Chris Long Admits To Getting Caught Cheating At NFL Combine
By Henry McKenna
Chris Long tried and failed to cheat at the NFL Combine.
Long, who ended up being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, finished with impressive numbers during the combine. But there was one exercise he wanted to improve: the vertical leap.
“So the funny thing about the vert is I put gloves on and put tissue paper in the tips of my fingers after they measure you. Because they measure how high you can reach (standing). So I did that with my bare hands. Then I kinda went around the corner and put tissue in my fingers and put a glove on (for the actual jump). And they caught me,” Long said, laughing on a podcast with ESPN’s Ryan Russillo.
What did they say when they caught Long?
“Evidently, a lot of guys try it. So great minds think alike,” Long said. “So 34 [inches] on the vertical.”
Maybe that No. 1 spot would’ve been in reach if he’d gotten away with it. Still, Long was lauded for his combine performance at the time — despite his failed efforts to cheat.
He convinced the then-St. Louis and now Los Angeles Rams to select him early. He remained there for eight years before joining the New England Patriots in 2016 and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.