NFL combine drills explained: Vertical jump

The vertical jump isn't necessarily about winning jump balls, it's about measuring burst from the lower body.

The NFL Scouting Combine is here, and the top NFL Draft prospects from around the nation are finally seeing on-field workouts and drills in Indianapolis. The Combine got underway earlier in the week, but there were interviews, medical examinations, measurements and other things to worry about before the players actually took part in the stations and drills.

One of the big ones is the vertical jump. It's pretty obvious from the name what the vertical jump is used for: measuring a player's ability to get off the ground. But it's not simply to see whether or not a player can jump high so they can deal with jump balls and situations surrounding them. The value of the vertical jump is that it show's a player's ability to burst off the line of scrimmage with lower body strength.

That's why the drill is important for linebackers and defensive linemen despite the fact that they, in theory, are not jumping around much trying to defend passes. How low they can get, and how much power they can get out of that initial burst, isa good measure for how they'll do off the line.

A player's reach is measured before jumping, and then they jump to hit as many flags above them as possible. They're given two chances at the jump, which is taken from a flat-footed position. The best vertical jump in NFL Combine history goes to Gerald Sensabaugh in 2005. He went 46'' with his.

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