What drills to Rams care about at the NFL Combine?

What are some drills that the Rams pay attention to at the NFL Combine?

The Los Angeles Rams may not attend the NFL Combine, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t be paying attention to the results. Due to the fact that the Rams don’t travel to Indianapolis, there is this idea that they don’t care about athleticism or the results of the combine. Based on similarities on players that they’ve drafted in the past, that’s simply not true. While teams shouldn’t solely rely on results from the combine, they can help confirm what you’ve seen on tape or the gps data. With that in mind, I thought it would be good to go through some of the Rams’ positions of need and some of the drills that the Rams have looked at when it comes to those positions in the past.

Tight End

• Broad Jump
• 10-yard and 20-yard splits

The Rams could use another tight end and it wouldn’t be surprising if that player came from the draft. Both Tyler Higbee and Hunter Long will be coming off of major injuries. Brycen Hopkins is also set to hit free agency. That leaves Davis Allen as the only healthy option at tight end entering the offseason.

At tight end, the Rams are really looking for players with good explosiveness. Specifically, looking at the broad jump, Les Snead has targeted players who tested well in the broad jump. In 2017, the Rams made Gerald Everett the first draft pick of the Sean McVay era. Everett tested in the 95th percentile in the broad jump. Jacob Harris and Davis Allen were in the 98th and 93rd percentile, respectively. Out of the five tight ends that the Rams have added or drafted under McVay, only Brycen Hopkins tested below the 85th percentile in the broad jump.

Another good way to test explosiveness is in the 40-yard dash, specifically with the 10 and 20-yard splits. That initial burst is where a player’s explosiveness is on display. Every tight end that the Rams have drafted under McVay has been in the 1.6 range when it comes to the 10-yard split.

Cornerback

• 40-yard dash
• Vertical

Simply put, the Rams need to add some talent to their secondary. They can’t lean on Derion Kendrick again and Cobie Durant took a step back after a solid rookie season. It would not be a surprise if they addressed the cornerback position with their 19th overall pick.

When looking at who the Rams have drafted at cornerback in the past, the Rams value cornerbacks with speed. The only cornerback that Snead has drafted since McVay took over was Derion Kendrick who ran a 4.79. We’re really looking at cornerbacks in the 4.4 range and around the 80th percentile. The Rams drafted Tre Tomlinson last year who ran a 4.41 second 40-yard dash. Cobie Durant the year before ran a 4.38.

Additionally, it will be important to keep an eye on the vertical results. All but two cornerbacks that the Rea have drafted since 2017 have tested well in the vertical, placing in the 83rd percentile or higher. Robert Rochell was in the 98th percentile in the vertical and David Long was in the 87th percentile. Last year, Tomlinson was in the 83rd percentile in the vertical.

EDGE

• 10-yard split
• Broad/Vertical Jump

This might be the largest position of need for the Rams this offseason. They don’t just need players who can rush the passer, but they need guys who can create pressure from the edge. If the Rams don’t sign an edge rusher in free agency, it should be seen as a near guarantee that they draft someone and draft someone within the first two or three rounds.

Much like tight end, the Rams value explosiveness here. The drills that we’ll be looking at are the 40-yard dash, specifically the 10-yard split. A good 10-yard split displays explosiveness and a quick get-off. We’ll be looking at players in the 1.5-1.6-second range here. In terms of RAS scores, every player that the Rams have selected since 2021 have an 8.73 score here. Byron Young scored a 9.92 10-second split RAS score last year.

We’ll also be looking at the vertical. Young and Nick Hampton each scored in the 91st and 76th percentile. Terrell Lewis and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo also each tested higher than the 80th percentile.

Interior Offensive Line

• Broad jump

With Kevin Dotson and Coleman Shelton both set to hit free agency, the Rams could be in the market to draft an interior offensive lineman. That doesn’t mention that they just cut Brian Allen and at the very least will need to add some depth in this area.

When it comes to the interior of the offensive line, the Rams are more trait-oriented. In other words, they look for specific traits i.e. experience, versatility, powerful, etc. With that said, there is one drill that might be worth paying attention to and that’s the broad jump. Logan Bruss and Bobby Evans each tested above the 75th percentile. Coleman Shelton and Austin Corbett also tested well here. It’s worth noting that Steve Avila’s worth drill last year was the broad jump. It’s far from a perfect science, but typically speaking, the Rams have looked the broad jump with interior offensive linemen that they’ve drafted.