3-Cone Drill: The Course, Technique and NFL Combine Times

How it is run

1. 1

   Set three cones in an L

   Place three cones 5 yards apart so they form a right angle: a start cone, a middle (corner) cone and a far cone.

2. 2

   Start with a hand down

   Get in a three-point stance at the start cone, one end of the L. In The Scouting Academy's description, the clock starts on your first movement.

3. 3

   Out and back

   Sprint 5 yards to the middle cone and touch the ground there, then sprint back to the start cone and touch the ground again.

4. 4

   Around the corner

   Sprint back to the middle cone, run around it and cut to the far cone.

5. 5

   Circle the far cone and finish

   Run around the far cone from the inside to the outside, come back around the middle cone and sprint past the start cone. The clock stops when you cross the finish.

Names and versions of the course

You'll see it called the 3-cone, the three-cone and the L-drill. The Houston Texans' combine guide says the 3-cone is also known as the L-drill, and 440's exercise library lists it under that name too.

The steps above follow NFL.com's 2008 description of the Combine drill, and the Falcons' 2017 guide and The Scouting Academy's 2016 glossary trace the same path. The details vary by source. NFL.com and the Falcons start players in a three-point stance; The Scouting Academy says a sprinter's stance. Gil Brandt's 2011 NFL.com piece has players touch the ground near the first two cones, LSU's pro day guide a white line, and the 2023 study the cone itself. Even the labels differ: the Commanders' 2019 guide starts players at the high point of the L, while NFL.com's 2014 guide calls the far cone the high point. Ask how your combine runs it before test day.

High school combines are less clear. A 2019 study of more than 7,000 high school combine players reports an L-cone drill, timed with laser gates and described as a test of multi-directional agility. The paper does not describe the L-cone course; it refers to earlier studies for the methods. We found no source that says the L-cone is run exactly like the NFL 3-cone, so this page gives no high school 3-cone average and the table above shows NFL data only. The study's L-cone averages, 7.9 to 8.0 seconds, are L-cone times and should not be read as 3-cone times.

Running the turns

An Eagles college scout told NFL.com in 2008 that the drill makes players bend, pivot and shift their body weight, and that teams look for players who can shift their feet and move around. Gil Brandt wrote on NFL.com in 2011 that good times here can outweigh a poor 40 in how coaches see some prospects.

Touch every time. The first two legs each end with a stop and a touch at the cone. Touch every time in practice so it is automatic on test day.

Keep the turns tight. Lean into the bend and lower the inside shoulder as you run around a cone, then accelerate out of it. The common mistakes are wide, rounded turns and standing tall around the cone.

Learn the path cold. Walk the course before you run it so the loop around the far cone is automatic when the clock is running.

The numbers and who it matters for

At the NFL Combine from 2000 to 2018, cornerbacks averaged 6.93 seconds and receivers 6.94, the fastest groups. Offensive linemen were slowest at 7.80. Running backs averaged 7.05, linebackers 7.12 and edge rushers 7.30. For its analysis, the study kept only players with a result in every drill it used for each position, and it does not say whether these averages come from that group or from everyone who ran the drill. It also notes that few players complete the 3-cone at the Combine.

Team guides single out certain positions. The Falcons wrote in 2017 that edge rushers are expected to run quick times because it shows how quick they are and how well they change direction. The Texans' 2020 guide named pass rushers, wide receivers and running backs as the players who can help their draft stock most. In a study of 321 players at the 2004 and 2005 Combines, 3-cone times of drafted and undrafted players differed significantly in all three groups studied: skill players, big skill players and linemen.

The 3-cone and the shuttle seem to measure similar skills. A study of 1,136 NFL draftees from the 2005 to 2009 Combines found the two were very strongly correlated (r = 0.948) and concluded that either is likely enough to measure change of direction. In 440's plans the change of direction work depends on position: the tight end plan uses the L-drill, the defensive line plan the hoop drill, defensive backs the W-drill, and running backs and several others the 5-10-5 drill.

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