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 become the answer to that question this week in Indianapolis, where the NFL Scouting Combine will be held for the 36th time.

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For the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, players will arrive for testing and interviews in four groups and will be on the field from Wednesday 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. Byron Jones’ jump is 6 inches longer than any other recorded at the combine.

The standing broad jump is one of the six measurable drills conducted at the combine. It can help determine lower-body strength and explosiveness, particularly valued in wide receivers and pass rushers.

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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 draft the wide receiver. He’s gone on to be an All-Pro twice and a Pro Bowler seven times. Jones has caught 903 passes for 13,629 yards and 63 touchdowns. Each of Jones’ past three seasons has come with a different team, and all have been affected by injury. 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. He followed his rookie campaign with 50 receptions for 751 yards and three touchdowns in 2020 before posting 26 receptions for 339 yards and two touchdowns in 2021. In 2022, Slayton bounced back to lead the Giants in receiving yards for the third time in four seasons as he had 46 receptions for 724 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. 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, and he signed a reserve/future contract with the team in January.

5. Christian Harris, Alabama: 132 inches

After the 2022 combine, the Houston Texans drafted the linebacker in the third round. A hamstring injury kept Harris from playing in the first five games of his rookie season. But he started 11 games and became an every-down defensive player for the Texans.

5. 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. Louis played for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2021.

7. Jason Allen, Muscle Shoals High School: 131 inches

After the 2006 combine, the Miami Dolphins drafted the Tennessee defensive back with the 16th pick. He started 12 games in his first four seasons, then was waived by Miami in 2010 after starting seven times and intercepting three passes in the first eight games of the season. The Houston Texans immediately picked up Allen, and he intercepted four passes in his one full season with Houston. He signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals for 2012, his final season.

7. Sammie Coates, Leroy High School, Auburn: 131 inches

After the 2015 combine, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted the wide receiver in the third round. Coates didn’t play much as a rookie, but he was leading the NFL in yards per catch in 2016 before broken fingers derailed his production after the fifth game. Coates caught six passes for the Cleveland Browns in 2017 and one for the Houston Texans in 2018. He played for the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks in 2020 and signed with the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League earlier this month.

7. Henry Ruggs III, Lee High School (Montgomery), Alabama: 131 inches

After the 2020 combine, the Las Vegas Raiders chose Ruggs with the 12th pick in the draft, making him the first wide receiver chosen that year. In his rookie season, Ruggs caught 26 passes for 452 yards with two touchdowns and ran nine times for 49 yards. In his rookie season, Ruggs caught 26 passes for 452 yards with two touchdowns and ran nine times for 49 yards. In 2021, Ruggs had 24 receptions for 469 yards and two touchdowns in seven games when his season abruptly ended after he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death following a fatal traffic accident in Las Vegas. Ruggs still is awaiting a preliminary hearing in his case.

10. Ameer Abdullah, Homewood High School: 130 inches

After the 2015 combine, the Detroit Lions drafted the Nebraska running back in the second round. He was the NFL’s top kickoff returner as a rookie and led Detroit in rushing in 2015 and 2017 around a two-game, injured-shortened season. In 2018, Abdullah had only one rushing attempt while playing for the Lions and Vikings but has come back to work over the past four seasons as a reserve running back and special-teamer for Minnesota, the Carolina Panthers and Las Vegas Raiders. Abdullah has 1,594 yards and six touchdowns on 413 carries, 144 receptions for 1,076 yards and eight touchdowns and an average of 24.6 yards on 142 kickoff returns during his career.

10. Jamel Dean, Auburn: 130 inches

After the 2019 combine, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted the cornerback in the second round. Dean hardly played with Tampa Bay’s defense in the first half of his rookie season. But after starting five of the final six games, he finished tied for fourth in the NFL with 17 pass breakups. In 2020, Dean started seven regular-season games and four playoff contests, including Tampa Bay’s 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. He’s intercepted two passes in each of the past two seasons as a regular in the Bucs secondary.

10. Derrick Henry, Alabama: 130 inches

After the 2016 combine, the Tennessee Titans drafted the running back in the second round. In his first two seasons, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner served as the backup for DeMarco Murray. In 2018, Henry finished strong to record a 1,000-yard season and earn a spot on the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-AFC team. In 2019, Henry led the league with 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns on 303 rushing attempts in the regular season as he earned his first Pro Bowl invitation and received All-NFL recognition from the PFWA. In 2020, Henry won the NFL rushing crown again as he became the eighth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards in one season. Eight games into the 2021 campaign, Henry led the NFL in rushing attempts, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns when a fractured foot sidelined him for the remainder of the season. In 2022, Henry came back to lead the NFL with 349 rushing yards as he finished as the runner-up for the rushing down with 1,538 yards.

10. Bobby McCain, Oxford High School: 130 inches

After the 2015 combine, the Miami Dolphins drafted the Memphis cornerback in the fifth round. He earned playing time as Miami’s slot corner in his first three seasons before seeing more time at boundary corner in 2018, when he started 13 games. In 2019, McCain switched to free safety. McCain suffered a shoulder injury that limited his season to nine games, but he returned in 2020 to make 15 starts. Since joining the Washington Commanders, McCain has started 32 games as a safety and cornerback and intercepted four passes over the past two seasons.

10. Jamari Staples, Central High School of Clay County: 130 inches

After the 2017 combine, the Louisville wide receiver was not drafted. Initially signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, Staples went to training camp with the Washington Redskins, but didn’t make the team.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.