The NFL continues to progress to a nearly full-year cycle, with the NFL Combine next up on the schedule. The Eagles have had their Super Bowl parade and now the next major event on the NFL calendar is the 2025 NFL Combine. The event will be held in Indianapolis from Thursday, Feb. 27th to Sunday, March 2nd.
Each athlete invited to participate in the combine will be evaluated based on how they perform in various events, such as the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuffle, vertical jump, broad jump and bench press.
Here is a look at the o/u for the fastest 3-cone drill at the 2025 NFL Combine:
3-Cone Drill Testing Rules:
The 3-cone drill is one of the most important events at the NFL Combine. It is an opportunity for skill-position players to show how elite their quickness is compared to their peers. However, while they won’t have the fastest times overall, it is also a great stage for linemen to demonstrate their athleticism despite their size. The rules of the 3-cone drill are quite simple, it is a test of how quickly a player can jump off the line and how quickly they can change directions. The three cones are placed five yards apart in an “L” shape and the athletes are required to sprint to the second cone, turn around and sprint back to the first cone, then touch it. He then reverses again, sprinting toward the second cone and passing it to reach the third cone. The player runs around the third cone, heading past the outside of the second cone to the first cone.
NFL Combine 3-Cone Drill Record:
Former Oklahoma defensive back Jordan Thomas is the record holder for the fastest 3-cone drill at the NFL Combine with a time of 6.28 seconds. This is over a tenth of a second faster than the next fastest time, belonging to former Oregon wide receiver Jeff Maehl. Over the past five combines, only one player has been quick enough to break into the top 11 times in combine history. That was former Sam Houston State cornerback Zyon McCollum, who is tied for ninth all-time.
While none of the names at the top of the record book were standout NFL talents, the 2024 combine 3-cone drill was headlined by some of the best rookies in the 2024 class. Texans second-round pick Kamari Lassiter had the fastest time, followed by 49ers first-round pick Ricky Pearsall, Commanders third-round pick Luke McCaffrey and just behind them was Giants fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy Jr. All of these rookies were major contributors in their first season after churning out great 3-cone drills.
Who Will Record the Fastest 3-Cone Drill?
As with the broad jump and vertical jump, it is often wide receivers and defensive backs that put up the best numbers at this event. However, there are standouts at other positions every year that give themselves a bump in draft stock. For example, at the 2024 combine, QB J.J. McCarthy had the eighth-fastest 3-cone drill of any athlete, boosting his draft stock to be the 10th overall pick. It is also no coincidence that the fastest 3-cone drill from any offensive tackle in 2024 was Joe Alt, who ended up going No. 5 overall to the Chargers.
The over/under for the fastest 3-cone drill time at DraftKings Sportsbook for the 2025 NFL Combine is set at 6.555 seconds. Last year, nobody beat this number, with Lassiter’s 6.62 being the fastest time. The time also wasn’t beaten in 2023, but there were faster times in both 2022 and 2021. However, in both of those years, only one athlete was faster than 6.555 seconds. That means in the past four combines, only two athletes have beaten that time, making it a tough task for anyone to go under it this year.
Michigan CB Will Johnson is expected to be one of the first players off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft. Johnson is a tremendous athlete and ran a 6.57-second 3-cone drill last summer. That is very close to the number that needs to be achieved to beat this total, so Johnson could be the name to watch in the 3-cone drill. There are a lot of other elite athletes at the top of the draft board such as Travis Hunter, Nick Emmanwori and Omarion Hampton who could also put on dazzling displays in the 3-cone drill at the 2025 NFL Combine.
