NFL Draft Predictions Based On Combine Results

Here it is. My annual draft predictions based purely on NFL combine results. I will pick a player at each position (except QB, Kicker, or Punter) and give a prediction on where they will go in the draft. Here we go:

• Running Back - Roy Helu (Nebraska) is 6' like 220 pounds. He ran a 4.42 in the 40 yard dash, had a vertical jump of 36.5", and ran the 20 yard shuttle in 4.01 seconds. These are pretty good numbers. I guess he was the guy at Nebraska. I think with those numbers and the kind of career he had, I could see him going as a 3rd round pick.
• Wide Receiver - Greg Little (North Carolina) is 6'2 and 210+ pounds. His 40 wasn't earth shattering at 4.53, but he jumped 40.5", benched pressed 225# 27 times, and had a standing long jump of 10'9". I guess this guy is a knucklehead, but he is big and strong and explosive enough that I could see a team take a chance with him at late 2nd/3rd round.
• Tight End - Virgil Green (Nevada) ran the second fastest 40 at 4.64 seconds. D.J. Williams is the cream of the crop here, but Virgil out performed him in every test at the combine. Unless he has hands of stone, I see this guy getting drafted probably late 3rd/early fourth.
• Offensive Line - Jason Kelce (Cincinnati) had the fastest 40 at 4.93 seconds. He ran an incredible 4.14 in the 20 yard shuttle (at least for a lineman) and was one of the few who broad jumped over 9'. He has played both guard and center and because of that versatility and his scores I think he could be a late 3rd/early 4th pick.
• Defensive Line - Dontay Moch (Nevada) is a little smallish as a Defensive End, so he might transition to linebacker. He ran a 4.44 in the 40, jumped 42" and broad jumped over 10'. Not as strong as the other defensive lineman that is why I could see him switching, but compared to the other DL he ranks one of the best, scoring wise. I don't know what they are feeding those players at Nevada, but I could see him going early to mid 3rd round.
• Linebacker - Von Miller (Texas A&M) is a great specimen at 6'3" and 240 pounds. He has great scores running a 4.53 in the 40 (2nd among LB), 37" in the vertical (3rd among LB), and a 4.06 in the 20 yard shuttle (2nd among LB). These are great numbers and with his size I could see him going in the middle to late 1st round.
• Defensive Backs - Jimmy Smith (Colorado) is a big, strong cornerback at 6'1" and 210 that can help counter those big receivers. He ran a fast 4.46, jumped 36", benched press 24 times (2nd most among CB), and had a great broad jump. This type of commodity I don't think would slip past late first round. Patrick Patterson is the obvious stud, but this guy could be next.

Well that was fun. Next week, I'll comment on how I did and see what type of "Mel Kiper" I am.

Why Your Athletic Performance At The Combine Shouldn't Be Understated

This week is the NFL draft. Enjoy it because it might be the last NFL programming we will see this year.

On Thursday, I will announce my annual draft predictions based solely on combine performance. That is always interesting. I don't necessarily think that the big studs, prior to the combine, will hurt their chances if they stink up their combine, but some people can really improve their stock if they do well.

I understand that too much might be made of these combines. Football is a game not only about athleticism, but also heart and passion for the game. If a player can play he can play. How many times have you seen someone get an opportunity because they were extremely fast and then completely fizzle in the NFL?? I think the point that is missed is this. Someone who played that same position really well, might have had the heart to play that position. Might have had the know-how to play that position. Probably could have played it real well, if the league he was going to play in was semi-pro ball. Bottom line is he might have just been too slow to play that position.

Doesn't matter if you know how to hit the right angle to get to the play if it takes you forever to get there.

The athletes invited to the combine have played football. They have done something noteworthy to get invited to the combine. So, you know they can play the game. Yes, character does play a roll in that, but their character flaws really have to be major for an athlete who can run a 4.4 40 to drop multiple rounds in the NFL draft. All that being said, the combine shows us several things:

• Who the physical studs are? Something is impressive seeing an athlete run a sub 4.4 40, jump close to 40 inches in a vertical jump, run close to 4 seconds in the 20 yard shuttle. I can get people faster, but it is hard to get someone who runs a 4.7 down to a 4.4, especially if they have already matured physically. 40 inch verticals don't grow on trees. These are rare commodities.
• Seeing the next level players? How all these times compare to each other at the position. This is where some of the other intangibles come in. A comparable 40 time to some of the upper echelon athletes might nudge someone onto a drafting list.
• Honestly, it shows the athleticism these players have. You can tell the explosiveness these people have based on these drills. And unfortunately, it also can show the lack of athleticism someone might have who maybe just played in a good system fit for him.

The combine, if anything, is entertaining. I was watching a half hour of 40 yard dashes on my computer. Comparing the times of the different positions. See who looked like an awesome specimen and who might have already tapped his potential.

Sure there are misfires with this combine thing. But, I'm sure an exec can easily justify drafting someone with a 4.3 40 rather than a 4.6 40 at the same position. The 4.3 guy you can say didn't work hard enough or didn't have the heart. The 4.6 guy people are going to say "you already knew he was slow, why did you pick him?"

On Thursday, I will give you my list of potential draft picks and where I think they will be picked in the draft soley on the combine results. I'll pick one person at most positions (I'll ignore quarterbacks since they are based on skills more than just combine stuff) and tell you where I think they will go. Then we'll see what happens.

Enjoy the draft and we'll talk soon.

Do Not Ignore Those Hamstrings In Your Speed Improvement Program

Ask people how they plan their workouts and you might get a response like this:

"I do my chest on Mondays, back on Tuesdays, bis and tris on Wednesday, shoulders on Thursday, and legs on Friday."

If your biggest muscles are your legs, why don't you split those muscles up on different days rather than dissecting your upper body? The answer is that people generally hate to do their legs, but athletes have to be different. Especially athletes that need to improve their speed and get to running fast now. Consequently, athletes really need to be specific on how they develop their leg strength. Hamstrings are vital to speed development and need to be targeted appropriately.

I learned this the hard way. I played intramural softball in my 20's and all winter I was hitting my legs hard. As a change in my program and trying to condense my workouts, I took out all specific hamstring exercises and focused my leg program on the major hitters - squats, lunges, step-ups, maybe a leg press. My thought was that my hamstrings were getting enough work with those exercises and I didn't want to waste time doing curls or something like that.

I was wrong!

My first softball game that season I was trying to beat out a grounder running from home to first and I tweaked my hamstring. I didn't pull it, but it was uncomfortable. The rest of the season that injury was there and I immediately went back to putting hamstring exercises back in my program to start strengthening them. That and stretching.

The lesson learned was that you don't hit the hamstrings effectively enough doing the aforementioned exercises. You develop the quads a lot more and when you try to generate those high speeds that the quads are pumping out, the hamstrings just don't have the strength to keep up and eventually something gives. I was lucky and just tweaked my hamstring, but you remember from last newsletter how I got my first varsity letter. It was by someone pulling the hamstring.

With all the knowledge out there, I don't know why more athletes don't work those hamstrings more. Not only does it make you run faster, but you will prevent injury to those hamstrings and stay on the playing field more to utilize that speed. You need to build up that hamstring strength so it can keep up with your quads and they don't get tired. Simple hamstring curls help, but also Romanian deadlifts, glute ham exercises, and manual hamstring curls are also beneficial. You can click here to see the glute ham exercise in action and what I think is the best exercise out there for your hamstrings.

So the lesson is simple. If you do your legs, you want to run faster and gain serious speed improvement, start adding hamstring exercises to your squats and lunges. You will not be sorry and the speed you will gain will be very noticeable. Oh, by the way, I did beat out the ground ball to first base.

Improper Speed Training Got Me My First Varsity Letter

I was a freshman in high school looking to make an impression on our high school track team. I was a good long jumper and sprinter for my grade, but I needed to be more to have an impact for our varsity team as a freshman. In track, if you go to a pretty big invitational the team usually is allowed to take the top 2 for each individual event. I was the third best long jumper and high jumper. So I had the opportunity to score points at our dual meets during the week, but on the weekends it was a no-go unless it was a relay meet. Relay meets could have two or three jumpers allowed depending on how the meet was designed.

Early in our season, we had a relay meet at Watkins Memorial and I was allowed to go as the third jumper. Our number 2 jumper was a sophomore. Pretty built guy and had these huge tree trunks for legs. Really big quads. We were warming up, doing some build-ups when it happened. Our #2 guy pulled his hamstring doing some build up sprints. Pulled it bad. He was done for the rest of the season. He tried to comeback, but just re-injured it.

Thus, I got my opportunity to score enough points in meets to earn my first varsity letter as a freshman. I was pretty stoked. Not many freshman get to earn a letter.

Now, if our #2 jumper had learned to balance his strength training in his legs, he might not have pulled his hamstring and I might not have lettered. See, I mentioned that he had some big quads. His quads were probably a heck of a lot stronger than his hamstrings. Thus, when he was getting to top speed his quads were powering away, while his hammies were struggling to keep up until one popped. If he had added some hamstring work to his strength program that might not have happened.

Leg curls, romanian deadlifts, and one of my favorite exercises, the glute ham machine, will really help develop those hamstrings and keep you from pulling them. I have a great video you can watch on Youtube showing you this glute ham machine. Click here to check out that video and do the exercise if you get the opportunity.

I have another story I'll talk about later this week that relates to this subject. Until then, remember to hit those hamstrings as well in your leg program, if you want to get faster.

Will You Ever NOT Need A Speed Coach?

I'd like to think it wasn't too long ago that I was in high school playing sports. I have clients that range from 8 years old and up. Each athlete wanting to get better for their sport, whether they realize that is why they are with me or not. All kind of accept (at some level) that my instruction is necessary for them to achieve a certain goal they might have.

Increase in playing time. Making the roster for their team. Cracking the starting lineup.

How the landscape has changed!

When I was playing sports, there wasn't such a thing as a specialty coach. If you take out tennis and golf (because they had pros that would instruct kids). There weren't any specialty coaches. Kids got better by practicing and playing over and over with some help from a team coach every so often.

If you wanted to have a better shot, you just shot at the basket a lot.

If you wanted to hit better, you would get someone to pitch to you or hit off a tee.

If you wanted to run faster, you hoped you were blessed with good speed.

What we did was go to camps. So, over the summer we would maybe play in a summer league, but we would also go to a camp for a week. You would get instruction, play some games, get a t-shirt when you were done, and hopefully apply some of the things you learned. That was it.

Now it is completely different. Camp is essentially organized scrimmages against other teams over the summer that is somehow approved by the high school association. Go over your plays, work on them with your team, and very little instruction. That is where the specialty coaches come in. To provide that missing instruction.

Now, people are paying good money for shot doctors, dribble kings, kicking coaches, soccer gurus, volleyball specialists, wrestling programs, speed coaches, and the list goes on. Each coach in their particular area thinks that they are needed. In some aspects that is true. Now more than ever a coach can help you with form that will help you improve your game probably faster than you figuring it out by just playing repeatedly.

I feel speed training is the same if not more. Before, people were either fast or you weren't. Now, with greater understanding of proper mechanics and how the body moves, we can make anyone faster. I will admit. I'm not going to take someone who is really slow and make them run a 4.2 40 yard dash. What I will do is make them faster and quicker than what they were before and that will make them a better athlete. This is something that you will NEVER be able to accomplish on your own. You can get faster as you get older, but all of the sudden understanding the proper movements of running is something that will not come fast, if at all.

Would I have gone to a specialty coach when I was playing sports? I probably wouldn't have had a choice. My parents would have signed me up and I would have gone whether I liked it or not. But, how would I have acted? Would I have just done it and accepted it? Would I have been ticked off? Or would I have understood the incredible opportunity my parents were giving me working with this specialty coach? I don't know and we'll never know.

It is just different now and because of that I have a job to help as many athletes as possible get faster and reach their athletic potential. My generation would have had no clue what a specialty coach was. This generation probably feels that without one they will not accomplish what they want in athletics. Whether that impression is right or wrong, I and my company have to be there for the athletes to fill that void. Specialty coaches are here to stay. I can't speak for the rest, but I can assure you that with my specialty you are going to improve your athleticism to the point that you WILL be better at your sport.

Interview With Injury Recovery Expert, Rick Kaselj (Part 2)

This is the second part of my interview with Rick Kaselj, from Vancouver.  Rick is the founder of Exercisesforinjuries.com and was kind enough to answer questions from me.  Today's questions will focus on knee injuries.  Why are they caused and what you can do to prevent them.  It is a pretty good post and one you should read.  This interview was originally posted on this site last April 11, 2011, but I'm replaying it for my howtorunfasternow site.

To read the post, click here to see how Rick Kaselj can help your knee injuries.

Interview With Injury Recovery Expert, Rick Kaselj (Part 1)

This interview was originally posted on April 8, 2011, but I liked it so much I'm replaying it on Memorial Day.  Rick Kaselj is from Vancouver and I searched him out through some contacts.  He is an expert on recovering from injuries.  He has developed a great reputation on healing from all types of injuries.  Today, he is talking about rotator cuff injuries.


I've had quite a few clients with rotator cuff injuries.  My interview with him will help shed light on why these injuries are occurring and what is needed to help prevent them.  Click here to read my interview with Rick Kaselj about rotator cuff injuries.