2018 NFL Draft Process Thread

Catfish

Hall of Fame
Oct 11, 2005
6,566
2
45
60
Birmingham
So 0.15 sec or in this case about a 3% difference in time makes that much difference? This borders on the edge of absurdity. A 4.63 time vs a 4.48 time in the 40 is about a 4 inch advantage. I hope these NFL experts place more emphasis of a players ability on other attributes than 0.15 seconds.
Actually, the difference is about 47 inches over 40 yards. That's almost four feet. Which can make a difference, but technique and instincts probably play a bigger role.

40/4.63=0.11575 seconds/yard
- 40/4.48=0.11200 seconds/yard
3.240% (difference)
3.240% x 40 yards = 1.29590 yards (46.65227 inches)

I love me some Excel!
 
Last edited:

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
I understand speed is a meaningful difference but being in the proper location or position is more important. Being real fast is of no use if you are going the wrong way.
Conversely, it doesn't matter if you're going to the right spot on the field if you're 5 yards behind the WR.
 

Elefantman

Hall of Fame
Sep 18, 2007
5,935
3,855
187
R Can Saw
Actually, the difference is about 47 inches over 40 yards. That's almost four feet. Which can make a difference, but technique and instincts probably play a bigger role.

40/4.63=0.11575 seconds/yard
- 40/4.48=0.11200 seconds/yard
3.240% (difference)
3.240% x 40 yards = 1.29590 yards (46.65227 inches)

I love me some Excel!
Your right, I placed the decimal point off by one and used .015 sec
 

CrimsonForce

Hall of Fame
Dec 20, 2012
12,757
94
67
This weekend I watched about ten minutes of the combine coverage on the NFL Network. I can't remember who it was, but they said the NFL is now starting to look into updating the drills at the combine to reflect the changes in how the game is played today in order to get a more accurate evaluation of players. If I heard them right they said the drills at the combine have never changed since the first combine was implemented. WOW!!!!
Yea, that's just absurd. I'd be all for changing it up because from the data I have seen there is very little correlation between success and your numbers in those drills. It varies drill to drill and position to position though. One guy took a look at the broad jump for RBs and found that it was a completely meaningless data point with no correlation to NFL success. I think he also looked at the 40 and found while its worth looking at for RBs its still wayyyy overvalued as a scouting tool.
I kind of agree with both of you but there's a big reason they don't want to change the drills. They have roughly 35 years of historical data as it relates to the current combine drills. If they were to introduce new drills they wouldn't have historical data or baseline player comparisons. IOW, there really wouldn't be a good gauge in order to tell how good a player needed to perform in a particular drill. For example, I think they have one now called the 3 cone drill. There's only been 5 players complete that drill in under a certain time and they are all elite pro bowl / hall of fame type players. Maybe you guys are talking about just adding a few additional workouts that are more relatable to the current game. I think that would be better than replacing what they have now..
 

RTR91

Super Moderator
Nov 23, 2007
39,407
6
0
Prattville
Watched Mike Mayock show examples of how the LB drills translate to on the field performance. He showed guys like Telvin Smith doing drills at the combine followed by them doing something very similar in a game.

Obviously, some drills are easier to translate to a game than others.

Also, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller released his latest mock draft today. It includes 12 Alabama players.
 

Bamabuzzard

FB Moderator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2004
30,569
18,327
237
48
Where ever there's BBQ, Bourbon & Football
I kind of agree with both of you but there's a big reason they don't want to change the drills. They have roughly 35 years of historical data as it relates to the current combine drills. If they were to introduce new drills they wouldn't have historical data or baseline player comparisons. IOW, there really wouldn't be a good gauge in order to tell how good a player needed to perform in a particular drill. For example, I think they have one now called the 3 cone drill. There's only been 5 players complete that drill in under a certain time and they are all elite pro bowl / hall of fame type players. Maybe you guys are talking about just adding a few additional workouts that are more relatable to the current game. I think that would be better than replacing what they have now..
Yep, this is the main reason given for keeping the drills the same. I don't think wholesale changes are needed, but maybe adding and tweaking some current drills would help.
 

RollTide_HTTR

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2017
8,770
6,534
187
I kind of agree with both of you but there's a big reason they don't want to change the drills. They have roughly 35 years of historical data as it relates to the current combine drills. If they were to introduce new drills they wouldn't have historical data or baseline player comparisons. IOW, there really wouldn't be a good gauge in order to tell how good a player needed to perform in a particular drill. For example, I think they have one now called the 3 cone drill. There's only been 5 players complete that drill in under a certain time and they are all elite pro bowl / hall of fame type players. Maybe you guys are talking about just adding a few additional workouts that are more relatable to the current game. I think that would be better than replacing what they have now..
This is a fair point but that historical data is only useful if it correlates to success. The 3 cone is one of the better drills they do and I don't think it should go away but there are other drills that should go away completely or be adjusted or at least add another drill that measure the same thing but in a more meaningful way.
 

RedWave

All-SEC
Sep 26, 2000
1,579
3
0
Arlington, Tx
I remember a few years back when Josh Chapman was coming out for the draft. He was putting up some beastly numbers in the gym on bench press, and everyone thought he was sure to blow away the combine at 255. Then, he didn't impress all that much. I think there is a big difference between pushing a one rep max and pushing a much lower weight for reps. Maybe we just have more guys who do a higher one rep max and don't focus on endurance work with weights. Which one translates to the game? For one play, it would be a low rep scheme, I suppose. But over the course of the game, maybe the 225 reps does matter more. Not a football or sports scientist, so I am not sure. But the way Coachran has been training our guys has worked pretty well for our success so far.
 

Cruiser

All-American
Sep 24, 2015
2,868
1,707
182
The NFL team personnel are mainly there for the physicals and interviews and the drills are made for TV action. You usually get a couple of breakouts like Barkley or Griffin this year; or an out of shape guy like Orlando Brown may lay an egg. They have seen lots of tape by then.
 

RollTide_HTTR

Hall of Fame
Feb 22, 2017
8,770
6,534
187
The NFL team personnel are mainly there for the physicals and interviews and the drills are made for TV action. You usually get a couple of breakouts like Barkley or Griffin this year; or an out of shape guy like Orlando Brown may lay an egg. They have seen lots of tape by then.
He is going to be a fantastic case study for the effectiveness of the combine. He apparently has great tape and then proceeded to have the worst Combine of all time. So, it will be interesting to see if he has success in the NFL.
 

Cruiser

All-American
Sep 24, 2015
2,868
1,707
182
The NFL team personnel are mainly there for the physicals and interviews and the drills are made for TV action. You usually get a couple of breakouts like Barkley or Griffin this year; or an out of shape guy like Orlando Brown may lay an egg. They have seen lots of tape by then.
Rich Eisen ran a faster 40; at age 49 in a suit and tie. SMDH
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
I've seen stuff where Daron Payne is drawing comparisons to Marcel Dareus. Similarly, both were underrated guys in recruiting who came into college and made an immediate impact. I think that is pretty apt. Dareus maybe went a little high but he was an All-Pro player for several seasons on the Bills. Hopefully Payne will have less off the field issues than what has plagued Dareus. Payne may not be DPoY material but I think he could very well end up being the best nose tackle in the NFL in a few years. NT might not be a sexy position in the NFL draft world but guys like Payne don't come around often in his body type. He has better hops and burst speed than most at his position. Likely not an elite pass rusher but he's going to put interior linemen in the QB's face.


All I can say is that nobody raised their level play more as the injuries up front got dire than Daron Payne. He was practically unblockable all November through the playoffs. Maybe had his best game of the regular season in our only loss against Auburn. We haven't really gotten that kind of playmaking from nose tackle even with great NTs like Cody, Chapman, Williams, and Robinson.
 
Last edited:

Cruiser

All-American
Sep 24, 2015
2,868
1,707
182
Seeing estimates of 12 players drafted this year; add that to 10(??) last year and a player coming to Bama has almost a 45% chance of being drafted. And; that does not count JK Scott
THAT is a POWERFUL recruiting story.
 

gtgilbert

All-American
Aug 12, 2011
3,166
4,037
187
I've seen stuff where Daron Payne is drawing comparisons to Marcel Dareus. Similarly, both were underrated guys in recruiting who came into college and made an immediate impact. I think that is pretty apt. Dareus maybe went a little high but he was an All-Pro player for several seasons on the Bills. Hopefully Payne will have less off the field issues than what has plagued Dareus. Payne may not be DPoY material but I think he could very well end up being the best nose tackle in the NFL in a few years. NT might not be a sexy position in the NFL draft world but guys like Payne don't come around often in his body type. He has better hops and burst speed than most at his position. Likely not an elite pass rusher but he's going to put interior linemen in the QB's face.


All I can say is that nobody raised their level play more as the injuries up front got dire than Daron Payne. He was practically unblockable all November through the playoffs. Maybe had his best game of the regular season in our only loss against Auburn. We haven't really gotten that kind of playmaking from nose tackle even with great NTs like Cody, Chapman, Williams, and Robinson.
Payne was a 5 star;#1 rated player in state; and the #7 rated DT Nationally. Not underrated at all.
 

Latest threads

TideFans.shop : 2024 Madness!

TideFans.shop - Get YOUR Bama Gear HERE!”></a>
<br />

<!--/ END TideFans.shop & item link \-->
<p style= Purchases made through our TideFans.shop and Amazon.com links may result in a commission being paid to TideFans.