Stanford Wide Receiver Devon Cajuste Is Your 2016 Combine 3 Cone Champion

by Chase Stuart on March 17, 2016

Raiders linebacker Ben Heeney had a nondescript rookie season after being drafted by Oakland in the fifth round of the 2015 Draft. But the Kansas linebacker dominated the 3-cone drill at the 2015 Combine.

As a reminder, here’s a description of the 3-cone drill from NFL.com.

The 3 cone drill tests an athlete’s ability to change directions at a high speed. Three cones in an L-shape. He starts 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.

In general, this drill favors taller (i.e., fewer strides) and lighter players. The best-fit formula to project a 3-cone score from the 2016 combine was 7.23 – 0.028 * Height (Inches) + 0.0087 * Weight (Pounds). And Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, who some believe is the best player in the draft, absolutely dominated this drill. Despite weighing 269 pounds, Bosa completed the drill in 6.89 seconds, the 26th-fastest time out of 217 participants. He was the only player at even 250+ pounds to finish in under 6.9 seconds.

But Bosa only had the second best rating in this drill. And frankly, it wasn’t even close. Stanford wide receiver Devon Cajuste is 234 pounds — that’s pretty big for a wide receiver — and he ran the single fastest 3-cone drill at the combine. That’s not the fastest among players that weigh 200+ pounds, or even wide receivers. It’s the fastest, period, and by 0.09 seconds. Cajuste may profile as a hybrid wide receiver/tight end, but this sort of shiftiness adds intrigue to his ability to play in the slot. According to Josh Norris, Cajuste — again, ignoring that he weighs 234 pounds! — ran the 5th best 3 cone time by any wide receiver in the last decade.

Rk	Name	College	POS	Height (in)	Weight (lbs)	Exp	3Cone	Diff
1	Devon Cajuste	Stanford	WR	75	234	7.13	6.49	-0.64
2	Joey Bosa	Ohio State	DE	77	269	7.38	6.89	-0.49
3	Nick Vigil	Utah State	ILB	74	239	7.21	6.73	-0.48
4	Bronson Kaufusi	Brigham Young	DE	78	285	7.50	7.03	-0.47
5	James Cowser	Southern Utah	DE	75	248	7.26	6.80	-0.46
6	Jason Fanaika	Utah	DE	73	271	7.52	7.06	-0.46
7	David Morgan	Texas-San Antonio	TE	76	262	7.35	6.93	-0.42
8	Cody Whitehair	Kansas State	G	75	301	7.72	7.32	-0.40
9	Jake Brendel	UCLA	C	76	303	7.71	7.31	-0.40
10	Josh Woodrum	Liberty	QB	74	231	7.14	6.74	-0.40
11	Ben Braunecker	Harvard	TE	75	250	7.27	6.90	-0.37
12	Dean Lowry	Northwestern	DE	77	296	7.62	7.26	-0.36
13	Tyler Johnstone	Oregon	OT	77	301	7.66	7.31	-0.35
14	Connor Wujciak	Boston College	DT	74	291	7.66	7.32	-0.34
15	Isaac Seumalo	Oregon State	G	75	303	7.74	7.40	-0.34
16	Maliek Collins	Nebraska	DT	73	311	7.87	7.53	-0.34
17	Kentrell Brothers	Missouri	ILB	72	245	7.32	6.99	-0.33
18	Sheldon Rankins	Louisville	DT	73	299	7.76	7.44	-0.32
19	Temarrick Hemingway	South Carolina State	TE	76	244	7.19	6.88	-0.31
20	Austin Hooper	Stanford	TE	75	254	7.31	7.00	-0.31
21	Shaq Lawson	Clemson	DE	74	269	7.47	7.16	-0.31
22	Justin Simmons	Boston College	FS	74	202	6.88	6.58	-0.30
23	Chris Jones	Mississippi State	DT	77	310	7.74	7.44	-0.30
24	Sheldon Day	Notre Dame	DT	72	293	7.74	7.44	-0.30
25	Ufomba Kamalu	Miami (FL)	DT	77	295	7.61	7.32	-0.29
26	Shilique Calhoun	Michigan State	DE	76	251	7.25	6.97	-0.28
27	Cyrus Jones	Alabama	CB	69	197	6.98	6.71	-0.27
28	Jonathan Bullard	Florida	DE	75	285	7.58	7.31	-0.27
29	Sean Davis	Maryland	FS	73	201	6.90	6.64	-0.26
30	Braxton Miller	Ohio State	WR	73	201	6.90	6.65	-0.25
31	Shadrach Thornton	North Carolina State	RB	71	217	7.10	6.85	-0.25
32	Jihad Ward	Illinois	DE	77	297	7.63	7.38	-0.25
33	Joe Thuney	North Carolina State	G	76	304	7.72	7.47	-0.25
34	Carson Wentz	North Dakota State	QB	77	237	7.10	6.86	-0.24
35	B.J. Goodson	Clemson	ILB	72	242	7.29	7.05	-0.24
36	Blake Martinez	Stanford	ILB	73	237	7.22	6.98	-0.24
37	Evan Boehm	Missouri	C	74	302	7.76	7.52	-0.24
38	Connor McGovern	Missouri	G	76	306	7.74	7.50	-0.24
39	Nick Vannett	Ohio State	TE	77	257	7.28	7.05	-0.23
40	Peyton Barber	Auburn	RB	70	228	7.22	7.00	-0.22
41	Ryan Malleck	Virginia Tech	TE	76	247	7.22	7.00	-0.22
42	Wendell Smallwood	West Virginia	RB	70	208	7.05	6.83	-0.22
43	Austin Blythe	Iowa	C	74	298	7.72	7.52	-0.20
44	Ryan Kelly	Alabama	C	76	311	7.78	7.58	-0.20
45	Willie Henry	Michigan	DT	74	303	7.77	7.57	-0.20
46	Joe Haeg	North Dakota State	OT	78	304	7.66	7.47	-0.19
47	Trevor Davis	California	WR	73	188	6.79	6.60	-0.19
48	Emmanuel Ogbah	Oklahoma State	DE	76	273	7.45	7.26	-0.19
49	Chris Moore	Cincinnati	WR	73	206	6.95	6.76	-0.19
50	Jalin Marshall	Ohio State	WR	70	200	6.98	6.80	-0.18
51	Beau Sandland	Montana State	TE	76	253	7.27	7.10	-0.17
52	Michael Thomas	Ohio State	WR	74	212	6.97	6.80	-0.17
53	Joe Schobert	Wisconsin	OLB	73	244	7.28	7.11	-0.17
54	D.J. Foster	Arizona State	WR	70	193	6.92	6.75	-0.17
55	Joshua Garnett	Stanford	G	76	312	7.79	7.62	-0.17
56	Marquez North	Tennessee	WR	74	223	7.07	6.90	-0.17
57	Thomas Duarte	UCLA	TE	74	231	7.14	6.97	-0.17
58	Vernon Adams	Oregon	QB	70	200	6.98	6.82	-0.16
59	Carl Nassib	Penn State	DE	78	277	7.43	7.27	-0.16
60	Joel Heath	Michigan State	DT	77	293	7.59	7.44	-0.15
61	Demarcus Robinson	Florida	WR	73	203	6.92	6.77	-0.15
62	Dan Vitale	Northwestern	RB	72	239	7.26	7.12	-0.14
63	Jerell Adams	South Carolina	TE	77	247	7.19	7.05	-0.14
64	Kenneth Dixon	Louisiana Tech	RB	70	215	7.11	6.97	-0.14
65	Dadi Nicolas	Virginia Tech	DE	74	235	7.17	7.04	-0.13
66	Devante Bond	Oklahoma	OLB	73	235	7.20	7.07	-0.13
67	Miles Killebrew	Southern Utah	SS	73	217	7.04	6.93	-0.11
68	James Bradberry	Samford	CB	72	211	7.02	6.91	-0.11
69	Glenn Gronkowski	Kansas State	RB	74	239	7.21	7.10	-0.11
70	Beniquez Brown	Mississippi State	OLB	72	229	7.18	7.07	-0.11
71	Nick Martin	Notre Dame	C	76	299	7.67	7.57	-0.10
72	Noah Spence	Eastern Kentucky	DE	74	251	7.31	7.21	-0.10
73	Jack Conklin	Michigan State	OT	77	308	7.72	7.63	-0.09
74	Kevin Hogan	Stanford	QB	75	218	6.99	6.90	-0.09
75	Vernon Butler	Louisiana Tech	DT	75	323	7.91	7.82	-0.09
76	Sterling Bailey	Georgia	DE	76	285	7.55	7.46	-0.09
77	Bryce Williams	East Carolina	TE	77	257	7.28	7.19	-0.09
78	Graham Glasgow	Michigan	G	77	307	7.72	7.63	-0.09
79	Alex McCalister	Florida	DL	78	239	7.09	7.01	-0.08
80	Darron Lee	Ohio State	OLB	72	232	7.20	7.12	-0.08
81	Nick Kwiatkoski	West Virginia	ILB	74	243	7.24	7.16	-0.08
82	Joe Dahl	Washington State	G	76	304	7.72	7.64	-0.08
83	Derrick Henry	Alabama	RB	74	247	7.28	7.20	-0.08
84	D.J. Reader	Clemson	DT	74	327	7.98	7.90	-0.08
85	Branden Jackson	Texas Tech	DE	75	273	7.48	7.40	-0.08
86	Brandon Williams	Texas AM	FS	71	197	6.93	6.85	-0.08
87	Tyler Matakevich	Temple	ILB	72	238	7.26	7.19	-0.07
88	Tavon Young	Temple	CB	69	183	6.86	6.80	-0.06
89	Cory Littleton	Washington	OLB	75	238	7.17	7.11	-0.06
90	Victor Ochi	Stony Brook	DE	73	246	7.30	7.24	-0.06
91	Josh Doctson	Texas Christian	WR	74	202	6.88	6.84	-0.04
92	DeAndre Washington	Texas Tech	RB	68	204	7.07	7.03	-0.04
93	Jalen Ramsey	Florida State	FS	73	209	6.97	6.94	-0.03
94	Bralon Addison	Oregon	WR	69	197	6.98	6.95	-0.03
95	Jarran Reed	Alabama	DT	74	307	7.80	7.77	-0.03
96	Darius Latham	Indiana	DT	76	311	7.78	7.76	-0.02
97	Brandon Wilds	South Carolina	RB	72	220	7.10	7.08	-0.02
98	DeForest Buckner	Oregon	DE	79	291	7.52	7.51	-0.01
99	Christian Westerman	Arizona State	G	75	298	7.69	7.69	0.00
100	Steven Daniels	Boston College	ILB	71	243	7.33	7.33	0.00
101	Romeo Okwara	Notre Dame	DE	76	265	7.38	7.38	0.00
102	Paxton Lynch	Memphis	QB	78	244	7.14	7.14	0.00
103	Malcolm Mitchell	Georgia	WR	71	198	6.93	6.94	0.01
104	Giorgio Newberry	Florida State	DE	77	285	7.52	7.53	0.01
105	Derrick Kindred	Texas Christian	SS	70	207	7.04	7.05	0.01
106	Taylor Decker	Ohio State	OT	79	310	7.69	7.70	0.01
107	Charone Peake	Clemson	WR	74	209	6.94	6.96	0.02
108	Jalen Mills	LSU	FS	72	191	6.84	6.86	0.02
109	Dak Prescott	Mississippi State	QB	74	226	7.09	7.11	0.02
110	Brandon Allen	Arkansas	QB	73	217	7.04	7.06	0.02
111	Daryl Worley	West Virginia	CB	72	204	6.96	6.98	0.02
112	Ryan Smith	North Carolina Central	CB	71	189	6.86	6.88	0.02
113	AShawn Robinson	Alabama	DT	75	307	7.77	7.80	0.03
114	Yannick Ngakoue	Maryland	DE	74	252	7.32	7.35	0.03
115	Kenyan Drake	Alabama	RB	72	210	7.01	7.04	0.03
116	Christian Hackenberg	Penn State	QB	76	223	7.01	7.04	0.03
117	Tyler Boyd	Pittsburgh	WR	73	197	6.87	6.90	0.03
118	Austin Johnson	Penn State	DT	76	314	7.81	7.84	0.03
119	Jason Spriggs	Indiana	OT	77	301	7.66	7.70	0.04
120	Cayleb Jones	Arizona	WR	74	209	6.94	6.99	0.05
121	Shawn Oakman	Baylor	DE	79	287	7.48	7.53	0.05
122	DeVante Harris	Texas AM	CB	70	176	6.77	6.82	0.05
123	Javon Hargrave	South Carolina State	DT	73	309	7.85	7.90	0.05
124	Andy Janovich	Nebraska	RB	73	238	7.23	7.28	0.05
125	Montese Overton	East Carolina	OLB	73	223	7.10	7.15	0.05
126	Jacoby Brissett	North Carolina State	QB	75	231	7.11	7.17	0.06
127	Mehdi Abdesmad	Boston College	DT	78	284	7.49	7.55	0.06
128	Vincent Valentine	Nebraska	DT	75	329	7.97	8.03	0.06
129	Tyvis Powell	Ohio State	FS	74	211	6.96	7.03	0.07
130	Keanu Neal	Florida	FS	72	211	7.02	7.09	0.07
131	Juston Burris	North Carolina State	CB	72	212	7.03	7.10	0.07
132	Sterling Shepard	Oklahoma	WR	70	194	6.93	7.00	0.07
133	Lamarcus Brutus	Florida State	FS	71	206	7.00	7.08	0.08
134	Matt Ioannidis	Temple	DT	75	299	7.70	7.78	0.08
135	Jeff Driskel	Louisiana Tech	QB	76	234	7.11	7.19	0.08
136	Willie Beavers	Western Michigan	OT	76	321	7.87	7.96	0.09
137	Spencer Drango	Baylor	G	77	315	7.79	7.88	0.09
138	Travis Feeney	Washington	OLB	75	230	7.10	7.20	0.10
139	Eric Murray	Minnesota	CB	70	199	6.97	7.08	0.11
140	Jayron Kearse	Clemson	SS	76	216	6.95	7.06	0.11
141	DeAndre Elliott	Colorado State	CB	72	188	6.82	6.93	0.11
142	Eric Striker	Oklahoma	OLB	71	227	7.19	7.30	0.11
143	Alex Redmond	UCLA	G	76	294	7.63	7.75	0.12
144	Anthony Zettel	Penn State	DE	75	277	7.51	7.63	0.12
145	Jordan Payton	UCLA	WR	73	207	6.96	7.08	0.12
146	Kevin Peterson	Oklahoma State	CB	70	181	6.81	6.94	0.13
147	Will Fuller	Notre Dame	WR	72	186	6.80	6.93	0.13
148	LeShaun Sims	Southern Utah	CB	72	203	6.95	7.08	0.13
149	Sebastian Tretola	Arkansas	G	76	314	7.81	7.94	0.13
150	Matt Skura	Duke	C	75	305	7.76	7.89	0.13
151	Fahn Cooper	Mississippi	OT	76	303	7.71	7.85	0.14
152	Nelson Spruce	Colorado	WR	73	206	6.95	7.09	0.14
153	Darrell Greene	San Diego State	G	74	321	7.92	8.07	0.15
154	Anthony Brown	Purdue	CB	71	192	6.88	7.03	0.15
155	Jordan Lomax	Iowa	FS	69	202	7.03	7.18	0.15
156	Andrew Billings	Baylor	DT	72	311	7.89	8.05	0.16
157	Vadal Alexander	LSU	G	77	326	7.88	8.04	0.16
158	Ron Thompson	Syracuse	DE	75	253	7.30	7.46	0.16
159	John Theus	Georgia	OT	78	313	7.74	7.90	0.16
160	Marshaun Coprich	Illinois State	RB	68	207	7.10	7.26	0.16
161	Cole Toner	Harvard	OT	77	306	7.71	7.88	0.17
162	Matt Judon	Grand Valley State	DE	75	275	7.49	7.67	0.18
163	Mekale McKay	Cincinnati	WR	75	207	6.90	7.08	0.18
164	Jack Allen	Michigan State	C	73	294	7.72	7.90	0.18
165	Deiondre Hall	Northern Iowa	CB	73	199	6.89	7.07	0.18
166	Hunter Sharp	Utah State	WR	71	198	6.93	7.12	0.19
167	Joel Stave	Wisconsin	QB	77	236	7.10	7.29	0.19
168	Maurice Canady	Virginia	CB	73	193	6.83	7.03	0.20
169	Devaunte Sigler	Jacksonville State	DT	75	298	7.69	7.90	0.21
170	Alex Lewis	Nebraska	OT	78	312	7.73	7.94	0.21
171	Briean Boddy-Calhoun	Minnesota	CB	69	193	6.95	7.16	0.21
172	DeAndre Houston-Carson	William & Mary	FS	72	201	6.93	7.15	0.22
173	Daniel Lasco	California	RB	72	209	7.00	7.22	0.22
174	Steve Longa	Rutgers	OLB	72	241	7.28	7.50	0.22
175	Jared Goff	California	QB	76	215	6.94	7.17	0.23
176	Kenny Lawler	California	WR	74	203	6.89	7.13	0.24
177	Aaron Burbridge	Michigan State	WR	72	206	6.98	7.22	0.24
178	Xavien Howard	Baylor	CB	72	201	6.93	7.18	0.25
179	Cody Kessler	Southern California	QB	73	220	7.07	7.32	0.25
180	A.J. Stamps	Kentucky	FS	70	193	6.92	7.17	0.25
181	Connor Cook	Michigan State	QB	76	217	6.96	7.21	0.25
182	D.J. White	Georgia Tech	CB	70	193	6.92	7.18	0.26
183	Ronnie Stanley	Notre Dame	OT	77	312	7.76	8.03	0.27
184	Keyarris Garrett	Tulsa	WR	75	220	7.01	7.30	0.29
185	Alonzo Russell	Toledo	WR	75	206	6.89	7.18	0.29
186	Avery Young	Auburn	OT	76	328	7.93	8.22	0.29
187	Darian Thompson	Boise State	FS	73	208	6.96	7.26	0.30
188	D.J. Pettway	Alabama	DE	74	265	7.43	7.74	0.31
189	Duke Williams	Auburn	WR	74	229	7.12	7.43	0.31
190	Quinton Jefferson	Maryland	DT	75	291	7.63	7.95	0.32
191	Adolphus Washington	Ohio State	DT	75	301	7.72	8.06	0.34
192	Ronald Blair	Appalachian State	DE	74	284	7.60	7.95	0.35
193	Jonathan Jones	Auburn	CB	69	186	6.89	7.25	0.36
194	Caleb Benenoch	UCLA	OT	77	311	7.75	8.15	0.40
195	Nila Kasitati	Oklahoma	G	75	317	7.86	8.30	0.44
196	Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Texas Christian	OT	78	320	7.80	8.26	0.46
197	Pearce Slater	San Diego State	OT	78	329	7.88	8.36	0.48
198	Jerald Hawkins	LSU	OT	77	305	7.70	8.19	0.49
199	Brandon Doughty	Western Kentucky	QB	74	213	6.98	7.49	0.51
200	Dominique Robertson	West Georgia	OT	76	324	7.89	8.42	0.53
201	Hassan Ridgeway	Texas	DT	75	303	7.74	8.28	0.54
202	Geronimo Allison	Illinois	WR	75	196	6.80	7.40	0.60
203	Tyler Marz	Wisconsin	OT	78	316	7.77	8.38	0.61
204	Harlan Miller	Southeastern Louisiana	CB	71	182	6.79	7.44	0.65
205	Denver Kirkland	Arkansas	G	76	335	7.99	8.72	0.73
206	Stephane Nembot	Colorado	OT	78	322	7.82	8.55	0.73

For some perspective, Heeney was your 3 cone champ last year after adjusting for height/weight, and he was 231 pounds. But despite being three pounds lighter (and, to be fair, three inches shorter), it took him an extra 0.19 seconds to finish the drill. In other words, Cajuste’s performance was truly incredible.

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