As the NFL offseason continues, all eyes now turn to the NFL Combine as the top draft prospects all descend on Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the annual event. This year, a total of 319 draft prospects have been invited to partake at the Combine.
The NFL Combine gives team owners, managers, and the coaching staff a chance to evaluate all the prospects through meetings, interviews, and drills. Out of the various drills the invitees take part in, we are going to focus on the 3-cone drill in this article.
What is the 3-cone drill at the NFL Combine?
The 3-cone drill is also known as the L-shape drill since the cones are arranged in an ‘L’ shape. Despite the name 3-cone drill, there are actually 4 cones placed on the field for this drill. In any case, the L-shape is made by placing two cones vertically 5 yards apart and the third cone another 5 yards apart at a 90 degree angle from the second cone.
The players have to start from the first cone, accelerate towards the second cone, touch the line with one hand, come back to the first cone, touch the line with the same hand, then run back towards the second cone, going around it towards the third cone, where they go around that as well and head back towards the second cone and the the first cone.
The 3-cone drill is used to check the athlete’s ability to accelerate, decelerate, measure the change-of-direction speed, and body control. The 3-cone drill primarily targets the wide receivers and cornerbacks to see their ability to accelerate out of breaks, and route running ability for receivers and mirroring ability for cornerbacks.
It also targets the edge rushers to measure their ability to accelerate around the offensive lineman and measure their ankle flexibility. The third group this drill is essential for is the running back group, as it monitors their ability to cutback, move laterally, and weave through traffic.
3-cone drill odds for the 2026 NFL Combine
The record for the 3-cone drill is currently held by former NFL cornerback Jordan Thomas from the 2018 NFL draft. He completed the drill in 6.28 seconds and was selected with the 211th overall pick in round 6 of the 2018 NFL draft. Typically, a time ranging between 6.5 and 6.7 seconds is considered to be elite for this drill.
Here are the 2026 NFL draft odds for the 3-cone drill at the upcoming 2026 NFL Combine, as per DraftKings.
3-cone drill
Odds
Slower than 6.585 seconds
-120
Faster than 6.585 seconds
-110
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Top Candidates who can break the 3-cone drill record this year
It has been 7 years since the 3-cone drill record was last broken by Jordan Thomas. It won’t be the easiest of feats to achieve, but there are a few candidates that could potentially break this record at the 2026 NFL Combine.
Barion Brown – WR (LSU)
Barion Brown is considered to be one of the key players who could put in a commanding performance in this drill. The 22-year-old wide receiver played for the LSU Tigers in the 2025 season, but before that, he was a part of the Kentucky Wildcats roster from 2022 to 2024.
The youngster is known to possess elite sprinting speed, enabling the field to be stretched. Brown caught 53 passes for 532 receiving yards and one touchdown in the 2025 season. As per his current draft projection, Brown could be drafted somewhere in rounds 4 and 5.
Chris Hilton Jr. is a wide receiver who played for the LSU Tigers football team. He has previously reportedly run a 4.31-second 40-yard dash, which speaks volumes about his speed.
However, Hilton has not produced much on the field with his 2025 season yielding just 10 receptions for 122 yards. Overall, his best year of productivity was in 2024 when he registered 9 receptions for 241 yards.
The former LSU receiver could be selected in the later rounds of the draft, while there is a high probability that he could even go undrafted and become an undrafted free agent (UDFA).
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Jordyn Tyson – WR (Arizona State)
Jordyn Tyson is a junior who played wide receiver for the Arizona State Sun Devils football team from 2023 to 2025. Prior to that, he played on the Colorado Buffaloes team for the 2022 season. The wide receiver is well known for his ability to play every receiver spot, and boasts of quickness and the ability to grab contested catches.
In 2025, Tyson hauled in 61 catches for 711 receiving yards with 8 touchdowns. The 21-year-old is one of the top candidates at this year’s draft and is seen as a potential first-round draftee. Multiple experts have him going inside the top 10 or top 15 in their mock drafts.
Andre Fuller – CB (Toledo)
Cornerback Andre Fuller is a senior who played football with the Toledo Rockets. Known for his speed and quickness, Fuller is seen as an agile athlete in the secondary. He played four years of college football, but the lack of production could hamper his draft process, as there is a good chance he might end up as a UDFA by the end of the draft.
Although the above candidates are seen as top contenders for this particular drill, there will be many more athletes who can put in similar or better performances during the Combine. It will be fascinating to see if anyone can break the record this year.
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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!
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