The NFL Scouting Combine is this week in Indianapolis.
Maybe five years ago, pretty much no one cared about the NFL Scouting Combine other than those involved with the league or those players who were participating in it. However, Americans are so NFL-hungry nowadays that it’s a big event and can be wagered on at some books. The Combine is this week from Indianapolis after the 2021 version was canceled due to COVID, and today we look at a few props on the 20-yard shuttle.
What is the 20-yard shuttle? It’s a test to evaluate the quickness and change-of-direction ability of players by scouts. The player starts the drill in a three-point stance, runs five yards to their right, touches a line, then sprints 10 yards to the left and again touches a line, and finally sprints back five yards to the spot where they started. Thus, the player runs a total of 20 yards.
Could Shuttle Record Be Set?
The Over/Under for the fastest 20-yard shuttle time at this year’s Combine is 3.88 seconds, with both options at -120. Keep in mind that many of the projected first-round picks will not be working out at the Combine but instead of the “comfort” of their own Pro Day usually held on their collegiate campus.
In addition, the players at the fastest positions in football such as cornerback, receiver or maybe running back are the likeliest candidates to be among the leaders in the 20-yard shuttle.
In the most recent Combine in 2020, the fastest time of 3.97 seconds was by Penn State cornerback John Reid, the only one with a sub-4.00. Reid was a fourth-round pick that year by the Houston Texans but now plays for the Seattle Seahawks in a reserve role. The most notable players among the leaders that year were Utah cornerback Jaylon Johnson at 4.13 and USC receiver Michael Pittman at 4.14. Johnson, a second-round pick, is now among the NFL’s best young corners with the Chicago Bears, and Pittman, also a second-round pick, comes off a 1,000-yard season with the Indianapolis Colts.
The fastest-ever 20-yard shuttle at the Combine was 3.81 seconds by Tennessee safety Jason Allen in 2006 and Oregon State receiver Brandin Cooks in 2014.
That anyone is better than 3.81 seconds this year is +165 with no at -240. Allen was a first-round pick that year by the Miami Dolphins and had a solid NFL career, while Cooks was a first-round pick in 2014 by the New Orleans Saints and had his sixth career 1,000-yard season in 2021 with the Houston Texans.
