It feels like yesterday we were watching the Eagles raise the Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl 59. Now the NFL Combine has come and gone. The Combine is a spectacular event that allows the best college prospects to show off their skills live in front of NFL scouts. These players include Jalen Milroe, Tyler Booker, Jihaad Campbell, Will Howard, Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty, Armand Membou, and Matthew Golden.
The Importance of the NFL Combine
As previously mentioned, the NFL Combine gives invited college athletes an opportunity to showcase their skills and impress team scouts. Players will also participate in one-on-one interviews with team representatives during the NFL Combine. Performing well at the Combine can enhance one’s draft stock. Numerous instances exist where outstanding performances at the Combine have propelled a player up the draft board. Take, for example, Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts, who was selected 3rd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
These NFL scouts and General Managers are tasked with hard choices that will affect the future of their franchises. They want to make the right decision, but with so many players and only a handful of picks, these scouts will look for reasons not to draft a player. These decisions are made based on the drills, measurements, and interviews the players partake in.
Drills and Grading
The combine can be overwhelming to a casual football fan. You may be wondering what all of these drills determine and who has improved their stock the most. The good news is that the NFL has made following the combine a breeze just go to their website. Participants are being graded throughout the combine for their performances in each drill. On the broadcast available on the NFL Network, comparisons will be made between the participants and current/former NFL players to allow viewers to see the college athletes’ potential. These tools allow for a greater understanding of how a prospect is viewed by the scouts and their peers. The grades are determined by the Production Score and Athleticism Score. Production is determined by the participant’s college career and Athleticism is affected by their combine performance. Those who don’t participate are given a estimated Athleticism score.
The drills ran at the combine are the 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle, and Bench. There are more drills for specific position groups, like QB throwing drills. Of the mentioned drills, the one that gets the most notoriety is the 40-yard dash. There were some great runs by the participants: Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston ran this year’s fastest time at 4.28u seconds, beating Texas Wideout Matthew Golden, who ran it at 4.29u seconds.
The NFL Combine Standouts
The participants whose draft stock rose at the combine are Georgia’s Jared Wilson, Missouri’s Armand Membou, Texas’ Matthew Golden, and Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell. These participants shined in the NFL Combine’s 40-yard dash and garnered great attention this weekend. For a more in-depth analysis, click here.
The NFL Draft
The next major NFL event is the NFL Draft in April. The event will be hosted in Green Bay, WI, and the Tennessee Titans are on the clock. Will they take either Cam Ward-QB, Shedeur Sanders-QB, Travis Hunter-WR/CB, or Abdul Carter-EDGE? Barring a trade, I believe the Titans will draft Abdul Carter at number 1.
