Understanding NFL Combine Results

Fantasy Football Strategy: Understanding NFL Combine Results
By Adam of Rotopicks.com

Every February, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, NFL prospects spend a week showcasing their physical and mental talents in front of the NFL brass (coaches, scouts, general managers, etc.). The combine results are typically a useful tool to evaluate a prospect's talents and ultimate probability for success at the next level. As a weekly fantasy football player, one can always look back on these results when deciding to draft or use a rookie in one of their leagues. I like to always browse through these numbers first, before reading scouting reports, and in order to do that you must understand what skills challenges the prospects go through and more importantly, what their scores mean and what constitutes a good score.

Gil Brandt, a senior analyst for ESPN, provides great insight into the tests and what he looks for in terms of results (which range in values based on the position a player plays). As such, I will quote much of Brandt's recommendations throughout this article.

40-Yard Dash (10-Yard Split, 20-Yard Split)

The 40-yard dash is the sexiest of the drills. Most of the time, the top 40-yard dash times get a lot of attention. Yet, often overlooked, are the all-important 10-Yard Split and 20-Yard Split. The 40-Yard time is simply the time it takes a player to run 40-yards. But the 10-yard split is the initial time it takes to reach the first 10-yards, whereas the 20-yard split focuses on the first 20-yards.

As you might guess, we can use the 10-yard and 20-yard splits to ascertain "burst", an all-important stats for RB and WR. Brandt explains:

"With receivers, there's increased focus on the 10-yard time, because it measures burst off the line of scrimmage. When you compare two receiver prospects, it's often the wideout with the better 10-yard dash -- not the 40 time -- that attracts more attention."

So, when looking at dash times, here are good numbers that must be met (according to position), or else a major red flag is raised.

40-Yd Dash - 10-Yard Split - 20-Yard Split
(Speed Over Distance) - (Initial Burst) - (Maintain Burst)
QB: 4.90 1.7 2.85
RB: 4.55 1.6 2.60
WR: 4.55 1.6 2.65
TE: 4.85 1.7 2.80

20-yard and 60-yard Shuttles

In the "short shuttle" (20-yard shuttle), players straddle a yard line, run 5 yards in one direction, 10 yards in the other direction, and finally, 5 yards back to their original starting position, touching the ground at each stop except the last.

In the "long shuttle" (60-yard shuttle), players run 5 yards, then back to the starting point, then run 10 yards and back to the starting spot, then 15 yards and back to the starting spot (touching the ground at each stop but the last). QB's are not expected to showcase their long shuttle skills.

THE BEST WEEKLY FANTASY NFL SITE: DRAFTSTREET

The short shuttle measures flexibility, burst, and balance, whereas the long shuttle adds an element of endurance. Oftentimes, a slow 40-yard dash time can be put aside if a RB shows incredible burst with outstanding shuttle times.

20-Yd Shuttle - 60-Yard Shuttle
(Flexibility, Burst, Balance) - (Flexibility, Balance, Endurance)
QB 4.30 N/A
RB 4.20 11.70
WR 4.15 11.40
TE 4.20 11.80

3-Cone Drill

Brandt describes the 3-cone drill (which is surprisingly hard to articulate, so I use his words. I recommend simply watching a video of the drill since it is very simple to understand after watching)

"This drill sets cones five yards apart, forming a right angle. Players run back and forth between the first two cones, touching the ground near both. Then they run around the second cone, weave inside the third cone and around the outside of both top cones back to the starting point. Fluid completion of this drill is a sight to see for any coach or scout.

The shuttles and the 3-cone drill display the athleticism crucial to being a quality football player. The speed of the game at the pro level is such that fluid lateral movement and the ability to quickly change direction are critical. In some cases, good times in this drill can trump poor 40 times when it comes to how coaches view certain prospects."

3-Cone Drill (Agility and Change of Direction)
QB 7.25
RB 7.25
WR 7.00
TE 7.30

Jumps (Vertical Jump and Broad Jump)

The jumps are best used for evaluating Receivers and their leg strength and explosiveness. The vertical jump determines how high a player can jump without a running start, from a standing, flat-footed stance. The broad jump is the same except that it determines how far (and not how high) a player can jump.

Vertical Jump - Broad Jump
(Leg Strength, Explosiveness) - (Leg Strength, Explosiveness)
QB 30" 9'0"
RB 36" 10'0"
WR 36" 9'9"
TE 32" 9'6"

Other Skills

For the most part, these are the crucial events at the combine for fantasy football purposes. The other event, 225 pound bench press reps (how many times a player can bench press 225 pounds) is geared more towards determining strength of defensive players and linemen. So, for fantasy purposes, we don't need to pay too much attention to these results.

Conclusion

This article is meant to make sense of the combine, which is seen by many as a pivotal tool used to determine a prospect's future. When you understand the numbers, shuffling through rookies on draft day is a little easier and more interesting. Hope it helps!

Good luck and as always, thanks for reading!

Fantasy Football Betting

Featured Articles

MISC and FAQ