I’ve always loved the NFL Combine. A series of events to evaluate the physical characteristics of the best college football players each year. It’s basically an Olympic decathlon for potential NFL Rookies.
When I train players for the combine, one of the things we always do is look at previous years’ results to see how we stack up. It is a great tool for goal-setting and motivation.
This guide is simply me sharing this information with you. I went through all the previous NFL Combines to find the top Defensive End* 3-Cone Drill (also called L-Drill) performances of all time.
*The NFL now labels some players as EDGE which I believe is an attempt to try to group guys together who fall into the 4-3 end or 3-4 outside linebacker-type role. Those guys are included on this page as well.
Note: These are the official NFL Combine times from NFL.com. Some resources online will also include pro-day numbers, but because there are so many other variables with pro-day numbers (surface, traction, weather, etc) I’ve stuck strictly to the official reps from Indianapolis.
Fastest Defensive End 3-Cone Drills All-Time
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine History |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Bruce Irvin |
West Virginia |
6.70 |
2012 |
| Aidan Hutchinson |
Michigan |
6.73 |
2022 |
| Sutton Smith |
Northern Illinois |
6.75 |
2019 |
| James Cowser |
Southern Utah State |
6.80 |
2016 |
| Kony Ealy |
Missouri |
6.83 |
2014 |
| Melvin Ingram |
South Carolina |
6.83 |
2012 |
| Sam Hubbard |
Ohio State |
6.84 |
2018 |
| Barkevious Mingo |
LSU |
6.84 |
2013 |
| Thaddeus Gibson |
Ohio State |
6.84 |
2010 |
| Jordan Willis |
Kansas State |
6.85 |
2017 |
Year By Year Top Defensive End 3-Cone Times
Here is a breakdown of the top 5 3-Cone times from each year going back to 2012. In addition to the top 5 each year, I’ve also included any defensive end that ran a 7.00 or less.
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2023 NFL Combine
2023
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2023 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Jose Ramirez |
Eastern Michigan |
6.95 |
2023 |
| Lukas Van Ness |
Iowa |
7.02 |
2023 |
| Habakkuk Baldonado |
Pittsburgh |
7.11 |
2023 |
| Byron Young |
Tennessee |
7.19 |
2023 |
| Isaiah Land |
Florida A&M |
7.20 |
2023 |
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2022 NFL Combine
2022
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2022 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Aidan Hutchinson |
Michigan |
6.73 |
2022 |
| Travon Walker |
Georgia |
6.89 |
2022 |
| Nik Bonitto |
Oklahoma |
7.07 |
2022 |
| Tre Williams |
Arkansas |
7.20 |
2022 |
| Jeffrey Gunter |
Coastal Carolina |
7.21 |
2022 |
2020
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2020 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Derrek Tuszka |
North Dakota State |
6.87 |
2020 |
| Curtis Weaver |
Boise State |
7.00 |
2020 |
| Casey Toohill |
Stanford |
7.08 |
2020 |
| Jonathan Greenard |
Florida |
7.13 |
2020 |
| Azur Kamara |
Kansas |
7.20 |
2020 |
2019
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2019 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Sutton Smith |
Northern Illinois |
6.75 |
2019 |
| Maxx Crosby |
Eastern Michigan |
6.89 |
2019 |
| Chase Winovich |
Michigan |
6.94 |
2019 |
| Anthony Nelson |
Iowa |
6.95 |
2019 |
| Jamal Davis |
Akron |
7.00 |
2019 |
| Montez Sweat |
Mississippi State |
7.00 |
2019 |
2018
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2018 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Sam Hubbard |
Ohio State |
6.84 |
2018 |
| Kylie Fitts |
Utah |
6.88 |
2018 |
| Harold Landry |
Boston College |
6.88 |
2018 |
| Trevon Young |
Louisville |
6.99 |
2018 |
| Dorance Armstrong |
Kansas |
7.12 |
2018 |
2017
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2017 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Jordan Willis |
Kansas State |
6.85 |
2017 |
| Derek Rivers |
Youngstown State |
6.94 |
2017 |
| Solomon Thomas |
Stanford |
6.95 |
2017 |
| Derek Barnett |
Tennessee |
6.96 |
2017 |
| Harvey Langi |
BYU |
7.00 |
2017 |
2016
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2016 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| James Cowser |
Southern Utah State |
6.80 |
2016 |
| Joey Bosa |
Ohio State |
6.89 |
2016 |
| Shilique Calhoun |
Michigan State |
6.97 |
2016 |
| Alex McCalister |
Florida |
7.01 |
2016 |
| Bronson Kaufusi |
BYU |
7.03 |
2016 |
2015
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2015 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Preston Smith |
Mississippi State |
7.07 |
2015 |
| Zack Wagenmann |
Montana |
7.07 |
2015 |
| Frank Clark |
Michigan |
7.08 |
2015 |
| Anthony Chickillo |
Miami |
7.17 |
2015 |
| Henry Anderson |
Stanford |
7.20 |
2015 |
2014
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2014 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Kony Ealy |
Missouri |
6.83 |
2014 |
| Jackson Jeffcoat |
Texas |
6.97 |
2014 |
| Cassius Marsh |
UCLA |
7.08 |
2014 |
| Howard Jones |
Shepherd |
7.16 |
2014 |
| Scott Crichton |
Oregon State |
7.19 |
2014 |
| James Gayle |
Virginia Tech |
7.19 |
2014 |
2013
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2013 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Barkevious Mingo |
LSU |
6.84 |
2013 |
| Devin Taylor |
South Carolina |
6.89 |
2013 |
| Ty Powell |
Illinois |
6.91 |
2013 |
| Dion Jordan |
Harding University |
6.98 |
2013 |
| Lavar Edwards |
Oregon |
7.02 |
2013 |
2012
| Fastest DE 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2012 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Jake Bequette |
Arkansas |
6.90 |
2012 |
| Vinny Curry |
Marshall |
6.90 |
2012 |
| Justin Francis |
Rutgers |
7.05 |
2012 |
| Chandler Jones |
Syracuse |
7.07 |
2012 |
| Tyrone Crawford |
Boise State |
7.09 |
2012 |
| Derrick Shelby |
Utah |
7.09 |
2012 |
Additional Defensive End Results
In addition to the 3-Cone, I’ve compiled similar results for the following Combine events:
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that not everyone that gets invited to the NFL Combine actually participates in the 3-Cone Drill. So, some players that potentially could put up a great time don’t have an official number on the record.
On top of that, there are many players each year that would have put up big numbers that don’t receive an NFL Combine invite. I’ve been at many a pro day where we had guys who put up numbers that would have put them right at the top of the rankings.
References
NFL.com
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