(62) PREDICTING 40 YARD DASH PERFORMANCE USING ANTHROPOMETRIC AND PERFORMANCE VARIABLES COLLECTED AT THE 2024 NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE COMBINE

Purpose: The National Football League (NFL) conducts an annual combine to assess anthropometric and athletic ability of hundreds of collegiate players in a variety of tests in preparation for the draft. Improved sport analytics may help teams better predict which players to draft to help the team for the following seasonThe purpose of this study was to determine differences in average normalized anthropometric and performance results of 2024 NFL Combine players compared to subsequent draft status. Methods: Height (Ht, cm) and weight (Wt, kg) along with data from performance tests conducted at the 2024 NFL Combine (40yd Sprint [40Sp, s]; Vertical Jump [VJ, cm]; Broad Jump [BJ, cm]; 3 Cone Drill [3C, s]; 20yd Shuttle [20Sh, s]) of 321 players were analyzed from open-source databases. Two forward linear regression models were calculated to predict 40Sp time based off all other variables of interest. The first model excluded athletes listwise, eliminating all athletes from analysis who did not complete all tests. The second model excluded athletes pairwise, allowing for all athlete testing data to be used in creation of the regression model. Significance of relationships was set at p ≤ 0.05. Data are presented as mean ± SD, and 95%CIs are presented for all regression equations. Results: For the listwise excluded model (n = 56), a significant regression equation was found (F (2, 53) = 251.277, p < 0.01) with an adjusted R² of 0.901. 40Sp (4.83 ± 0.34s) was significantly predicted by Wt and BJ. The prediction equation was 40Sp = 5.993 + 0.008(Wt) – 0.007(BJ). 95%CIs were [B = 5.240, 6.746], [Wt = 0.006, 0.009], and [BJ = -0.009, -0.005]. Ht (p = 0.81), VJ (p = 0.44), 3C (p = 0.08), and 20Sh (p = 0.70) were not significant predictors of 40Sp in the tested population. For the pairwise excluded model (n range = 78-318), a significant regression equation was found (F (2, 67) = 251.091, p < 0.01) with an adjusted R² of 0.884. 40Sp (4.73 ± 0.31s) was again significantly predicted by Wt and BJ. The prediction equation was 40Sp = 5.305 + 0.008(Wt) – 0.005(BJ). 95%CIs were [B = 4.626, 5.985], [Wt = 0.007, 0.010], and [BJ = -0.007, -0.003]. Ht (p = 0.93), VJ (p = 0.84), 3C (p = 0.36), and 20Sh (p = 0.40) were not significant predictors of 40Sp in the tested population. Conclusions: These data suggest that elite-level player performance in the 40Sp can be predicted using the horizontal power exhibited in the broad jump performance and body weight of the athlete. Practical Applications: These findings support assessing elite-level athletes short-burst sprint performance and explosive power by focusing on horizontal power specifically exhibited in the broad jump. These NFL combine measures of BJ and Wt support coaches with limited space and time to evaluate athletes and provide a practical correlate to the 40Sp. It may be beneficial for coaches at all levels of skill to give additional weight to the relationship between body weight and broad jump when evaluating their athletes. Future research and athlete evaluation may consider other sports-specific measures of horizontal power to determine correlates for on-field spring performance. Acknowledgements: NONE