What to Expect From the NFL Combine

Sometimes referred to as "The Underwear Olympics," the NFL Scouting Combine gives scouts and front office members a chance to get up close and personal with NFL Draft prospects on a level playing field

Most eyes during the Combine tend to focus on the 40-yard dash, where speed rules all. Prospects get two chances to get their best time, and they're timed on not just the 40, but also at the 10- and 20-yard marks. The 40-yard dash is all about speed and explosion.

The argument of the fastest Falcon on the current roster is between running back Antone Smith and rookie cornerback Robert Alford. Smith once ran a 4.25 at a Nike camp out of high school, but recorded an official 4.37 at the NFL Combine years later.

Robert Alford, meanwhile, bested all members of the Falcons' 2013 Rookie Club — and Antone Smith's time by registering an official 4.34 at the Combine last year.

But if you really want to get into an argument about the fastest Falcon, it starts and usually ends with Deion Sanders. Before 40-yard dash times were kept by an electric time, as opposed to being hand-timed and prone to error, Sanders ran a blistering 4.21.

In what looks like a mini stadium in the depths of Lucas Oil Field, the bench press takes place on a stage that puts the prospects front-and-center in the strength category. The premise is simple: bench 225 pounds as many times as you can. This measures strength, explosion and endurance.

Falcons center Joe Hawley is near the tops as far as current roster players in this category. Hawley finished tied for fifth best in bench press with 35 reps in the 2010 Combine.

Chicago Bears DT Stephen Paea holds the recent best on the bench with 49 reps in 2011.

Who's got hops? That's what NFL scouts and GMs are trying to find out in the vertical jump. What you'd think would be important for basketball players is also a very good test of explosiveness and lower body power for NFL prospects, as is evidenced here by former Falcons TE Martrez Milner in 2007.

The legend of Julio Jones was born at the 2011 NFL Scouting Combine when he participated in drills with a broken bone in his foot. With that foot, he finished in the top 13 that year in vertical jump with 38.5 inches. Falcons fans can tell you that he's surpassed that number many times on the field with a healthy foot.

Seemingly our Combine All-Star at this point, cornerback Robert Alford has bested all Falcons since 2006 in this category by leaping 40 inches during last year's Combine.

If you love funny faces, the broad jump is your event. NFL scouts and GMs love it because it gives a strong example of an athlete's lower body strength and explosiveness. It also tests balance as prospects need to stick the landing. Any wobble or loss of balance, regardless of how good the jump might have been, is erased and the prospect must try again.

Julio Jones and his broken foot topped the 2011 Combine in this category as Jones leaped 11'3". That mark ties him for fourth best in this category since 2006.

Surprise, surprise. Here's Robert Alford again with another impressive mark. Alford finished tied for sixth best in this event last year with an 11-foot leap.

The ability to change directions on a dime without losing speed is something highly valued among NFL scouts and GMs. The three-cone drill tests just that. Cones are placed in an L-shape about 5 yards apart. Prospects start from the starting line, goes 5 yards to the first cone and back. Then, he turns, runs around the second cone, runs a weave around the third cone, which is the high point of the L, changes directions, comes back around that second cone and finishes.

Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas bested the rest of the pack in 2008 as he finished a full tenth of a second better than No. 2 in this category by finishing in 6.57 seconds.

Falcons seventh-round pick in 2013, safety Zeke Motta, topped the Falcons' Rookie Club last year with a 6.75-second performance in the three-cone drill.

Also known as the 5-10-5 drill, the shuttle run tests lateral quickness and explosion in short areas. The athlete starts in the three-point stance, explodse out 5 yards to his right, touches the line, goes back 10 yards to his left, left hand touches the line, pivot, and he turns 5 more yards and finishes.

Just a hundredth of a second off the top spot in this drill last year, rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant almost set the pace in the shuttle run with a 3.85-second performance.

Falcons DE/DT Cliff Matthews put together a nice time in this drill in 2011, finishing in 4.37 seconds, good enough for a tie for 12th among offensive and defensive linemen that year.