STRONGEST Players In NFL History

 

As one of the most physical sports in the world football has always placed a premium on one particular attribute strength here are the pound-for-pound strongest players in NFL history

1 Larry Allen

Allen came into the league already possessing superhuman strength as he was reportedly benching 500 plus pounds by the time he left Sonoma state university in 1994 while that still would be an impressive max bench for the 6-3 325 pounds offensive lineman fast forward a few years and Allen somehow managed to top 700 pounds on the bench press as unbelievable as that may seem there is video proof of him benching 635 then 675 then 705 in the cowboy’s weight room he wasn't skipping leg day either as witnesses have said they've seen him squat 900 pounds before Allen didn't lose his strength as he got older either at the 2006 pro bowl at the age of 35 he won the bench press competition by hitting 43 reps at 225 pounds with ease Allen put the strength into good use on the football field as he bullied defenders in the trenches for years it helped him become a seven-time first-team all-pro and 11-time pro bowler he is widely considered the strongest player in NFL history

2 Andrew Billings

billings was another guy whose strength was already well developed before playing a down in the league coming out of baylor nfl.com had him ranked as the strongest player in college football billings probably could have claimed that top spot before even getting to waco 2. he set the texas high school powerlifting record that previously stood for 22 years and was held by future olympic weightlifter mark henry in the process of breaking henry's long-standing record billing showed just how multi-dimensional his strength is he squatted 805 pounds bench pressed 500 and dead lifted 705 pounds for a combined 2010 pounds and he did that before even graduating high school billings who was a defensive tackle with the browns this past season received some high praise from his position coach chris griffin who said he's the strongest guy I've ever seen he lifts our sled it's like 2 000 pounds

3 Vernon Davis

Davis leaned heavily on his strength as he wound up having a 14-year career where he established himself as one of the most reliable tight ends in the game he possessed a unique combination of strength and speed for his size where even though he was built like a linebacker he still ran like a wide receiver he was such a freak of nature that his nickname in college in Maryland was cyborg at Maryland Davis benched 460 pounds and squatted 685 while also power cleaning 355 for three reps then he showed off his special one-two punch of power and speed at the NFL combine where he got up 33 reps of 225 and ran a 438 40 yard dash for reference jj watt and aaron donald got 34 and 35 reps respectively so for Davis to be right there with him while also running a sub 440 shouldn't be possible but highlights his insane athleticism

4 James Harrison

looking back it's ironic how Harrison was originally viewed as too small to make the league one of the most feared linebackers in the game's history was actually released three times during his rookie year and even cut by the ravens the following season maybe those setbacks inspired Harrison to go even harder in the weight room as he turned himself into a ball of muscle at just six feet tall and 240 pounds what's crazy about harrison is it seemed like he only got stronger as he got older while most defenders aren't even still playing when they're 39 harrison was still lighting up opposing wide receivers and going viral for his workout videos at that age a workout video from 2017 showed him doing 675 pound hip thrusts hang cleans and reverse lunges at 3 15 405 pound decline presses 225 pound overhead triceps extensions and 1800 pound sled pushes even after his retirement videos still come out showing him benching over 500 pounds as the steelers condition coordinator Garrett guimont once put it no one works harder than James he's one of the most powerful players in the NFL

5 John Kuhn

Kuhn from one ripped steeler to another, the six foot two 260-pound offensive lineman spent 13 seasons in the league thanks to his ability to treat defenders like ragdolls he was so strong that he reportedly was squatting over 700 pounds back then stories of Kuhn's strength are much more than weight room tails too back in his day cbs used to hold world's strongest man contests on tv during NFL offseasons and Kuhn finished 4th in 78 and 79 and on both occasions, he only finished behind powerlifters or weightlifters like the majority of players on this list his strength was not fleeting as he maintained it throughout his career in his final season in the league the same year he turned 34 kuhn won cbs' strongest man in football contest fittingly he later became a strength and conditioning coach for the steelers

6 Terry Long

 His journey to make this list is almost as much of an underdog story as his making the NFL was at only 160 pounds long and played just half a season of high school football everything changed when he joined the army special forces put on 100 pounds of muscle and began benching over 400 pounds with a whole new body long went on to play football at east carolina when it was time for him to try to go pro long decided the best way to advertise himself to nfl teams would be by participating in a powerlifting meet his numbers were 837.7 squad 500 1.5 bench press and a near world record 865.3 deadlift for a total of 2204.5 pounds for context the winner of that year's super heavy class of the powerlifting world championships had a total of two thousand one hundred forty nine and a half pounds the 23 year old amateur long would have beaten out a 29 year old world champion it was a performance impressive enough to convince the steelers to draft him in the fourth round of the 1984 draft

7 Stephen Paea

Stephen Paya while the six foot one 300 pound defensive tackles seven-year NFL career isn't much to write home about does have a spot in NFL history thanks to his elite strength at the 2011 NFL combine paya did something nobody had done before and something nobody has done since bench pressed 225 pounds for 49 reps while some people say justin ernest hit 51 reps at the 99 combine it's not confirmed as paya holds the official title he also has some cushion there as nobody else has even broken 45 reps before we all know how much emphasis teams place on combine results so setting a bench press record there easily qualifies someone for this list

8 Chris Snee

chris snee snee spent 10 seasons in the nfl with the giants has a six foot three 310-pound offensive lineman where he could be seen pushing around defenders with ease another place he was seen by many doing some pushing was on the cover of powerlifting usa magazine in 2010 where he was pushing a tire powerlifting usa dubbed him the nfl's strongest man in that issue if anyone knows what qualifies someone for this list it's most likely that magazine it included an article about snee where it detailed his workouts he was benching over 600 pounds doing 425 pounds seated barbell front presses incline presses at 515 pounds and three to five reps of squats at over 600 pounds snee was in such crazy shape playing football that upon his retirement he dropped almost 100 pounds