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 Running Back 3-Cone Drill (also called L-Drill) performances of all time.
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 Running Back 3-Cone Drills All-Time
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine History |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Chris Rainey |
Florida |
6.50 |
2012 |
| Christian McCaffrey |
Stanford |
6.57 |
2017 |
| Ray Rice |
Rutgers |
6.65 |
2008 |
| Graig Cooper |
Miami |
6.66 |
2011 |
| Roy Helu |
Nebraska |
6.67 |
2011 |
| Christine Michael |
Texas A&M |
6.69 |
2013 |
| Garrett Wolfe |
Northern Illinois |
6.69 |
2007 |
| Zac Stacy |
Vanderbilt |
6.70 |
2013 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw |
Marshall |
6.70 |
2007 |
| Kendall Hunter |
Oklahoma State |
6.74 |
2011 |
| Kevin Smith |
UCF |
6.74 |
2008 |
Year By Year Top Running Back 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 running back that ran a 6.90 or less.
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2023 NFL Combine
2023
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2023 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Evan Hull |
Northwestern |
6.90 |
2022 |
| SaRodorick Thompson Jr |
Texas Tech |
7.25 |
2022 |
Related –> NFL Combine Averages By Position at 2022 NFL Combine
2022
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2022 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| N/A |
|
|
2022 |
No Running Backs ran the 3-Cone Drill at the 2022 Combine.
2020
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2020 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Joshua Kelley |
UCLA |
6.95 |
2020 |
| Eno Benjamin |
Arizona State |
6.97 |
2020 |
| JJ Taylor |
Arizona |
7.00 |
2020 |
| Jonathan Taylor |
Wisconsin |
7.01 |
2020 |
| James Robinson |
Illinois State |
7.03 |
2020 |
2019
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2019 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Miles Sanders |
Penn State |
6.89 |
2019 |
| Alex Barnes |
Kansas State |
6.95 |
2019 |
| Dexter Williams |
Notre Dame |
7.00 |
2019 |
| James Williams |
Washington State |
7.01 |
2019 |
| Ryquell Armstead |
Temple |
7.02 |
2019 |
2018
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2018 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Chase Edmonds |
Fordham |
6.79 |
2018 |
| Quinton Flowers |
South Florida |
6.81 |
2018 |
| Justin Jackson |
Northwestern |
6.81 |
2018 |
| Royce Freeman |
Oregon |
6.90 |
2018 |
| Kalen Ballage |
Arizona State |
6.91 |
2018 |
2017
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2017 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Christian McCaffrey |
Stanford |
6.57 |
2017 |
| Aaron Jones |
Texas El Paso |
6.82 |
2017 |
| Stanley Williams |
Kentucky |
6.86 |
2017 |
| Jeremy McNichols |
Boise State |
6.93 |
2017 |
| Dare Ogunbowale |
Wisconsin |
6.99 |
2017 |
2016
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2016 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Wendell Smallwood |
West Virginia |
6.83 |
2016 |
| Kenneth Dixon |
Louisiana Tech |
6.97 |
2016 |
| Peyton Barber |
Auburn |
7.00 |
2016 |
| DeAndre Washington |
Texas Tech |
7.03 |
2016 |
| Kenyan Drake |
Alabama |
7.04 |
2016 |
2015
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2015 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Ameer Abdullah |
Nebraska |
6.79 |
2015 |
| David Johnson |
Northern Iowa |
6.82 |
2015 |
| Trey Williams |
Texas A&M |
6.84 |
2015 |
| Malcolm Brown |
Texas |
6.86 |
2015 |
| Javorius Allen |
USC |
6.96 |
2015 |
2014
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2014 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Bishop Sankey |
Washington |
6.75 |
2014 |
| Tyler Gaffney |
Stanford |
6.78 |
2014 |
| Jerick McKinnon |
Georgia Southern |
6.83 |
2014 |
| Dri Archer |
Kent State |
6.86 |
2014 |
| Lorenzo Taliaferro |
Coastal Carolina |
6.88 |
2014 |
2013
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2013 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Christine Michael |
Texas A&M |
6.69 |
2013 |
| Zac Stacy |
Vanderbilt |
6.70 |
2013 |
| Le’Veon Bell |
Michigan State |
6.75 |
2013 |
| Rex Burkhead |
Nebraska |
6.85 |
2013 |
| Kenjon Barner |
Oregon |
6.87 |
2013 |
| Michael Ford |
LSU |
6.87 |
2013 |
| Montee Ball |
Wisconsin |
6.88 |
2013 |
| Johnathan Franklin |
UCLA |
6.89 |
2013 |
2012
| Fastest RB 3-Cone Times in NFL Combine 2012 |
| Player |
School |
Time |
Year |
| Chris Rainey |
Florida |
6.50 |
2012 |
| Doug Martin |
Boise State |
6.79 |
2012 |
| LaMichael James |
Oregon |
6.88 |
2012 |
| Isaiah Pead |
Cincinnati |
6.95 |
2012 |
| Dan Herron |
Ohio State |
6.96 |
2012 |
Additional Running Back 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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