Relationships between NFL Combine Measures

Superbowl fever is in the air: Divisional Championships this weekend to decide the finalists!


How do the rookies (newcomers) get noticed & rated against one another? What is the science that pits one College star against another?

Every year the National Football League (NFL) decamps to Indianapolis for a week in February. Athletes attend by invitation only, and are put through their physical & mental paces in front of coaches, scouts & general managers. The tests are standardised to ensure that there is a more scientifically based series of challenges that has evolved into a media frenzy from more humble origins in 1977. The implications of this showcase event is that performance in the 'Combine' affects perception, draft status, salary & ultimately a player's career: implications based on measureable size, speed & strength.

Tests include:
40 Yard Dash
Bench Press (225lb reps)
Vertical Jump
Broad Jump
20 Yard Shuttle
60 Yard Shuttle
3 Cone Drill
Position Specific Drills
Cybex Testing
Wonderlix Test

The teams are then allowed 60interviews in 15 minute intervals in addition to physical baseline measures, a drug screening & an injury evaluation.

A recent study investigated the relationship between the athletic skills measured at the Combine. The study population was measured from draftees from 2005-09.

Sprint times & change of direction ability tests & the three cone drill were nearly perfectly correlated, suggesting similar skills are being measured. The Jump Testing scores were more strongly associated with longer sprint distances suggesting mechanisms such as the stretch-shortening cycle which may be more important at maximal or near-maximal speeds.

However, there were weaker correlations between change of direction ability with sprinting & jumping suggesting less association & independent motor skills. Bench Press performance is positively correlated with outcomes in all running drills & inversely correlated with jump abilities. The authors have therefore intimated that upper body strength may be of little benefit to these tasks. They conclude that whilst the 3 cone drill or a single shuttle drill may be deemed sufficient as a measure of change of direction ability. Independent motor skills need to be measured with another battery of tests.

Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (1): 226-231, 2012