2012 NFL Speed and Agility Scouting Combine

With the Super Bowl now over, NFL teams are now concentrating on the draft. Each year around 300 college football players are invited by the National Football League (NFL) to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN. This is basically a big speed and agility-training day. Here athletes show how much speed and agility they have to NFL GM’s and personnel departments. The NFL places great value on the fundamental athletic ability.

The NFL, through research and experience has put together drills and exercises it uses to evaluate potential athletes No matter how often a scout has seen an athlete play the game live or on the screen, the NFL GM’s want to evaluate an athlete’s raw ability in strength training, speed exercises, and speed and agility drills.

The combine is all about measuring how fast, agile, strong and explosive the prospect is. Performing well at the combine can really increase your draft position. In 2010 a prospect from South Florida did just that. Jason Pierre Paul was considered a raw talent coming into the combine. After the combine he was a solid 1st round pick and is one of the young defensive stars in the NFL It also didn’t hurt that he got into a back flipping contest and did 14 back flips in a row at 6’6” 270 lbs

The following are the actual drills used at the Combine to judge potential draft picks. If you have cable and can get the NFL network they show the combine workouts in its entirety

 40-yard dash

This is the main event. Teams look for explosiveness and speed from a dead start. The athletes are timed at 10, 20 and 40-yard intervals. One of the most important speed exercises

Bench press

Every athlete has the opportunity to bench press 225 pounds as many times as they can. The repetition factor measures the athlete’s muscle endurance.

Shuttle run

The shuttle run is similar to a basketball suicide drills. The shuttle begins with the athlete starting in a three-point stance and exploding out 5 yards to his right, touches the line, goes back 10 yards to his left, left hand touches the line, pivot, and he turns 5 more yards and finishes.

3 Cone Drill

The 3 cone drill tests an athlete’s speed and agility. It measures ability to change directions at a high speed. From a starting line, three cones are place in an L-shape. The athlete runs 5 yards to the first cone and back. Then, he turns, runs around the second cone, runs a weave around the third cone, which is the high point of the L, changes directions, comes back around that second cone and finishes.

Broad jump

The broad jump tests the athlete’s lower-body explosion, lower-body strength and balance. From a starting point, the athlete stands balanced. He then jumps out as far as he can while sticking the landing.

Vertical jump

The vertical jump-starts with the athlete standing flat-footed while his reach is measured. The athlete then is told to jump and touch the highest point he can, which is a flag in the series of flags above him. The difference in the standing reach and the flag is the vertical jump measurement. This exercise evaluates the lower-body explosion and power.