How to Follow the NFL Combine

The impact a professional football prospect can make at the pre-draft NFL Scouting Combine in February can be enormous. By following the prospects invited to the annual scouting Combine, you will be able to determine which players stand out over others and get to know the players your team might select in the NFL Draft, annually held over a weekend in April. With that knowledge, following the NFL will be a more enjoyable experience.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Understand the format of the NFL Combine. The annual NFL Scouting Combine (known simply as “The Combine”) is held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, and is administered by the NFL. Around 300 prospects from all positions are invited to perform a variety of tests that measure the prospective candidate’s athletic ability, intellectual aptitude and personality. All 32 NFL teams have representatives there, and they use the Combine to gain information to help determine who they will select in the NFL Draft, which is held the following April.
2. Know the process of the NFL Draft. In April, the league hosts representatives from the 32 teams of the NFL, and based on an order mostly determined by the order in which teams finished the previous season, they each have a selection in seven rounds. Teams have a mandated time limit in which to make their selection in each round. The information gained from the Combine helps them make these selections.
3. Research the ability and achievements of players invited to the Combine. Skimming around the Internet can help get scouting reports or rumors about newsworthy players going into the Combine. This will help give you some background information on the players participating in the scouting event.
4. Know and understand each position has different skills that show the potential of a prospect. A running back, for example, is traditionally fast and agile, therefore, his 40-yard-dash time is more important than, say, a defensive tackle’s. However, a defensive tackle will likely have a much higher result in the bench press tests than a running back because a defensive tackle requires that skill set for his position.
5. Learn the drills the players will participate in while at the Combine. Players are taken through physical and mental tests to determine the level of their athletic ability. Among those is the 40-yard-dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard-shuttle, 60-yard-shuttle and a written intelligence test. Understanding these drills will give you a broader sense of what scouts look for in terms of a prospect having the strength, speed, agility and explosive ability.
6. Monitor the results of the drills and compare them to the other players at the same position. You will start to see trends coming from each test, and you will begin to remember which players scored the best in each one.
7. Formulate your opinion based on your research of the player’s production in college, his physical size and how he graded out in each Combine activity. This will prepare you for an enjoyable and informed NFL Draft and NFL season.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep comparisons specific to each position. It doesn’t make much sense to judge an offensive lineman’s 40-yard-dash time to that of a wide receiver’s. Their positions require different skills, so there isn’t much of a point in comparing the two.
• Understand going into it that drafting and evaluating a potential NFL player is not a perfect science. Not every outstanding NFL player produced great results at the NFL Combine. A great Combine performance does not necessarily mean he will be a great player in the NFL, and a poor performance doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t be a good player.
• Be wary of the position each candidate is labeled. Sometimes, that candidate may have been a quarterback in college, but the NFL scouts feel that player would be a better defensive back or a wide receiver in the NFL.