here are the top finishers in the history of the 40-yard dash, as well as some of the other more important events, via Top End Sports.
40-Yard Dash
4.24 - Rondel Melendez, WR, Eastern Kentucky - 1999
4.24 - Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina - 2008
4.28 - Jerome Mathis, WR, Hampton - 2005
4.28 - Champ Bailey, CB, Georgia - 1999
4.28 - DeMarcus Van Dyke, DB, Miami - 2011
4.28 - Jacoby Ford, WR, Clemson - 2010
Bench Press (Most 225-Pound Reps)
51 - Justin Ernest, DT, Eastern Kentucky - 1999
49 - Stephen Paea, DT, Oregon State - 2011
45 - Mike Kudla, DE, Ohio State - 2006
45 - Leif Larsen, DT, Texas-El Paso - 2000
45 - Mitch Petrus, G, Arkansas - 2010
Vertical Jump (In Inches)
46 - Gerald Sensabaugh, FS, North Carolina - 2005
45 1/2 - Derek Wake, OLB, Penn State - 2005
45 - Chris McKenzie, CB, Arizona State - 2005
45 - Chris Chambers, WR, Wisconsin - 2001
45 - Donald Washington, CB, Ohio St. - 2009
10-Yard Dash
1.40 - Cedric Peerman, RB, Virginia - 2009
1.40 - Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina - 2008
1.40 - Justin King, CB, Penn State - 2008
1.41 - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee State - 2008
20-Yard Shuttle
3.73 - Kevin Kasper, WR, Iowa - 2001
3.76 - Deion Branch, WR, Louisville - 2002
3.78 - Dunta Robinson, CB, South Carolina - 2004
3.79 - Champ Bailey, CB, Georgia - 1999
Three-Cone Drill
6.42 - Jeff Maehl, WR, Oregon - 2011
6.44 - Buster Skrine, DB, Tennessee-Chattanooga - 2011
6.45 - Sedrick Curry, CB, Texas A&M - 2000
6.48 - Rogers Beckett, FS, Marshall - 2000
For more on the combine and all things Steelers football, head over to Behind the Steel Curtain. For more on the upcoming NFL Draft, check out Mocking the Draft.