Under the Microscope - 2018 NFL Combine Offensive Line Testing

Unsung Heroes

The players the layperson would likely not pay  much attention to week in and week out during the football season are offensive linemen.  Sure, DEFENSIVE linemen get sacks or make crushing hits but it's the offensive lineman who have no sexy stats to make the average fan ooh and aah. 

Of course, the irony is the players most ignored are universally acknowledged by students of the game as pillars upon which your success or failure rests.  The 2018 NFL Player Combine held in Indianapolis has kicked off and the Offensive Line men have gone through the physical testing phase.  Based on the results here are the how the participants ranked (note, the agility tests are not considered in this exercise). 

1.  The numbers above are just that...numbers.  Young men have spent the majority of their lives working toward being invited to the NFL Player Combine but I can't imagine any amount of training could prepare them for this week.  So, the numbers are a nice way to screen out prospects who may be new to us but the ones we already know, we already know. 
2. "That guy didn't run the fastest 40 time, why is he ranked #1!" - The rankings above are adjusted for players body mass so they differ from the results posted. 
3. "Hey, where is What'shisface?" What'shisface likely did not participate in at least half of the events, so he was excluded from this exercise.

Highs and Lows

Adjusted 40

• Will Hernandez, the quickest lineman at the Combine.  I know, he ran a 5.15 40, which was 7th fastest time but adjusted for his size he was the quickest.  His "Quickness" number of 1.16 two standard deviations above average placing him in the alone in the "Superior" category for quickness.

Bold Green = Superior / Green = Outstanding / Bold Yellow= Above Average

• Brian O'Neill nailed the fastest 40 time for OL at 4.82 seconds, adjusted for size, he dips to just out side the top 10 at number 11. 
•  I'm sure the world knows about Orlando Brown's performance but, adjusted for size (about 7% above the average body mass) , his quickness was not the worst ...in fact, he wasn't even in the Poor performance (> 1 standard deviation below average) group which contained 7 players who, despite being below the group body mass average ran slower than average 40 times. 

Vertical Jump

• Scott Quessenberry showed off his explosiveness by posting an adjusted vertical score in the "superior" range. 
• FCS standout Skyler Phillips proved his invitation was justified by placing in the Outstanding performers group.

Bold Green = Superior / Green = Outstanding / Bold Yellow= Above Average

• Unfortunately for Orlando Brown, there is not enough adjusting to help his vertical of 19.5 inches and he finished last in terms of actual and adjusted. 

Bench Press

• Braden Smith, a pre-season top pick who has since seen his buzz fade a bit to a murmur is on the comeback trail, cranking out 35 reps at 225 lbs which, adjusted for body mass, put him in the Superior category all by himself. 
• Although big body mass OLs Smith, Hernandez and Nelson took the top 3 slots in bench press on an adjusted basis, skinny mini Sam Jones (body mass approximately 6% below the group average) placed in the Outstanding group.  

Bold Green = Superior / Green = Outstanding / Bold Yellow= Above Average

• It has long been stated that longer armed players are at a disadvantage because they have a longer way to drive the weight.  In this case, the data supports this:

• The blue line represents each OLs arm length (left access, in inches) compared to repetitions (right axis). As the arm length increases, repetitions decrease.  While this keeps in line with the conventional wisdom, it could simply be these particular longer armed players were not as strong as their shorter armed colleagues.

Broad Jump

The second measure of explosiveness, this will help provide an indication of how much "get off" a lineman can generate on the snap.  

• Kolton Miller is a "lightweight" by the OL group standards, about  5.25% less body mass than average however he jumped more than 16% above average, securing the top spot. 
• Is there something in the water at Westwood?  Miller's former UCLA teammate, Quessenberry is just behind him in 2nd place.  Kangaroo University is born!
• Hernandez, the largest man in the group based on body mass, hopped the group average 104 inches, catapulting himself to the 3rd spot. 

Bold Green = Superior / Green = Outstanding / Bold Yellow= Above Average

• The good news is, the group settled near the average so there were only 4 "poor" performers who were outside of 1 standard deviation from the average.  The bad news is, if I paid everyone could correctly give the name of one of the bottom dwellers, I would be a broke man.  

Wrapping Up

• THE GOOD - The most athletic OL based on this analysis is none other than former Idaho State LT, Skyler Phillips.  An All-American, it will be interesting to go back and check out some video footage of Phillips.
• THE BAD - Not everyone is good at taking tests.  Even the most brilliant people may have a hard time when it comes to proving the skills you know outside of the context of work.  A player who performs at the highest levels, can look like JAG pretty quickly. There are certain players who will be much maligned for the next few weeks over their disappointing Combine  performances, but the thin skin they develop from the talking heads will help them succeed at the next level. 
• THE UGLY - Based on the adjusted statistics, none of the big names made much of a splash in the workouts.  Quentin Nelson and Hernandez made it into the top five overall, but the field of top OL were hampered by injuries that limited participation. The good news it we have about 7 weeks to prepare. 

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Post Combine Ballot

Once the Combine wraps up, we will start accepting ballots for the final DraftTwitter Top 100 aggregation through the week before the NFL player draft.  Please reach out to have a ballot (which is on an Excel online based spreadsheet that is quick and easy to use) by leaving a comment or emailing me at boombearfootballmail@gmail to have a ballot link forwarded to you.