National Football League

How much weight can offensive linemen put on in 1 meal? 5 NFL draft prospects found out

Updated Apr. 12, 2023 4:55 p.m. ET

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In the leadup to the NFL Draft, prospects typically try to get into the best shape possible to help their status and possibly get selected sooner rather than later.

FOX Sports' Geoff Schwartz offered a bit of a reprieve for five offensive linemen. Schwartz hosted Northwestern's Peter Skoronski, TCU's Steve Avila, Maryland's Jaelyn Duncan, Michigan's Olu Oluwatimi and Old Dominion's Nick Saldiveri for an all-you-can-eat buffet at a restaurant. 

But the buffet wasn't meant to just enjoy food. It was an All-You-Can-Eat challenge as part of Schwartz's "Big Boys Club: OL Draft Academy" series.

Prior to the buffet, all five prospects weighed themselves to see how much weight they could gain during the buffet. During the weigh-ins, Avila weighed the heaviest at 339 pounds. He predicted he didn't think he was going to eat the most in the group, though.

The Horned Frog guard proved himself correct. During the buffet, which included different types of food but mostly beef, Avila threw in the towel first, excusing himself.

"I was in there for so long that the lights turned off," Avila joked about the trip he took to the bathroom.

Avila's weight remained the same after the buffet. That wasn't the case for anyone else, though. Oluwatimi, who weighed 313 pounds initially, gained five pounds to 318. Duncan, who weighed 313.9 pounds prior to the contest, gained six pounds to weigh 319.9. Skoronski weighed 317.2 pounds at the start of the contest and gained 6.7 to check in at 323.9.

Saldiveri was the winner. After weighing in at 317.4 pounds at the start of the challenge, Saldiveri gained a whopping 9.5 pounds to weigh 326.9 at the end of the competition. 

Saldiveri had some fun on Twitter after winning the challenge, too. He joked in one tweet that he's "just a competitor" and in another, he went back and forth with soon-to-be NFL Hall of Famer Joe Thomas.

While Saldiveri impressed those who might have wanted to see him pack on the most pounds in as little time as possible, he's also impressing scouts with his on-field work. Saldiveri was viewed as a standout at the Senior Bowl in February and has worked out for or visited 15 teams in the leadup to the draft, NFL Media recently reported. 

Avila followed up with one surprising update:

"Believe it or not, weighed in LESS the next day," Avila wrote in a tweet, adding a laughing emoji.

Skoronski, who is viewed by many analysts as the top offensive line prospect in the 2023 draft, had some fun about the challenge on Twitter, too. He tweeted a GIF from the hit TV show "Friends," in which one of the characters from the show, Joey, says "You are my Everest" as he prepares to eat turkey.

[Related: 2023 NFL Draft guard-center rankings: Peter Skoronski the clear top prospect]

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National Football League

Nick Saldiveri

Old Dominion Monarchs

Peter Skoronski

Northwestern Wildcats

Steve Avila

TCU Horned Frogs

Maryland Terrapins

Jaelyn Duncan

Olusegun Oluwatimi

Michigan Wolverines

Geoff Schwartz