The NFL announced last Friday that they’ll add 16 new position-specific on-field drills and eliminate some outdated drills from the NFL Scouting Combine. The idea behind this is to put players in more situations they’d find themselves in during NFL games. This gives general managers and scouts more evaluation tools to help influence their decision on draft day.
Players won’t begin their on-field testing until Thursday, February 27 when the QB, WR and TE groups get on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Here’s a look at the new drills coming to the combine and their corresponding position:
- QB: Timed smoke/now route drill
- QB: End zone fade routes
- RB: Duce Staley drill
- RB: Angle routes with c.o.d.
- WR: End zone fade route
- TE: End zone fade route
- OL: New mirror drill
- OL: New screen drill
- DL: Run and club drill
- DL: Run the hoop drill
- LB: Shuffle, sprint, change of direction drill
- LB: Short zone breaks drill
- DB: Line drill
- DB: Teryl Austin drill
- DB: Box drill
- DB: Gauntlet drill
You can find complete descriptions of each drill here. The drills named after coaches sound like they’ll be pretty interesting. You can bet that Andy Reid will be paying close attention to the new screen drill. Fade routes being added to the route tree in on-field testing was long overdue. The same goes for the gauntlet drill for defensive backs. Which of the new drills are you most excited to see in action? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter.