NFL Combine Primer

The NFL Combine is officially here. Need help getting ready? Want to know what the fuss is all about? Wondering why everyone is talking about a “wonder lick?” Well, we’ve got you covered with this year’s NFC Scouting Combine primer.

Dates: February 17th – 23rd

Participating Players

The full list can be found HERE on nfl.com.

Workout schedule

Workouts are set by position group. While players begin arriving, going through orientations and begin meeting with teams today, the workouts don’t begin until Friday.

Friday, Feb. 20: Specialists, offensive linemen, tight ends
Saturday, Feb. 21: Quarterbacks, running backs wide receivers
Sunday: Feb. 22: Defensive linemen, linebackers
Monday, Feb. 23: Defensive backs

Events, and what to watch for

3-cone – The cone drill tests a player’s ability to change direction at speed. It is especially useful for judging players who handle the ball, as well as defenders who will play in coverage.

20 yard shuttle – The short shuttle tests lateral agility. Players must be able to change direction laterally at high speed. This is a skill useful for any football player.

60 yard shuttle – The long shuttle is much like the short shuttle, but the larger distances means higher speeds. The result is that it is a test of a players ability to start and stop with suddenness. Again, it is useful for all positions.

Bench press – Players lift a 225 pound bar as many times as possible. Obviously, this tests upper body strength, which makes it especially useful in evaluating linemen. All reps must be full range of motion, so add 1-2 reps for players with especially long arms.

While speed is mostly genetic, strength is something that can be considerably enhanced with work. This test is often used as a tool for evaluating a players work ethic. Guys who test poorly on the bench press clearly didn’t make a habit of hitting the weight room in college.

Broad jump – The standing broad jumps tests a players ability to generate power with the lower body. Again, it is useful for all positions.

Vertical jump – This is one that is popular amongst draft analysis. Aside from the obvious usefulness for defensive backs and pass catchers, it also is a measurement of coordination. To do well in the vertical jump, a player’s back, hips and legs must be totally in sync.

This make the vertical jump semi-useful for judging linemen. Players with a really low vert are usually also relatively clumsy.

40 yard dash – The highlight of the combine is the 40 yard dash. It is also the least useful of all the workouts in terms of predicting NFL success.

Instead of looking at the time over the full 40 yard, keep an eye on the 10- and 20-yard splits. The acceleration required to score well there has a much higher correlation to NFL success than the top speed need to score well in the full 40.

Position drills – Each position group has their own unique drill. Quarterbacks hit receivers at varying distances. Linebackers shift between later movement to a backpedal to a sprint. These can be fun to watch, but they are typically for scouts and often don’t have a truly measurable outcome.

The parts you don’t see

Interviews – This is arguably the most important part of the combine. Representatives form teams get a few minutes one-on-one with large number of players. This gives teams a chance to assess a players maturity, as ask them about any character concerns. Since no one in the media is privy to these meetings, we often lack the big pieces of the puzzle in our draft evaluations of players.

A great example is Bruce Irvin whose arrests when he was younger were commonly seen as a major negative. It turned out to be absolutely nothing to be concerned about, and Irvin was taken in the first round and has been a great NFL player. The media (including me) clearly missed on his evaluation.

Medical examinations – Any player with any sort of medical concern is going to be poked and prodded by team doctors. For a high profile guy like Todd Gurley who is coming off a major knee injury, that could mean suffering through 20+ physicals.

Wonderlic Test – The Wonderlic is to intelligence tests what speed dating is to marriage. (How’s that for an analogy) The validity of test has (rightfully) come under fire in recent years, but that doesn’t mean the test doesn’t have value.

It isn’t the test itself that is meaningful, but the process of preparing for it that helps teams. Much like the bench press is useful as a tool to measure work ethic in the gym, the Wonderlic is a tool to evaluate how well a player studies. Guys who do poorly on the Wonderlic clearly didn’t bother to prepare for it, even though it is a known part of the process.

Other things you will see

Aside from NFL network silliness like Rich Eisen running the 40 in a suit and tie, the other big thing that happens at the combine are press conferences by general managers and head coaches. Teams are officially in “offseason mode” node, and media members have questions that they want answered.

Unfortunately, the team representatives rarely have anything interesting to say. They aren’t willing to talk about draftable player because they’re afraid of giving away their draft strategy. They rarely comment on ongoing negotiations with their current players. They cannot comment on free agents from other teams because otherwise they’d lose draft picks for tampering.

What we’re left with is mostly comments about current players who not up free agency. That means that these pressers rarely result in any interesting information.

Players are also subjected to media questions through the week as well. While some players’ pressers are must-see television, most nothing but boring stock questions that don’t serve any real purpose.