Athletic testing
• The 3-cone is the holy grail when it comes to evaluating edge rushers. For the prospects who go through it, that drill simulates turning tight corners (what we call “bending”) and fighting through contact to finish at the intended destination. The average time for the 3-cone is 7.23 seconds. If you’re looking for elite pass-rushing potential, though, anything under seven seconds can make an edge significant money come draft time.
This class has more power rushers than bending, speed prospects, but the balance Alabama’s
Will Anderson Jr. has as a pass rusher should shine in this drill.
Iowa State’s
Will McDonald IV, meanwhile, is an undersized edge who could use a great 3-cone to stay in the top-50 conversation.
• For interior linemen and edge rushers, I care most about their explosion from a standstill position. That’s measured at the combine using 10-yard splits in the 40-yard dash. Analyzing the 10-yard split (1.75-second average for DTs; 1.65 for edges) alongside a player’s weight can paint a picture of how much force that prospect can generate taking on blocks, making tackles and (most importantly) getting after the quarterback.
Last year,
Jordan Davis had a 1.68-second 10-yard split at 340 pounds, which is exactly how a nose tackle can wind up being a top-15 pick. This year, I’ll be interested to see how
Texas Tech’s
Tyree Wilson, Clemson’s
Myles Murphy and
Iowa’s
Lukas Van Ness stack up, because each of those likely Round 1 names was listed at 270-plus pounds in college. Having explosive power at that size usually bodes well for an edge rusher.
• There are ways other than speed tests to judge explosiveness for defensive-front players. The broad and vertical jumps are two drills that measure a prospect’s maximum output in a rep, and that can help illuminate a player’s power coming out of his stance. For edge rushers, the average vertical is 33 inches and the average broad jump is 9 feet, 7 inches; for defensive tackles, those marks are 29 inches and 8 feet, 9 inches, respectively.
Edges who clear a 36-inch vertical or 10-foot broad jump catch my (and the league’s) eye. I think Anderson will accomplish both.
Michigan’s
Mazi Smith also has been on my radar since I read about him in
Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List” and I hear his jumps will be remarkable, given his weight.
• As a former college linebacker and current high school defensive coach, I find I can be an unnecessarily harsh critic of players at the linebacker position. But you can’t turn away from pure athletic gifts.
The short shuttle (a 20-yard, change-of-direction drill), in combination with the 40 and broad jump, gives a clear picture of a few things:
- How well a linebacker can maintain speed as he shifts his hip depth, hip angle and his direction.
- A linebacker’s top speed, which simulates how well he can close to the ball.
- How explosive he can be getting to his spots once he makes his read, and if there’s potential to be an effective tackler.
The average shuttle time for linebackers is 4.3 seconds, the average 40 is 4.71 seconds, and the average broad jump is 9 feet, 8 inches.
Oregon’s
Noah Sewell is one prospect who needs to show me something in that package of drills to calm concerns about his viability as a modern linebacker. On film, he doesn’t always change directions smoothly, and I’m unsure what his top speed actually can be.
GO DEEPER
2023 NFL Draft Consensus Big Board 3.0: Which prospects crack the top 100?
• Of course, one of the more entertaining aspects of the combine is tracking those 40 times — especially to see which guys can sneak under the 4.4-second threshold. Defensive backs regularly rise to the occasion. Because the baseline of speed is already so high with corners and safeties, I care most about eliminating outliers (4.6-second 40 runners rarely thrive at corner in the NFL) and looking to see whether the speed translates into other explosiveness metrics (broad and vertical jumps).
Illinois cornerback
Devon Witherspoon has been gaining traction in the pre-draft process. If he can run in the 4.4 range, jump 36-plus inches in the vertical and go longer than 10 feet in the broad jump, he can secure his stock as a true high-level athlete at the position.
Position-specific drills
• Of all the position drills, I probably watch those attempted by the defensive linemen with the loosest eye. I’m a little less concerned with the placement of each step and the mechanics of every movement at the combine because the prospects themselves are more worried about blazing through the drills. When the pop-up bags are introduced, though, I do pay attention to a prospect’s ability to turn corners and the quickness of their hand movement.
In the NFL, pass rushers don’t have time to reach out wide and swing wildly to execute a club move, or to sloppily spin for a counter move. So defensive linemen who stay efficient while they zip through the bags will check a box. Keep a close eye on how each player looks striking those bags and on which guys appear to be most explosive and comfortable bending around the edge.
• Linebackers usually don’t have the benefit of sprinting until the ball has been thrown or handed off, or until one of their keys gives them a clue to the play before it happens. Because of the if-then requirements of the position, I’m always keyed in to how fluid each linebacker is with his hips and feet. The guys who stumble or have to chop their feet longer than others are usually tight in the hips and, therefore, lack the agility to transition from playing the pass after run fakes to tracking the ball out to the perimeter and positioning their bodies well enough to make tackles in space.
I wouldn’t worry so much about the “agiles” — those bags that look like speed bumps on the ground — but I would be locked into every drill that asks linebackers to execute a series of shuffle-then-sprint changes. You don’t want to see players dragging their feet when they shuffle. You also don’t want to see them stepping far outside the frame of their body to change directions or constantly shifting their hip depth. Mechanically, you cannot play fast if you’re always going between leaning/squatting and an upright running position.
• The defensive backs’ drills are the most important of all, because of how similar the athletic profiles can be between players. Every one of the DB drills incorporates a transition of some kind, and simulating coverage through the different phases of a route can be telling.
When players are pedaling and opening down the line, look for those who can get their hips turned the furthest without their chin turning in kind. In the “M” drill (DBs backpedal, then sprint five yards at a time), try to watch for a prospect’s hip depth and how efficient their feet are.
Playing defensive back is similar to playing offensive line, in that generating power and speed can only happen when you can get your feet out of the air and into the turf. The fastest transitions happen by stepping down, not out or back. It’s evident which guys have poor balance in their transition from seeing how long their front foot hangs in the air as they go from pedaling to sprinting.
Ringo and Porter can quiet criticism about their coverage ability by transitioning through drills smoothly, while Gonzalez should be able to wow the viewing public with how well he moves at his size.
aint no guru. Look at our sack numbers outside of Cam
