What Combine Drills Can Tell Us About the Draft Prospects

What are some key combine drills, and what do the results reveal about a player's abilities?

This article originally appeared on this site last year. We are running it again since it is of value regarding the combine.

This week, the entire NFL scouting community will descend upon Indianapolis, Indiana, for the annual scouting combine. The combine is an important part of the months-long pre-draft process. It offers NFL clubs an opportunity to watch the top draft prospects (both Seniors and underclassmen) perform on-field drills in a high-pressure environment.

Equally as important is the chance to interview and meet face-to-face with said prospects to get to know what makes that player tick and why they’d be a good (or bad) fit for the club. Below, we’ll talk about the on-field testing drills performed at the combine and what NFL teams will be able to gather scouting-wise from these drills.

40-Yard Dash

The 40-yard dash is the testing drill that always garners the most attention, as it’s a chance to see all prospects run full speed for almost half the length of a football field. Draft analysts and scouts always talk about “4.4” speed and which prospects run the fastest in the 40-yard dash. 

Whether it’s warranted or not, players can make a positive move up draft boards if they run well. Most teams are constantly pursuing speed on both sides of the ball, and if a player shows his straight-line speed is a true standout quality – he becomes a more attractive asset for teams.

In addition to a player’s speed, one can notice explosiveness during this drill as well. When scouts time the 40-yard dash, they time the first 10 yards, the first 20 yards, and the full 40 yards. Timing the first 10 yards is important as it speaks to the player’s ability to get out of his stance and accelerate as quickly as possible to reach the 10-yard mark. 

In a real game, when a receiver catches a screen pass, they’re mostly still, then their ability to accelerate forward allows them to gain positive yards – the time they run in the first 10 yards can speak a little bit to that acceleration in situations like this. The first 20 yards, meanwhile, allow the evaluators to judge their acceleration and overall explosiveness/burst. 

When the player reaches the 20-yard mark, they should be at or near top speed, displaying their ability to pull away from defenders and outrun angles on the football field.

As a general rule, it’s important to note that 40-yard dash speed is NOT the same as “play speed.” While the 40-yard dash is useful, the best judgment of a player’s speed is on the football field with the pads on. Usually, a player’s 40-yard dash time and play speed are similar, but there are instances of players who play a little faster than they may run in the 40-yard dash.

Day	Date	Time	Psotion Groups
Thursday	February 29	3:00 PM ET	Defensive Linemen, Linebackers
Friday	March 1	3:00 PM ET	Defensive Backs, Tight Ends
Saturday	March 2	1:00 PM ET	Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers, Running Backs
Sunday	March 3	1:00 PM ET	Offensive Linemen

Vertical Jump

The vertical jump is a testing drill that highlights the player’s overall athleticism, leaping ability, and explosiveness. During this drill, players start with their feet planted firmly in the ground and must explode vertically with no prior momentum.

From this, you can glean how high that player can jump and their ability to explode out of their stance and generate vertical movement. It’s hard to make holistic judgments of a player based on their vertical jump, but when paired with other impressive testing numbers, it can help paint the picture of what that player brings to the table athletically.

Bench Press

The bench press is self-explanatory – it tells a story of how strong a player is, particularly in his chest. The results of the bench press and how many reps a player can get are especially important for offensive and defensive linemen and linebackers.

All pushing movements are generated through strength and power in the chest, and the bench press results speak to this and how it might translate to the football field. Offensive linemen are usually the players with the best results in the bench press, as it’s one of the main lifts they do in all weight training programs in college and the NFL.

Broad Jump

In the broad jump, a player stands with their feet planted and jumps straight forward. Once they stick the landing, someone measures where the back of their heels are past the starting point. Just like the vertical jump, the broad jump can tell a little bit of a story about the player’s explosiveness and ability to pop out of a stance.

The broad jump is a drill that doesn’t directly correlate to on-field movements (after all, when does a player go from standing still to jumping forward?) but still does help to shed light on some of the player’s athletic skills. When looking at testing numbers, the broad jump can further provide proof of a good athlete. However, the broad jump results will never cause a player to be viewed differently by the team overall.

3-Cone

In the 3-cone drill, cones are placed in an “L” shape, all 5 yards apart from each other. The player starts at the bottom of the “L,” runs back and forth once, then makes a figure-eight motion while circling the cone at the top of the “L.” 

He then runs around the “L” shape, all the way back to the starting point, completing the drill. This is a drill where overall agility, balance, body control, and short-area quickness can be evaluated, among other things.

This drill is filled with short, quick movements and constant change of direction while staying on balance circling the cones. If a player is tight-hipped, you can usually tell by how they circle the cones and redirect. A player who has good quickness, change of direction, and body control stands out in this drill. While all these things are noticeable watching film, it’s nice to see how the player puts all those movements together in this drill.

Short Shuttle

The final testing drill at the combine, the short shuttle, is another test of a player’s agility, balance, and overall movement skills. In this drill, the player starts at the middle of three cones 5 yards apart. The player begins with his hand touching the ground and his weight centered. 

At his discretion, he runs to one of the cones (he can decide which side he goes to first), touches the line, then runs across to the other cone (10 yards away from the one he just touched), then runs through the centerline at which he started.

This drill can tell us a lot of the similar things that the 3-cone does – quick change of direction, ability to stay on balance throughout the change of direction, and burst in short space to quickly get from point A to point B. Typically when players have a good 3-cone, they also have a good short shuttle and vice versa. 

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