Windy City Gridiron
Not all drills are created equal for each position.
Looking forward to NFL Combine workouts this week, Chicago Bears fans? Me too.
In fact, I’ll be down in Indianapolis myself, covering the Combine for the second time, bringing all the on-the-ground updates you could hope for until Sunday.
(So I unfortunately will not be able to personally measure Will Campbell’s arms.)
The most important part of the Combine for most players and coaches will take place in private meetings and closed-door trade decisions in Lucas Oil Stadium suites. But some of the T-shirt-and-shorts action on the field can affect the draft as well.
While the film remains the main resume for each player, on-field drills and workouts help teams assess whether a player moves or tests the way they expect. Any variance in those performances can either bump players up draft boards or knock them down.
But not every drill or physical test counts the same for each position. After all, how many times do you see a 325-pound offensive lineman running straight ahead for 40 yards?
Still, suppose you want an idea of what matters most for specific positions. In that case, Pro Football Network has a useful primer to check out based on a correlation study between Combine drills and players’ career longevity from 2000-2022. Here’s a summary of it.
Speed kills in pretty much every sport and at most football positions. But the relationship between 40 times (after adjusting for weight) and a decently long career was especially high at these two spots.
Defensive backs with above-average speed had a 74.6% chance of lasting three or more seasons, compared to 57% for slower DBs. Running backs with above-average speed had a 65.4% chance, while slower RBs had only 41.8%.
DBs, of course, rely on speed to increase their margin of error covering wide receivers, whether they’re burners or not.
Running backs, meanwhile, are generally pretty disposable regardless of skillset, but it’s not surprise that those who tend to last longer are more likely to produce explosive plays.
Explosion is the name of the game in the NFL, and jumping drills tend to be even better predictors of explosive athletic potential than simple 40-yard dashes.
So it’s no surprise the most exceptional players at arguably the two most important skill positions in football aside from quarterback — receiver and edge rusher — generally perform best in these drills.
Edge rushers with above-average vertical jumps had a 72.8% chance of playing more than three seasons. In addition, WRs and TEs with above-average verticals played significantly more career games than below-average performers.
Aside from checking out 10-yard splits in the 40 or watching movement drills on the field, broad jump turns out to be a solid indicator of potential in tackles and guards.
Why? Because it captures short-area burst and explosiveness, which are far more...
