I often harp on the Short Shuttle* (5-10-5 drill) as more indicative than the 40 time for judging football athleticism.
I thought folks might be interested in some context for that so that when they look at SPARQ times they'd have a good idea of whether someone is quicker than fast, or vice versa.
On that note, I found NFL Combine data that gave the 5-year averages by position for the years 2008-2012.
Here goes:
Basically, the spread between Short Shuttle and 40 is going to average 0.3-0.5 with "speed" positions being closer to 0.3 and other positions being closer to 0.5 (shuttle times are faster).
To use an example from a recruit thread, WR Drew Kobayashi has the following SPARQ sheet:
Kobayashi's spread is around a 0.5 (WR norm of 0.3), showing a guy with speed a bit below average but with exceptional agility for the position.
For WR or any other position, I'd much rather see the ratios this way than for a guy to be running an above average 40 but showing below average agility in the Short Shuttle. Getting open is much more about getting out of breaks and changing direction quickly than it is about outrunning the DBs in a straight line down the field.
I also thought it was interesting from the data table how much short area quickness is important to the OC position as compared to other OL spots. Stands to reason, of course, but I hadn't ever seen the data.
*The name "20-yard shuttle" is derived from the total yards that athletes travel during the drill. They start in the middle of a 10 yard distance with one hand touching the ground. The athlete then pushes off their dominant leg in the opposite direction for 5 yards. After covering this distance, as quickly as possible they reverse and go 10 yards in the opposite direction. Finally, they reverse direction again, ending the drill at the starting point. The procedure is timed.
I thought folks might be interested in some context for that so that when they look at SPARQ times they'd have a good idea of whether someone is quicker than fast, or vice versa.
On that note, I found NFL Combine data that gave the 5-year averages by position for the years 2008-2012.
Here goes:
| Position | Avg 40 | Avg 5-10-5 | Difference |
| QB | 4.87 | 4.34 | 0.53 |
| WR | 4.55 | 4.25 | 0.30 |
| RB | 4.59 | 4.28 | 0.31 |
| FB | 4.80 | 4.29 | 0.51 |
| TE | 4.77 | 4.37 | 0.40 |
| OC | 5.30 | 4.66 | 0.64 |
| OG | 5.36 | 4.85 | 0.51 |
| OT | 5.32 | 4.80 | 0.52 |
| DE | 4.88 | 4.46 | 0.42 |
| DT | 5.13 | 4.66 | 0.47 |
| ILB | 4.80 | 4.31 | 0.49 |
| OLB | 4.74 | 4.34 | 0.40 |
| CB | 4.55 | 4.17 | 0.38 |
| S | 4.62 | 4.24 | 0.38 |
Basically, the spread between Short Shuttle and 40 is going to average 0.3-0.5 with "speed" positions being closer to 0.3 and other positions being closer to 0.5 (shuttle times are faster).
To use an example from a recruit thread, WR Drew Kobayashi has the following SPARQ sheet:
Kobayashi's spread is around a 0.5 (WR norm of 0.3), showing a guy with speed a bit below average but with exceptional agility for the position.
For WR or any other position, I'd much rather see the ratios this way than for a guy to be running an above average 40 but showing below average agility in the Short Shuttle. Getting open is much more about getting out of breaks and changing direction quickly than it is about outrunning the DBs in a straight line down the field.
I also thought it was interesting from the data table how much short area quickness is important to the OC position as compared to other OL spots. Stands to reason, of course, but I hadn't ever seen the data.
*The name "20-yard shuttle" is derived from the total yards that athletes travel during the drill. They start in the middle of a 10 yard distance with one hand touching the ground. The athlete then pushes off their dominant leg in the opposite direction for 5 yards. After covering this distance, as quickly as possible they reverse and go 10 yards in the opposite direction. Finally, they reverse direction again, ending the drill at the starting point. The procedure is timed.
