As a Detroit Lions fan, one of my favorite times of the year is the NFL Draft. This is when my Lions get their pick of the college litter year after year, without ever improving as a franchise. However, before the excitement of draft day, there is the NFL Scouting Combine. After years of enjoying the Combine—and seeing the Lions front office drool over any wide receiver that can catch a ball—my views toward the combine have started to shift.
Although the fun and joy of watching athletic freaks wear the tightest and skimpiest clothes are endless, I am of the opinion that the NFL Combine has become far more important than it needs to or should.
The main problem with the combine is that the many drills do not necessarily translate to in-game ability. Let’s start with the most popular event at the Combine, the 40-yard dash.
Over the years, this drill has become less about football than about making the Olympic track team. Nowadays, the players gear up in outfits tight enough to leave nothing to the imagination and shoes specially designed for track sprinters. They spend upwards of 30 seconds getting in the most optimal starting position, then shoot straight as an arrow down the track. The whole scene makes me question the Combine. The idea that an extra hundredth of a second is the make-or-break mark for a player is simply ludicrous. Next time you see a NFL skill player start from a track position and run 40 yards in a straight line with no contact, let me know.
Another drill that gets too much attention is the bench press. For this drill, scouts sit in an auditorium and watch the prospective pros on stage lifting 225 lbs as many times as possible. Sure, I get the idea that you want to have a buff guy playing for your team. However, this exercise is simply that—an exercise, not a football activity.
There are a multitude of other drills that make up the rest of the Scouting Combine, but most are less effective at determining future pro talent than is widely thought. Scouts and players alike have become disillusioned with every slight tick in a throwing motion, every hundredth of a second in the 40, and every quarter inch on a vertical leap. Where then are scouts supposed to go to evaluate their multi-million dollar investments? The answer is simple: look at the player’s college tape.
Call me crazy, but I would go straight to the library of game tape a player has amassed over his college career before I dismiss him for a subpar performance on a drill that lasts less than five seconds. This is especially true for players coming from a big time program with weekly games against the top competition in the nation. Being a workout warrior at the combine is no substitute for performing at the highest level week after week.
The bottom line is that the NFL Draft is an inexact science, and scouts will take any opportunity they can to evaluate talent. The Combine can be useful for lesser-known talents to get their name on the radar, but it should not be a forum for players to loose upwards of $10 million due to tenths of a second differences in meaningless.
