INDIANAPOLIS — In a day that saw several players, including Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and Florida’s Jachai Polite, cut short their on-field workouts at the NFL’s scouting combine due to injuries, Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield may have suffered the most serious injury of all.
Sheffield, who came to the combine with many personnel executives in the league ranking him as a middle- to late-round draft pick, suffered what multiple sources said was a torn pectoral muscle during the bench press Sunday. The defensive backs invited to the combine went through the bench press — repetitions of 225 pounds — Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium and will have the remainder of their on-field work Monday, which is the last day of the combine.
The 5-11 3/8, 193-pound Sheffield was expected to be one of the fastest players invited to the combine. He is the second Ohio State player in the last two years to suffer a pectoral injury in the bench press at the combine.
At the 2018 combine, former Ohio State center Billy Price, who was eventually selected in the first round of the draft (21st overall) by the Cincinnati Bengals, suffered a torn pectoral muscle.
Sheffield, who played two seasons for the Buckeyes after transferring from Alabama, had a chance to raise his draft stock at least some in Indianapolis given his athleticism and explosiveness. Many scouts saw him as one of the best overall athletes on the draft board, but a player who needed far more consistency in his game.
While Sheffield should be ready for the start of the 2019 season, the injury almost certainly means he will not be able to participate in the Buckeyes’ on-campus pro day later this month.
But Sheffield was just one of several players who saw his combine work ended prematurely. Alexander suffered an upper left leg injury in his second 40-yard dash attempt Sunday and did not complete his workout.
And Polite’s workout ended when he told scouts he had a hamstring injury. Clemson linebacker Tre Lamar also ended his bench press effort as he grabbed his right shoulder and the right side of his chest.