Turf Show Times
While others chase 40 times, the Rams uncover hidden gems through advanced tracking data at the NFL Combine.
The Los Angeles Rams scouting process has been placed under a microscope in recent years, not only because of their success in the draft, but the unconventional ways that they go about it.
Pre-draft events such as the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine used to be must-attend events for team personnel, especially head coaches and general managers. The Rams haven’t attended these events in a large capacity since 2020. While certain team personnel may attend, the Rams don’t have the at-large presence of other teams.
Yet, this unconventional approach hasn’t negatively affected the Rams draft process. In fact, over the last two years, it’s hard to find another team that has had as much success drafting immediate contributors. Rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fiske were each Defensive Rookie of the Year candidates this season with the first round pick winning the award. In 2023, wide receiver Puka Nacua broke rookie receiving records while Kobie Turner was one of the top rookie defenders.
Some teams, fans, and analysts will obsess over 40-yard dash times this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. The Rams won’t ignore that type of data, but they prioritize other forms of data that provide a fuller picture of a player’s potential. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp infamously ran a 4.62-second 40-time at the Combine. Nacua wasn’t much faster as he ran a 4.57-second 40-yard dash.
In an article back in 2021 by The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, the Rams’ director of draft management J.W. Jordan said, “Does it matter whether (a receiver) runs a 4.48 or a 4.56 That’s where you use tape, GPS, all the information and data you have on him.”
For some teams, that moved Kupp and Nacua down their draft boards. Conversely for the Rams, it was an opportunity. When then-Rams scout Brad Holmes watched Kupp at the Senior Bowl he said, “I’ll never forget, it came out that his GPS time at the Senior Bowl was the fastest.” That day, Kupp hit a max speed of 20.7 miles per hour.
Nacua didn’t run the fastest 40-time, but the future Rams wide receiver recorded the fastest speed of any wide receiver during the gauntlet drill at 20.06 miles per hour.
Over the last several years, a technology company called Zebra Sports has partnered with the NFL to provide teams this type of data. Zebra Sports is the official on-play, on-field, player tracking provider for the NFL. They collect and provide the data for every game and every player. The NFL owns that data and turns it into some of the metrics used with NextGen stats. Zebra Sports also gathers data for events that also include the Senior Bowl, East-West Shrine Bowl and NFL Combine.
Every player has a RFID chip in their shoulder pad which is different than GPS. The chip gets place inside shoulder pad and those tags communicate with the 18-24 antennas set up...
