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What NFL Scouting Combine drills tell us about John Dorsey's draft strategy

February 28, 2018 at 07:21 AM

By Scott Patsko, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – John Dorsey will attend his first NFL Scouting Combine as GM of the Browns this week. From a seat inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Dorsey will watch 336 prospects run through a series of drills.

You know them by now. The 40-yard dash, vertical leap, broad jump, shuttle (a 20-yard change of direction test) and the three-cone (similar to the shuttle, but with a triangle formation in smaller area).

How teams incorporate these drills into their scouting is usually a well-guarded secret. During his five years as GM of the Chiefs, Dorsey said more than once that he wanted his player evaulation to be 85 percent Atlanta Braves and 15 percent Oakland A’s, meaning a player’s film played a much larger role than analytics.

But a closer look at the players Dorsey drafted during his years with the Chiefs suggests that two drills hold higher importance than others.

When he was with the Chiefs, John Dorsey said he wanted the team's evaluation process to be 85 percent Atlanta Braves and 15 percent Oakland A's. (Associated Press)

Targeting explosive players

The Chiefs drafted 38 players during Dorsey’s tenure, and 28 of them participated at the annual combine. Take out the quarterbacks (they’re scouted differently than other positions), and players who just went for the team interviews or only competed in the 40-yard dash and/or bench press, and you’re left with 21 combine players.

This is where it gets interesting.

Of those 21 players, 10 scored in the top five for their position groups for the vertical leap and/or broad jump, two drills that measure leg power. No other drills had so many Chiefs picks perform so well during Dorsey’s years in Kansas City.

As The Ringer’s Kevin Clark wrote prior to the 2017 combine, NFL teams are targeting explosive players more than ever before, and Dorsey had the Chiefs riding that trend. In fact, Dorsey told Clark, the Chiefs had crafted a formula from combine data that he felt was “a pretty good indicator of athleticism.”

“(Dorsey) says that he emphasizes scouting players who can ‘win’ on the first step after the snap. Dorsey estimates that football gets significantly quicker every five years, meaning first steps, and the explosion that fuels them, are pivotal,” Clark wrote. “He would not share the specifics of the team’s formula, but the Chiefs’ recent draft selections suggest that being able to jump - in both the vertical and broad drills - is a must for making it onto Kansas City’s radar.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Dorsey brought that formula to the Browns.

Here’s a look at the draft picks that formula could've helped identify for the Chiefs:

Jehu Chesson, WR, 4th round, 2017

Chesson was sixth among all players in the broad jump (132 inches), and fourth among wide receivers. He had 2 catches last year in his rookie season.

Chris Conley, WR, 3rd round, 2015

Conley was a combine star. He was first overall in the vertical jump (45 inches), and second overall in the broad jump (139).

He became a starter for the Chiefs in his second year, but an Achilles injury cut his season short in 2017.

Knile Davis, RB, 3rd round, 2013

David isn’t included in the 10 big jumpers mentioned above, but we’ll include him here because he finished sixth among running backs in the broad jump (121). Only one player jumped over 125 at his combine.

Davis was the Chiefs’ primary kick returner until Tyreek Hill showed up. Davis was traded to the Packers in 2016.

Eric Fisher, OT, 1st round, 2013

Fisher was the first overall pick in 2013 after having the second-best broad jump among offensive tackles (116) and the seventh-best vertical jump (28.5).

Fisher hasn’t had the dominant career many expected of the first overall pick, but he has missed just four starts over five seasons.

Kareem Hunt, RB, 3rd round, 2017

Hunt was fourth among running backs in the vertical jump (36.5). He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after rushing for 1,327 yards.

Mitch Morse, OG, 2nd round, 2015

Morse was a standout at the combine. He was second among guards in both the vertical jump (31.0) and broad jump (112). He also finished in the top four in the shuttle and three-cone drills.

Morse became the Chiefs’ center and has started every game he has played. A foot injury limited his 2017 season to seven games.

Eric Murray, CB, 4th round, 2016

Murray was fourth overall in the vertical jump (38.5) and second among cornerbacks. He was tied for fifth among cornerbacks in the broad jump (124). Only two cornerbacks jumper over 127.

Murray has primarily been a backup for the Chiefs.

Dadi Nicholas, DE, 6th round, 2016

Nicholas tied for second overall in the vertical jump (41.0) and was first among defensive ends. He played in 11 games as a rookie and was injured in 2017.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches, DT, 6th round, 2015

Nunez-Roches tied for first in the vertical jump (34.0) among defensive tackles. He was second at his position in the broad jump (114). He played sparingly in his first two seasons but started 11 games in 2017.

D.J. White, CB, 6th round, 2016

White was third overall in the broad jump (132) and first among cornerbacks. He played in 11 games as a rookie and was waived in 2017 before being claimed by the Colts.

Ramik Wilson, ILB, 4th round, 2015

Wilson was fourth in the vertical jump (35.0) among inside linebackers. He played 11 games as a rookie and spent time on the Chiefs’ practice squad before starting 11 games last season and finishing third on the team in tackles.

Takeaways

While there seems to be a connection between Dorsey’s targeted players and jumping drill standouts, don’t forget that the new Browns GM still wants to be 85 percent Atlanta Braves.

“At the end of the day, you never pass on a really good player,” Dorsey told ESPN’s Adam Schefter during a 2017 podcast. “Don’t pass on the real players.”

That’s why, in 2015, the Chiefs drafted Marcus Peters, a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, despite Peters’ middle-of-the-pack performance at the combine. The Chiefs also drafted players who didn’t participate at the combine, or limited their activities to the 40-yard dash and the bench press.

But, if you’re wondering what Dorsey might be watching this week – especially when it comes to Browns areas of need like cornerback and wide receiver – you’d be wise to keep on eye on the jumpers.

Link

I am not getting on anyone's case, but we now have three separate Combine threads. Sometimes, things are missed when we have multiple threads on one topic.

I wonder if it would be a good idea to merge all 3 of the Combine threads together? I believe Saint put up the first Combine thread. Perhaps it should have a new title, though. LOL

I didn't start this as a combine thread per se but felt we could use it to discuss Dorsey's strategy and what we see in the players given these metrics and how they stack up. But if the refs think it needs to be moved, I'm good with it. (I did look for a thread that might be appropriate to this topic but didn't see one.)

Okay. It was just a suggestion. No biggie. Sorry.

No sweat, I have no problem merging this if there's a good place for it.