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Vertical Jump Test: How It Is Measured, Step by Step

Updated · Fact checked

The vertical jump test measures how high you can get off the ground from a standstill. You do not get a running start or even a step. You stand, dip and jump, and the score is the gap between how high you can reach standing and how high you touch in the air.

Football players rarely jump straight up from a dead stop in a game. Scouts still test it because, as The Scouting Academy puts it, it sheds light on an athlete's explosiveness and the ability to generate movement from a static position. This guide covers how the test is run, why the reach is half of your score, and the technique that research supports.

Vertical jump: the published numbers

NFL Combine, 2000 to 2018, by position (average ± standard deviation)

PositionVertical jump
Quarterback31.7 ± 3.0 in
Running back34.8 ± 3.0 in
Wide receiver35.5 ± 3.2 in
Tight end33.5 ± 3.3 in
Offensive line28.1 ± 3.0 in
Defensive tackle29.4 ± 2.9 in
Defensive end / edge rusher33.3 ± 3.2 in
Linebacker34.3 ± 3.3 in
Cornerback36.1 ± 2.8 in
Safety35.9 ± 2.9 in

Frank DJ, King MJ, Dennard CD, Macnamara BN. Discriminant Function Analysis Reveals Which Combination of Measures from the NFL Scouting Combine Predict NFL Performance. Journal of Expertise 2023;6(2):130-163, Table 4. The study's analysed samples were 117 to 462 players per position; it does not say whether these averages use that sample or every participant.

High school combine players, all positions: Vertical jump 25.0 ± 4.2 inGillen ZM, Shoemaker ME, McKay BD, Cramer JT. State Population Influences Athletic Performance Combine Test Scores in High School-Aged American Football Players. Int J Exerc Sci 2019;12(6):256-262, Table 1 (raw values). Pooled across the paper's three groups; converted from cm.

Rank your vertical jump in the free calculator

How it is run

  1. Measure your standing reach

    Stand flat-footed under the pole and reach straight up. The highest point you touch is your starting reference.

  2. Set the pole

    At LSU's pro day, the tester sets the bottom of the pole at your raised fingertips. The flags, or vanes, sit every half inch.

  3. Jump from a standstill

    Feet stay planted until you jump. No step, no shuffle, no run-up. Dip and explode straight up.

  4. Swat the highest flag you can

    At the top of the jump, hit the flags with an outstretched hand. The flags rotate out of the way, which shows the tester the highest one you moved.

  5. Read the score

    Your vertical is the distance from your reach to the highest flag you touched, in half-inch steps. The high school combines in one large study kept each player's best attempt.

Your reach counts as much as your jump

Because the score is jump height minus reach, a sloppy reach changes the result just as much as a bad jump does. NFL.com's 2014 guide to the test stresses that the reach has to be measured accurately for exactly that reason. Height does not help you either. The 2023 Journal of Expertise study of the NFL Combine notes that measuring from your own reach keeps a player's height from being mixed into the score.

The method matters more than most players think. A 2010 study of 15 men compared four ways of taking the standing reach, and jump height read off a Vertec, against a force plate, which measures how far the body actually rises. It found that the procedure used for the reach and the jump has a large effect on the number, that the Vertec read higher than the force plate in every case, and that any reach other than one hand with the heels raised made the jump read too high. That is not a problem when everyone is tested the same way. It does mean a vertical only means something next to verticals measured the same way, so do not compare a jump-mat or phone-app number with a flag-pole number.

Technique: dip fast, swing hard, reach with one hand

Use the dip. A Kansas City Chiefs scout told NFL.com in 2008 that the test shows how quick and explosive a player is from bending the knees and exploding straight up. A small study points the same way: in six male volleyball players, jumps with a countermovement went an average of 3.4 cm higher than jumps started from a paused squat at the same depth.

Swing the arms. In a study of 20 men, jumps with an arm swing went 0.086 m (about 3.4 inches) higher than jumps with the arms held at the sides. The authors found the swing helped in several ways at once, adding both height and speed at takeoff. Load the arms back as you dip and throw them up as you drive.

Finish tall. The 2023 study describes the Combine jump as a jump from a crouch with an outstretched arm. Reach with one hand at the top and practice the whole thing until it feels like one move. A long pause at the bottom of the dip turns it into a squat jump, the version that went lower in that volleyball study.

What the numbers look like and how to train for them

The table below shows the published averages. High school combine players, mostly freshmen to juniors at all positions, averaged about 25 inches, and NFL Combine averages run from 28.1 inches for offensive linemen to 36.1 for cornerbacks. The average vertical jump by position guide explains the gap, and the free calculator estimates where your number ranks against both groups. If you also test the broad jump, the two scores give a fuller picture of lower-body power.

In 440's plans, box jumps and broad jumps, often 3 sets of 3, show up in the plyometric block, and some positions get extra jump work: the tight end plan lists box jumps as an accessory and the defensive back plan lists depth jumps. Test your vertical the same way each time, a few times a year, so the trend is real.

FAQ

How is the vertical jump test measured?

Your standing reach is marked first, then you jump from a standstill and touch the highest flag you can. The score is the distance between the reach and that flag. In The Scouting Academy's description of the Combine test, the vanes sit every half inch on the pole.

Can you take a step before a vertical jump test?

No. The combine vertical is a standing jump with no step or run-up before it. Your feet stay set until you dip and jump.

Does being tall help your vertical jump?

Not directly. The score is measured from your own standing reach, so a tall player starts higher on the pole and gets no extra credit for it.

Is a jump-mat or app vertical the same as a combine vertical?

Not necessarily. Research shows the way reach and jump height are measured changes the number a lot, so only compare results from the same method and device.

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Sources

  1. Combine events: Vertical jump (2008-02-23), NFL.com
  2. How to master the vertical jump (2014-02-20), NFL.com
  3. 2019 LSU Football Pro Day Scorecard (drill descriptions), LSU Athletics (lsusports.net)
  4. ITP Glossary: Vertical Leap (Dan Hatman, 2016-02-26), The Scouting Academy / Inside the Pylon
  5. Discriminant Function Analysis Reveals Which Combination of Measures from the NFL Scouting Combine Predict NFL Performance (Frank, King, Dennard, Macnamara; Journal of Expertise 2023;6(2)), Journal of Expertise
  6. Reach height and jump displacement: implications for standardization of reach determination (Ferreira et al., J Strength Cond Res 2010;24(6):1596-601; abstract via NCBI E-utilities), PubMed / Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
  7. State Population Influences Athletic Performance Combine Test Scores in High School-Aged American Football Players (Gillen, Shoemaker, McKay, Cramer; Int J Exerc Sci 2019;12(6):256-262), PMC / International Journal of Exercise Science
  8. Why is countermovement jump height greater than squat jump height? (Bobbert et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc 1996;28(11):1402-12; abstract via NCBI E-utilities), PubMed / Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
  9. Understanding how an arm swing enhances performance in the vertical jump (Lees, Vanrenterghem, De Clercq; J Biomech 2004;37(12):1929-40; abstract via NCBI E-utilities), PubMed / Journal of Biomechanics

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