It looks like 2024 will become a breakthrough year as it is becoming increasingly clear to sports fans around the world that American football is becoming one of the most popular sports in the world. It is also one of the most athletically demanding and high-paying. An athlete must be strong enough to fight off opponents and fast enough to rush across the football field. Football players who go through the NFL selection process are some of the best athletes in the United States, let’s find out the top 10 strongest players.
Aaron Donald
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 285 lbs
- Bench Press: 500 pounds (PR), 35 reps of 225 pounds
- Team: Los Angeles Rams
Fans know that Aaron Donald is one of the most powerful NFL players on this list. The 2018 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award winner has an incredible burst from the line and is adept at intercepting opposing teams’ offensive tackles.
Aaron began his professional career in 2014. He signed a four-year, $10.13 million contract with the LA Rams. In 2018, the NFL star player returned to the team with a $135 million contract.
Adrian Peterson
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 220 lbs.
- Bench Press: 295 pounds (PR), 23 reps of 225 pounds
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson takes the ball for 21 yards as he stiff arms Bears free safety Chris Conte in overtime. Peterson ran for 211 yards on 35 carries, and broke the 10,000-yard career rushing mark. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)
Peterson had a rough childhood. He came to the sport after witnessing his brother’s death. He used football as a coping mechanism for everything that was going on in his life.
Even in the final years of his career, Adrian is one of the strongest players in the NFL. Only a few other athletes can match Peterson in speed, strength, and fury. He uses his monstrous strength to break through the line of scrimmage.
Peterson’s coach at the University of Oklahoma swears that he could hold 80-pound dumbbells in each hand while jumping standing on top of a 36-inch-high wooden box.
Chris Carson
- Height: 5’11”
- Weight: 222 lbs.
- Bench Press: 23 reps of 225 lbs.
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
Chris Carson is definitely a fitness enthusiast. His upper-body workouts are brutal, and he regularly shares his workout videos on social media. Although Carson has struggled with several injuries throughout his career, he always manages to wow his opponents with spectacular comebacks.
Daniel Hunter
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 252 lbs.
- Bench Press: 25 reps of 225 lbs.
- Team: Minnesota Vikings
Daniel Hunter is an absolute tank. Besides his gym prowess and insane muscle mass, Daniel is very limber thanks to his Pilates training. He is known for doing 80-pound biceps curls with ease.
Larry Allen
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 325 lbs.
- Bench Press: 705 pounds (PR), 43 reps of 225 pounds.
Larry Allen is one of the greatest NFL players ever. By the time he graduated from college in 1994, Allen was lifting over 500 pounds. Dominating the offensive line in 1998 for the Dallas Cowboys, Larry Allen squeezed over 600 pounds and threw 800 pounds.
Larry Allen could have made a great powerlifter. As a 7-time first-team All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowler, Larry earned the title of “Strongest Man in the NFL” and was elected to the Football Hall of Fame.
DK Metcalf
- Height: 6’4″
- Weight: 235 lbs.
- Bench Press: 27 reps of 225 lbs.
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
DK attributes his superhuman strength and agility to genetics. However, he admits that in the early years of his football career, he trained his strength twice a day for months on end.
DK competed in the USATF Gold Games in the 100-meter dash to qualify for the Olympics. Although the NFL player did not make the Olympic team, he showed an outstanding record of 10.37 seconds.
Saquon Barkley
- Height: 6′
- Weight: 232 lbs.
- Bench Press: 29 reps of 225 lbs.
- Team: New York Giants.
Born in an athletic family, Saquon Barkley has been a football star since he was in high school. Although Barkley chose the NFL as his career, he also played basketball and track and won several awards in both sports.
As a star, Barkley has several records under his belt, including “most career touchdowns,” “most yards gained (his freshman and sophomore years)” and “most total yards.” He won those titles while playing for the University of Pennsylvania team in 2015.
Saquon Barkley entered the 2018 NFL Draft and signed with the New York Giants for $32 million that year. Barkley was named to the NFL’s 2019 Top 100 Players of the Year list.
Andrew Billings
- Height: 6’1″
- Weight: 330 lbs.
- Bench Press: 31 reps of 225 lbs.
- Team: Miami Dolphins
Andrew Billings is arguably one of the top three strongest NFL players of all time. Billings broke the 22-year-old Texas school record for weightlifting with a squat of 805 pounds, a bench press of 500 pounds, and a deadlift of 705 pounds for a total of 2,010 pounds. The 22-year-old record previously belonged to “The World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry.
It’s not over yet. Andrew Billings was so strong that the Baylor University coaching staff had to impose restrictions on what weights he was allowed to lift.
Vernon Davis
- Height: 6’3″
- Weight: 254 lbs.
- Bench Press: 33 reps of 225 lbs
Vernon Davis is not only fast, but strong as an ox. At an NFL event, Davis ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds and squeezed 225 pounds on 33 reps. Besides being one of the NFL’s strongest players, Vernon Davis is a keen bodybuilder and regularly posts his workout videos on social media.
James Harrison
- Height: 6′
- Weight: 240 lbs
Next on the list of the world’s strongest NFL players is none other than James Harrison. In 2014, he recorded a video of himself pushing 405 pounds and then “resting” between sets by doing 10 pushups with a teammate sitting on his back.