20 or 60 Yard Shuttle
Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock/USA Today Sports
This drill can show a players stop-start and change-of-direction ability. Players start with two cones on each side of them five yards away, and are timed sprinting to one cone before changing direction and sprinting ten yards to the opposite cone, changing direction again and sprinting five yards to the initial starting line. This has led to the drill also being referred to as the 5-10-5 drill; the ability to change speeds, stop and accelerate to top speed is hugely important for wide receivers, running backs and especially defensive back prospects. The 60-yard version of the shuttle (with double the distance, essentially a 10-20-10 drill) is a great test for endurance, but the 20-yard shuttle is extremely important when showcasing twitch, quickness and agility.
DJ Moore 20-yard shuttle: 4.07 seconds
DJ Moore 60-yard shuttle: 11.18 seconds
Three Cone Drill
What is most interesting about the three-cone drill is that it’s less about the time the prospect achieves, but how he looks doing it; a linemen who can carry his weight well as he weaves between the cones will most likely be able to do well in space at the next level. A fluid change-of-direction for defensive backs and wide receivers is extremely important, as this drill showcases hip flexibility and balance; running backs and edge rushers can showcase their burst and directional versatility in this drill. When you want to see sharp cuts into acceleration from running backs, this is where you look.
DJ Moore Three-Cone: 6.95 seconds
Other Important Factors
- Teams will interview prospects they are interested in, this can be especially important for quarterbacks, but every player needs to fit into a team’s specific culture; the interview portion is a good chance to get to know the player’s passion and work ethic.
- Each player will take the Wonderlic test, an intelligence test designed to see how players answer questions under pressure as they answer 50 questions in 12 minutes.
- Each position player will go through specific drills for their group, some of those will include the following:
- Perhaps the most important activity at the Combine is the in-depth physical that each player must undergo; it’s a chance for teams to see how tall Kyler Murray really is or if DK Metcalf didn’t photoshop The Rock’s chest onto his picture a few weeks ago. A 40 time or bench press number can be tracked at a pro day or personal workout, but the full battery of medical testing can reveal a former injury that could pop up down the road; a checkered injury history or condition arising can drop a prospect down the board; Star Lotulelei was projected as a top pick before the medical testing at the Combine revealed a heart condition that ultimately dropped him to the 14th pick in the draft. For more on this topic, check out our interview with Dr. Pat Connor about his role for the Panthers in Indianapolis as he works his 23rd Combine for the team.
For daily updates and live reports from Indianapolis, be sure to check back to The Riot Report every day this week as Josh Klein spends the week with all of the prospects!
