The 3-Cone Drill

[A-Dog]

Both D.J Metcalf and Gary Jennings had terrible pre-draft times in the 3-cone drill, Metcalf at 7.23 (which likely caused him to drop at least a full round), and Jennings at an even worse 7.32. Is this a cause for concern? Well, according to at least one scientific analysis, it isn't, at least not for wide receivers. In fact, none of the combine drills are a good indicator of future NFL success for wide receivers.

If you need more convincing, consider that former oversized All Pro receivers Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas and Josh Gordon all failed to beat the 3-cone times of Metcalf and Jennings -- because none of them actually ran it. It's a good thing that Metcalf and Jennings did, because otherwise there's a good chance they never would have dropped to us.

 

[AgentDib]

Of course the most important thing for a receiver is being able to catch the football.

The three cone drill is a pretty good test for how good a receiver is at running the NFL routes which involve high change of direction, such as the comeback or curl routes. Guys like Calvin Johnson don't really run those kind of routes. With his speed, size and strength Megatron was dominant on corner and post routes that put more emphasis on speed and less on reversing course.

DK Metcalf and Gary Jennings both look like very high ceiling WR's in that same vein, particularly with one of the best deep ball QBs in the NFL throwing to them. We could have a very scary three receiver set with Metcalf, Jennings and Lockett running his fade - provided we can protect Russ for long enough for those routes to develop.

We also do still need possession receivers who can pick up shorter yardage. Sometimes these guys have superb three cones and are quicker than fast (Julian Edelman, Doug Baldwin, hopefully John Ursua). Sometimes they are big targets with the quickness to run an in/out route (Julio Jones, Kenny Britt). If ADB retires then we'll have competition between Ursua, Keenan Reynolds, Caleb Scott, Malik Turner, and probably a veteran FA for this role but it's probably a step down for what we've seen recently.

 

[chris98251]

Long legged guys with a large frame will always have a worse three cone drill, why they are not slot guys.

Like asking someone in a 1970's Cadillac to run on a drifting course.