The 2013 NFL combine gets underway this week in Indianapolis and thus we will have quite a few numbers to chew on as official measurements and drill results will be posted. While the numbers certainly are fun to dissect and play with, you should be reminded that all of them should be used to back up what you have seen from each and every player on the field.
The tape is the end-all, do-all of each and every draft hopeful. Should a player run slower or lift less than expected than you might want to go back and look at the tape to see if you missed something on him. On the flip side, if a player post better numbers than expected, perhaps his tape needs a more further examination as to why he might not have performed up to those numbers on the field.
Kansas City Chiefs nose tackle Dontari Poe is a perfect example of the latter. Poe was a combine warrior last February, and the desire of several Pittsburgh Steelers fans as a result, but closer examination of his Memphis college tape did not back up that performance one bit. Poe was merely a player that performed better out of pads than he did in them.
The Chiefs selected Poe 11th overall in the 2012 draft, but his rookie season, as expected, was a forgettable one. The Chiefs ranked near the bottom of the against the run and they ranked 26th overall in sacks per pass attempt.
With the above disclaimer out of the way, NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt wrote a thorough primer two years ago on what to look for in the various combine drills, along with some numbers that will give you an idea of what will be considered a “good” performance, based on each and every position. Below is a reprint of the target numbers.
TARGET NFL COMBINE NUMBERS BY POSITION
| POS/DRILL | 40 yards | 10 yards | 20 yards | 225 reps | Vertical | Broad | 20 shuttle | 60 shuttle | 3-cone |
| QB | 4.90 | 1.70 | 2.85 | N/A | 30″ | 9\’0″ | 4.30 | N/A | 7.25 |
| RB | 4.55 | 1.60 | 2.60 | 20 | 36″ | 9\’9″ | 4.20 | 11.7 | 7.25 |
| FB | 4.85 | 1.70 | 2.80 | 22 | 30″ | 9\’3″ | 4.25 | 11.8 | 7.40 |
| WR | 4.55 | 1.60 | 2.65 | 12 | 36″ | 10\’00” | 4.15 | 11.4 | 7.00 |
| TE | 4.85 | 1.70 | 2.80 | 22 | 32″ | 9\’6″ | 4,20 | 11.8 | 7.30 |
| OT | 5.30 | 1.80 | 3.00 | 24 | 30″ | 8\’6″ | 4.65 | N/A | 7.85 |
| G/C | 5.30 | 1.85 | 3.05 | 26 | 30″ | 8\’6″ | 4.55 | N/A | 7.85 |
| DT | 5.15 | 1.80 | 3.00 | 26 | 30″ | 8\’9″ | 4.55 | N/A | 7.75 |
| DE | 4.85 | 1.70 | 2.80 | 24 | 33″ | 9\’9″ | 4.30 | 11.8 | 7.35 |
| ILB | 4.80 | 1.70 | 2.75 | 24 | 33″ | 9\’6″ | 4.20 | 11.7 | 7.20 |
| OLB | 4.70 | 1.65 | 2.70 | 23 | 36″ | 9\’9″ | 4.10 | 11.4 | 7.10 |
| CB | 4.55 | 1.60 | 2.65 | 15 | 36″ | 10\’00” | 4.00 | 11.2 | 7.00 |
| S | 4.60 | 1.65 | 2.60 | 18 | 36″ | 10\’00” | 4.05 | 11.2 | 7.10 |
The bottom table represents a recent Scouts Inc. break down by position of the average results from the last five combines (2008-12). This break down also includes the average heights, weights, arm lengths and hand size by position in addition.
NFL COMBINE 5 YEAR AVERAGE BY POSITION
| * | Height | Weight | Arm | Hand | 225 reps | 40 yards | Vertical | Broad | 20 shuttle | 3-cone |
| QB | 6027 | 223.1 | 32¼ | 9⅝ | 17.8 | 4.87 | 31 | 9\’2″ | 4.34 | 7.09 |
| WR | 6006 | 202.3 | 32⅛ | 9⅜ | 15.4 | 4.55 | 35 | 10\’0″ | 4.25 | 6.92 |
| RB | 5105 | 213.3 | 31¼ | 9¼ | 20.5 | 4.59 | 34½ | 9\’9″ | 4.28 | 7.00 |
| FB | 6005 | 242.6 | 32 | 9½ | 24.1 | 4.80 | 33½ | 9\’6″ | 4.39 | 7.19 |
| TE | 6041 | 251.6 | 33⅜ | 9⅜ | 21.5 | 4.77 | 33½ | 9\’8″ | 4.37 | 7.08 |
| OC | 6032 | 303.3 | 32⅝ | 9½ | 27.3 | 5.3 | 27 | 8\’4″ | 4.66 | 7.70 |
| OG | 6041 | 314.0 | 33½ | 9⅞ | 26.2 | 5.36 | 27 | 8\’3″ | 4.85 | 7.84 |
| OT | 6052 | 314.7 | 34⅛ | 10⅜ | 25.3 | 5.32 | 27 | 8\’5″ | 4.80 | 7.80 |
| DE | 6033 | 266.3 | 33½ | 9⅞ | 25.6 | 4.88 | 32½ | 9\’5″ | 4.46 | 7.26 |
| DT | 6027 | 304.8 | 33½ | 9⅞ | 28.3 | 5.13 | 29 | 8\’9″ | 4.66 | 7.64 |
| ILB | 6012 | 241.5 | 32⅛ | 9½ | 22.7 | 4.80 | 33 | 9\’7″ | 4.31 | 7.10 |
| OLB | 6013 | 238.1 | 31½ | 9⅝ | 22.7 | 4.74 | 33½ | 9\’9″ | 4.34 | 7.12 |
| CB | 5110 | 193.2 | 31½ | 9⅛ | 15.5 | 4.55 | 35 | 10\’1″ | 4.17 | 6.90 |
| S | 6002 | 208.9 | 31¾ | 9⅜ | 18.1 | 4.62 | 34¼ | 10\’0″ | 4.24 | 7.00 |
