JJ Watt, Houston Texans
It’s entirely possible that J.J. Watt is a super soldier, secretly engineered in the farmlands of Wisconsin. That’s the only possible explanation for a man who stands 6-foot-6, weighs 290 pounds, squats 700 pounds, and barely has an ounce of fat on his body. At the 2011 NFL combine, Watt did 34 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press (incredible strength) and then cleared a 61-inch box jump (incredible athleticism).
He’s the only player in NFL history to have multiple seasons with 20 or more sacks; not even Reggie White or Lawrence Taylor can say that. There might be guys who are faster, and there might be guys who are stronger, but there might not be a single player in NFL history with the insane combination of strength and athleticism that J.J. Watt possesses.
Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
When Saquon Barkley was a superstar running back at Penn State, many of his teammates said that he would prefer to work out with the tight ends and linebackers — who tend to be stronger than the skill position guys — and he would absolutely humiliate everyone when he walked in the weight room.
At the NFL combine, he did 29 repetitions of 225lbs on the bench press (that’s 10 more reps than linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, one of the top linebackers in the 2018 NFL Draft). In the off-season, Barkley was recorded carrying a 225lb “trap bar” up a steep hill, as part of a workout.
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