Pat McInally: The NFL's Only Perfect Wonderlic Score

Published on July 6th, 2025 5:18 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


The NFL Combine tests size, speed, strength - and smarts.

Every year, prospects sit down for the Wonderlic test. Fifty questions. Twelve minutes. Logic, math, word problems, and reasoning. Most score somewhere around 20. Quarterbacks and offensive linemen tend to do better. Running backs and defensive linemen usually score lower.

But only one NFL player has ever achieved perfection.

Pat McInally, a wide receiver and punter out of Harvard, scored a 50. All fifty questions right. No missed answers. No guessing. Just pure, fast-thinking execution.

It was 1975. The Bengals were interested in McInally, but his test result triggered mixed reactions. Some team officials weren't sure what to make of it. One executive reportedly said the perfect score "scared us a little." They wondered if a guy that smart might reject coaching. Or overthink the game.

They drafted him anyway.

McInally spent his entire ten-year NFL career in Cincinnati. He caught passes, punted, and made the Pro Bowl in 1981. He played in Super Bowl XVI. He was productive. Dependable. And, clearly, unique.

No one else has matched his score.

Ryan Fitzpatrick came close. Another Harvard grad, Fitzpatrick reportedly scored a 48 and left the room early. Others - Greg McElroy, Kevin Curtis, Benjamin Watson - scored in the mid-40s. But McInally still stands alone.

The Wonderlic has fallen out of favor in recent years. Teams now use different tools to evaluate mental makeup. Personality testing. Film recall. On-field processing.

Still, McInally's 50 remains a record. Not just for punters. Not just for Harvard guys. For the entire league.

In a sport that measures everything, sometimes the rarest number comes off the field.