(55) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (NFL) COMBINE MEASURABLES AND PLAYING TIME IN THE 2024 NFL ROOKIE CLASS

Purpose: The National Football League (NFL) conducts an annual Combine to assess anthropometrics and performance metrics for hundreds of collegiate athletes in preparation of the NFL Draft. The consensus is that these measurables are helpful in determining a prospect’s ability to play in the NFL. However, research is conflicted on the ultimate usefulness of the NFL Combine in determining playing time (PT). The purpose of this study was to determine if the anthropometric and performance measures of the athletes invited to the 2024 NFL Combine were related to PT during the 2024 regular season. Methods: Data from four anthropometric (Body Mass Index; Hand Size; Arm Length; Wingspan) and seven performance tests (40 Yard Sprint; 10 Yard Split; Vertical Jump; Broad Jump; 3 Cone Drill; 20 Yard Shuttle; 225lb Bench Press) of 315 players were standardized into average Anthropometric Z-Scores (AZ), Performance Z-Scores (PZ) and Total Z-Scores (TZ) for analyses to account for players who did not complete every Combine test. PT was calculated as a player’s total number of regular season offensive, defensive, and special teams snaps during their 2024 rookie season. Pearson product moment correlations were used to investigate the relationships (α = 0.05) between AZ, PZ, and TZ to PT. Additionally, players were separated by position (Offensive Line [OL]; Defensive Back [DB]; Defensive Line [DL]; Running Back [RB]; Linebacker [LB]; Quarterback [QB]; Tight End [TE]; Wide Receiver [WR]) and analyzed for potential relationships within each position group. Results: A significant, weak, positive correlation existed between PZ and PT (r = 0.19, 95%CI [0.07, 0.31]; p < 0.01) and TZ and PT (r = 0.20, 95%CI [0.08, 0.31]; p < 0.01) for all players (n = 263). No relationship existed for AZ and PT (r = 0.02; p = 0.73). Additionally, significant relationships existed among position groups: OL (n = 61) – PZ and PT (r = 0.33, 95%CI [0.09, 0.54]; p = 0.01) and TZ and PT (r = 0.35, 95%CI [0.11, 0.56]; p < 0.01); WR (n = 34) – PZ and PT (r = 0.39, 95%CI [0.06, 0.65]; p = 0.03) and TZ and snap count (r = 0.46, 95%CI [0.15, 0.69]; p < 0.01); LB (n = 26) – TZ and snap count (r = 0.39, 95%CI [0.01, 0.68]; p = 0.05). No significant relationships existed for other position groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that NFL Combine performance metrics may provide some insight on subsequent PT, while prospects’ anthropometric measurables were not related to PT in any meaningful way. However, the lack of relationship within several position groups may indicate that the NFL Combine may not be valuable in evaluating a rookie’s usefulness on the field. These findings may be impacted by the growing number of prospects who do not fully participate in the Combine process. Practical Applications: Due to the overall weak, but meaningful, positive relationship between PZ and TZ on PT and within several position groups, players who perform better at the NFL Combine may receive more PT in their rookie season. Strength and conditioning professionals who work with prospects may want to continue to emphasize Combine specific techniques in training to maximize a prospect’s chances of playing in the NFL. However, due to the relatively weak and variable nature of these relationships across position groups, training that focuses on a prospect’s position specific demands or weaknesses that are not directly measured by these NFL Combine tests may be more useful in increasing PT. Acknowledgements: None