Of all the football players from Alabama’s high schools and colleges who’ve tried to reach the pros, which one has had the best broad jump at the annual NFL Scouting Combine?
A new group of players will have an opportunity to provide the answer to that question this week in Indianapolis, where the NFL Scouting Combine will be held for the 38th time.
For the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, players will arrive for testing and interviews in four groups and will be on the field from Thursday through Sunday.
Since 2000, the best broad jump by a player with Alabama football roots is 135 inches (11 feet, 3 inches), accomplished by Julio Jones and Darius Slayton.
The combine record of 147 inches was set by Connecticut cornerback Byron Jones in 2015.
The best broad jump for a player from an Alabama high school or college at last year’s combine was 133 inches by Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton, Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson and Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson, a former Crimson Tide defensive back.
That tied them for fourth in this century among the broad jumps by combine participants with Alabama football roots and pushed Jason Allen (Muscle Shoals), Sammie Coates (Leroy, Auburn) and Henry Ruggs III (Lee, Alabama) out of the state’s top 10. That trio had 131-inch jumps.
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Records from the early combines can be sketchy, but complete data is available starting with the 2000 event. These are the top 10 broad jumps since that year by players with Alabama football roots:
1. Julio Jones, Foley High School, Alabama: 135 inches
After the 2011 combine, the Atlanta Falcons traded five draft picks to the Cleveland Browns for the No. 6 choice to select the wide receiver. He went on to be an All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowler seven times. Jones caught 914 passes for 13,703 yards and 66 touchdowns. A state champion in the long jump, triple jump and high jump at Foley, Jones made his combine jump with a broken bone in his foot.
1. Darius Slayton, Auburn: 135 inches
After the 2019 combine, the New York Giants drafted the wide receiver in the fifth round. A hamstring injury delayed Slayton’s debut to Game 3 of the season, then he caught 48 passes for 740 yards and eight touchdowns. No rookie from Auburn had ever caught more than five TD passes in the NFL, and no rookie in 2019 caught more TD passes than Slayton did. After leading the Giants in receiving yards as a rookie, Slayton did the same in the 2020, 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2024, Slayton had 39 receptions for 573 yards and two touchdowns.
3. Carl Stewart, Auburn: 134 inches
After the 2008 combine, the fullback was not drafted. Stewart signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he did not make the team. He also spent some time with the San Francisco 49ers, but Stewart never appeared in an NFL game.
4. Jakorian Bennett, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School (Mobile): 133 inches
After the 2023 combine, the Las Vegas Raiders drafted the cornerback in the fourth round. The former Maryland standout has played in 24 games, with 11 starts, in two seasons.
4. Jermaine Burton, Alabama: 133 inches
After the 2024 combine, the Cincinnati Bengals drafted the wide receiver in the third round. Burton caught four passes for 107 yards and returned 13 kickoffs for a 29.1-yard average as a rookie.
4. Khyree Jackson, Alabama: 133 inches
After the 2024 combine, the Minnesota Vikings drafted the cornerback from Oregon in the fourth round. Jackson died in a traffic accident on July 6.
4. Jeremiah Moon, Hoover High School: 133 inches
After the 2022 combine, the Florida linebacker was not drafted. Moon spent the 2022 season on the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, then played in eight games, with one start, for the Ravens in 2023 and 13 games, with one start, for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.
4. Jaylin Simpson, Auburn: 133 inches
After the 2024 combine, the Indianapolis Colts drafted the defensive back in the fifth round. Simpson spent his rookie season on the Colts’ practice squad until being claimed for the New York Jets’ active roster with four weeks left in the campaign. He did not play in a regular-season game in 2024.
9. Christian Harris, Alabama: 132 inches
After the 2022 combine, the Houston Texans drafted the linebacker in the third round. Injuries have kept Harris off the field for 20 games during his three seasons. But in 2023, Harris recorded 101 tackles, and he’s played in four postseason games.
9. Ricardo Louis, Auburn: 132 inches
After the 2016 combine, the Cleveland Browns drafted the wide receiver in the fourth round. He caught 18 passes for 205 yards and returned nine kickoffs for an 18.2-yard average as a rookie and caught 27 passes for 357 yards in 2017. A neck injury caused Louis to miss the 2018 season, a knee injury sidelined him during the 2019 season and the Miami Dolphins released him at the end of training camp for the 2020 season.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X @AMarkG1.
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