Wonder no more about the Wonderlic and the NFL Combine
All eyes are on Indianapolis as the NFL Combine kicks off this week. It isn’t all about 40 times and bench presses. Draftees have to master the Wonderlic, too.
Indianapolis is hosting 336 hopeful college football players this week, all eager to prove they have what it takes to make the jump to the NFL. For some, that jump is about clearing 40 inches in the vertical leap. For others, it’s getting at least half the answers right on a fifty-question quiz. Oh, and they just have 12 minutes to take it. Such is the trial of the Wonderlic.
For many players, the most difficult trial they face may well be the Wonderlic Personnel Test. The fifty questions test the ability to “think, learn, solve problems and follow instructions”, per the Wonderlic company’s website. The first version was actually created in1937. Like most human resources tools, it wasn’t exactly well-known, until the NFL adopted it in the mid-’70s. If you want more from the source, Wonderlic, Inc would be happy for you to visit their website
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One thing you’ll notice is that Wonderlic actually administers three exams. The most widely known is the cognitive exam, the same given to the attendees at the Combine. The other two exams test an individual’s motivation and personality. I checked with Wonderlic, and surprisingly, the NFL only has the cognitive test administered. I can only assume the league figures if they made it to the combine, they’re motivated and have at least a decent enough personality not to get kicked off their team.
It’s always interesting – at least to me – to see how players scored. One note here: Wonderlic releases the scores only to official NFL Combine representatives. So while the scores are very likely accurate, they are not official.
Wonderlic scores are fun to see, even if not official
A couple of Harvard grads did pretty well. Punter/wide receiver Pat McInally is reported as the only player to ace the Wonderlic with a score of 50. I’m more impressed that a punter caught 57 passes in his career. The ’70s and ’80s were crazy times. The more recent Crimson grad is none other than Fitzmagic. Ryan Fitzpatrick scored a 48, and more recently one of the finest beards ever.
I’m not going to post the names of the players who reportedly had the worst scores ever, which happens to be four. Yes, four out of fifty. I will mention that one gentleman reportedly scored just six points, but is still having what will likely be a Hall-of Fame career. He’s been in the league for over a dozen years, has run for over 1,000 yards nine times, and played on both coasts. That’s your very own Wonderlic question. Now answer 49 more in 12 minutes, and see how you do.
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Actually, you can come close to that. Wonderlic doesn’t provide practice tests, and they are far from free. But there are other organizations that do provide practice tests online, gratis. If you’re interested, you know how search engines work. I took 11 minutes and 36 seconds out of my life the other day to flex my brain a bit. I’m not giving out my score, but I did better than Tony Romo and Eli Manning. Not up to par with Ben Watson, though. No shame there, Ben’s a smart dude.