Morphology and Knee Joint Kinetics in National Football League Draft Prep Players: Implications for Osteoarthritis Development

Background/Objectives: National Football League (NFL) American football players are exposed to osteoarthritis risk factors of obesity and high joint loads. We sought to examine the association between total body mass (TBM), lean body mass (LBM), body fat percentage (BF%), and normalized compressive knee joint reaction forces (JRFcomp), peak knee adductor moments (KAM), and vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) in NFL draft-eligible players during a high-speed run. Methods: A total of 125 participants ran a single trial at 5.5–6.5 m/s for 5 s on an instrumented treadmill. Bilateral vGRF and knee joint kinetics were calculated using inverse dynamics. Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance. Results: LBM demonstrated significant moderate associations with vGRF (left, r(123) = −0.56, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.60, p < 0.001) and low-to-negligible associations with KAM (left, r(123) = −0.20, p = 0.026; right, r(123) = −0.30, p < 0.001) and JRFcomp (left, r(123) = −0.39, p = 0.020; right, r(123) = −0.38, p = 0.015), respectively. TBM showed significant moderate negative associations with vGRF (left, r(123) = −0.56, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.61, p < 0.001) and low-to-negligible associations with KAM (left, r(123) = −0.21, p = 0.021; right, r(123) = −0.28, p = 0.002) and JRFcomp (left, r(123) = −0.39, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.37, p < 0.001), respectively. BF% showed significant low-to-negligible negative associations with JRFcomp (left, r(123) = −0.21, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.22, p < 0.001) and vGRF (left, r(123) = −0.39, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.41, p < 0.001), respectively, and no significant associations with KAM, p > 0.05. The heavier group exhibited significantly lower normalized JRFcomp, and vGRF, p < 0.05. Conclusions: Heavier, but not fatter, players attenuate knee loads. Dampening may be a short-term protective strategy for joints of heavier players.