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NFL combine: Top 10 marks of all time in every drill

Who are the NFL’s ultimate workout warriors? Touchdown Wire compiles the best performances in NFL scouting combine history.

The NFL Scouting Combine has developed into the ultimate pro football talent showcase over the past several decades.

Prospects travel to Indianapolis looking to boost their stock for the NFL draft by performing in seven events: 40-yard dash, bench press (225-pound repetitions), vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle run and 60-yard shuttle run.

This year, 324 draft-eligible participants and top prospects are slated to participate in the combine as they hope to catch the eyes of talent evaluators from around the league. John Ross, Brandin Cooks and Byron Jones are just a few of the athletes who have dazzled scouts and raised their profiles at the combine in recent years.

With all that in mind, Touchdown Wire compiles the top 10 marks in each event in the history of the NFL combine below:

The NFL’s 60 best free agents for the 2022 season

NFL free agency is right around the corner, and Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield and Doug Farrar have assembled their list of the best impending free agents.

NFL coaches and executives (well, most NFL coaches and executives) are going to converge on the city of Indianapolis for the scouting combine through the first week of March. But as much as the focus will be on interviewing and evaluating draft prospects there, the equivalent view will be on those current NFL players who will hit the open market at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 16 when the new league year begins.

Teams are already able to apply franchise tenders to those impending free agents they don’t want to lose, and deals can be done in that context. The legal tampering period begins on Monday, March 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET, when teams can negotiate with players who will be free agents two days later. Players and teams can agree to deals before the March 16 deadline, but no deals can be made official until the new league year begins.

With all this in mind, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield and Doug Farrar have assembled their list of the NFL’s top 60 impending free agents, with Mark covering offense, and Doug on defense. These are the best players who will be on the open market once the new league year begins, and can do the most to improve their next — or possibly current — teams.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Football Outsiders, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).

The NFL’s top 30 defensive free agents

With NFL free agency right around the corner, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar drops his top 30 impending free agents on the defensive side of the ball.

NFL coaches and executives are going to converge on the city of Indianapolis for the scouting combine through the first week of March. But as much as the focus will be on interviewing and evaluating draft prospects there, the equivalent view will be on those current NFL players who will hit the open market at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 16 when the new league year begins.

With all this in mind, here are our top 30 defensive free agents — the players who will be on the open market once the new league year begins, and can do the most to improve the defenses of their new — or old — teams.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Football Outsiders, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).

The NFL’s top 30 offensive free agents

Are you a fan of an NFL team that needs help on offense? You can start here, with the top offensive free agents in the NFL.

The “packaged hope” portion of the NFL season kicks off in a few days, as NFL free agency gets underway as the NFL Scouting Combine draws to a close. The beauty of this part of the calendar is that fans of all 32 teams can talk themselves into being on the verge of putting together a Super Bowl roster.

Hence the idea of packaged hope.

How the next few weeks play out will go a long way towards shaping not only the 2022 NFL draft, but the entire 2022 NFL season. Last year saw teams like the New England Patriots spend heavily in free agency, and that culminated in a return to the postseason for Bill Belichick and the Patriots. Can another team put together a similar turnaround?

Those looking for help on the offensive side of the football might start here. Here are the Top 30 offensive free agents.

Shaq stats: Where does Shaquille O’Neal rank all time in each statistical category?

Shaquille O’Neal is one of the NBA’s most dominant player. Where do Shaq’s regular season stats rank all time?

It’s hard to over-estimate the impact Shaquille O’Neal made during his time as a pro. Not only was he one of the most dominant NBA players of all time, but he was a darling of pop culture. From MVPs and rings to movies, hip hop, and video games, Shaq put his big fingerprints just about everywhere.

Despite being one half of one of the messiest NBA breakups, O’Neal was one of the Association’s most prominent players for nearly two decades. Shaq has career averages of 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game – no wonder he goes by Superman.

O’Neal is one of the undisputed best players in NBA history. How do his career regular season stats stack up?

NBA Power Rankings: How each team fares at the All-Star break

Rookie Wire took a look at the NBA through games played on Thursday and ranked each team from worst to first.

The NBA pulled out all of the stops to celebrate its 75th-anniversary season over the weekend, highlighted by the greatest gathering of players during halftime of the All-Star Game from Cleveland, Ohio.

From Michael Jordan to LeBron James, and everyone in between, the league honored eight NBA decades of players that were the best to ever play. The festivities offered an incredible look at how the league has evolved over the years and the next wave of players that will take over.

PHOTOS: 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland

With All-Star Weekend now officially wrapped up, teams and players will now embark on the final two months of the season. The level of urgency for some teams will be at a season-high as they look to solidify their places in the playoff race.

To make further sense of it all, Rookie Wire took a look at the NBA and ranked each team from worst to first. We come back each week and provide our latest assessment on the best teams and those that are rising.

Ranking the most dramatic breakups in NBA history

NBA breakups can be particularly messy. What are the biggest on-court divorces in NBA history?

When superstar NBA players break up, it’s a big deal. Basketball is a game driven by personality and relationships. Chemistry, cohesion, and trust are essential for winning. Putting multiple stars together is often the key to success in the NBA. But when those relationships fall apart, the results can be explosive.

Not every superstar duo or trio is built on friendship. Players don’t need to be best buddies, they just need to work well together. That said, with so much time spent together, such high stakes work, and such big personalities, even the most cordial professional NBA relationship can fall apart.

Whether through free agency or trade, the NBA has seen some intense breakups over the years. Here are the most important ones: