Feb 22 The 6 most important drills at the Combine

Odd things happen at the Combine. Teams become increasingly irrational about arm length, hand size and 40 times. They worry about the workout wonders, those who show up a touch on the chubby side and the guys who wouldn't reach double digits if you squared their Wonderlic score. 

For those focused on the workouts, Mike Chappell runs down 6 drills that can make or break a player including two of my favorites, the three cone drill and the short shuttle:

3-cone drill: Three cones are positioned in an L-shape. The player starts in a three-point stance at the first cone, sprints 5 yards to the second cone and touches the ground with his hand, sprints back to the start line and touches the ground. He then turns and runs back to the second cone, cuts around it, weaves around the third cone, returns and cuts around the second cone before finishing the drill. "It's the ability to turn a corner," Moore said. "When they look at D-linemen, it's 'Can you come around that edge?' "

20-yard shuttle run: It's known as the 5-10-5. The player starts in a three-point stance and bursts 5 yards to his right and touches the ground with his right hand, goes back 10 yards to his left and touches the ground with his left hand, then sprints 5 yards back to where it all began. "It's the ability to accelerate, decelerate and change direction," Moore said. "You have to get in and out of your hips efficiently and quickly."

For anyone who wants to measure explosiveness, these two drills tell you quite a bit more than the 40. 

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