I don’t think it is any secret that Andrew Luck is going to be if not the top pick, then the second pick in this year’s NFL draft.  He participated in the NFL Combine in more drills than I would have thought someone of his status would do.  Nonetheless, I think Andrew Luck’s workout was pretty impressive.

Let’s take a look at his workout this year at the NFL Combine and see exactly what was great about it purely from the running and leaping drills.

And yes, I realize that he could have stunk this portion up and it probably wouldn’t have affected his draft position that much.  Most NFL teams want to see his throws and see if his decision making is sharp.  But, I’m not a quarterback coach, I’m a speed coach and I want to see his athleticism.  I want to see the kid run.

Andrew Luck stands 6′ 4″ and weighed in at the combine at 234.  That’s a good size for a quarterback.  He is right there with Cam Newton who at his combine stood 6′ 5″ and weighed 248.  Tim Tebow was 6′ 3″ and 236.  That gives you an idea of the size of these dudes.

The gold standard of the combine is the 40 yard dash.  Andrew Luck ran that in 4.67 seconds.  A good time for a quarterback which is what he is.  Besides, he’s not going to be running 40 yards straight down a football field anytime soon.  Newton’s 40 was a 4.59 and Tebow was a 4.72.

His running form was fine.  If he wanted to get faster at it, I would just work on his leg turnover rate because his stride seemed fine.

The vertical jump is a sign of leg power and Andrew Luck jumped 36 inches.  Once again, I think this is a good jump for a quarterback.  It shows he has some explosiveness, which will help him in other areas of being a quarterback.  Newton jumped 35 inches and Tebow jumped 38.5 inches.

I like the 20 yard shuttle and 3 cone drills for football players.  They are short space drills that demonstrate an athlete’s agility and ability to change direction quick.  Luck’s 20 yard shuttle was a 4.28 and his 3 cone drill 6.80 seconds.  Both of these ranked in the top times of the combine for quarterbacks.

I feel the ability for a quarterback to do well in these drills is an indication of how quick he can move in the pocket.  If the pocket collapses, will you be able to buy time cutting one direction or the other to hit a man who is open downfield?

Cam Newton’s times were 4.18 in the shuttle and a 6.92 in the 3 cone drill.  While Tim Tebow ran a 4.17 in the shuttle and a 6.66 in the 3 cone drill.  These are very good times for a quarterback and I think shows evidence why Tim Tebow, and Cam Newton for that matter, are such good runners on the field.   Not really needing to sprint mad dash, but making cuts here and there to get that extra yard or two.

Finally, Andrew Luck’s standing broad jump was 124 inches.  Another drill to show leg power.  Cam Newton’s jump was 126 inches and Tim Tebow’s was 115 inches.

What does Andrew Luck’s workout at the combine show to us?

I think the first thing it says is that compared to some of the recent hyped quarterbacks that have performed at the NFL Combine the last couple years, he stacks right up against them.  Tim Tebow and Cam Newton although had different results in their seasons stats wise, physically are about the same size as Luck.  There was also no huge difference between the combine testing results between the three.

The second thing I noticed as we are inching closer and closer to the draft is that Andrew Luck’s athleticism has been really overlooked.  The debate between whether to pick Luck or RG3 has been heating up and what is said about Luck is that he isn’t the athlete that RG3 is.

Well who is?

But, that isn’t Luck’s game.  Like I said, I’m not a QB coach, but from what I’ve been hearing, teams are really enamored by his throwing ability and his mind for the game.  That is what has been separating him from the others.

His athleticism though is just fine.  Out of the 5 timed drills at the combine that Andrew Luck did, he scored in the Top 5 out of quarterbacks in all of them.  He will be able to use his athleticism just fine at the next level.

Bottom line:  I think he showed that although he might not be as good an athlete as RG3, he more than holds his own with what he is capable of doing.  And trust me that is pretty good.  His times were no slouch.  You go run a 4.67 and then have a 36 inch vertical standing 6′ 4″ and weighing 234 and then will talk about who has a lack of athleticism.