The NFL Combine Means What?
What do NFL teams really learn at the NFL combine? What impact does it really have?
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Did you see the guy who ran a 4.28 in the 40 yard dash? Or the guy who benched 225 pounds for 30 reps?
What does that really mean to NFL franchises? Sadly but sometimes too much. I can’t believe how many times a GM and/or Coach is suckered into a “track” star instead of a good football player.
What is the tangible difference between 4.3 and 4.6 on the field of play any how? Give me a guy who has proven himself in College and runs a 4.6 over the guy who did nothing and ran 4.3. If all things are equal maybe combine times will be a factor. But watch the film people!
Take the Philadelphia Eagles a few years back. They wanted a good Tight End. They took R J Smith over Jason Whitten reportedly because of speed in the workouts. If you watched them play, clearly Whitten was a safe pick and more of a tight end then Smith will ever be.
Speaking of the Eagles. Remember the poster boy for combine impact? Mike Mamula. Yes he same Mamula they traded up for to pick at # 9 overall I believe it was. Oh and they passed on Warren Sapp to do it! And the Eagles made no bones about what caught there attention. No it wasn’t his decent College career at Boston College. It was his combine numbers! Pathetic. If you watched Sapp at Miami for 10 minutes and also seen Mamula at BC, forget about it.
How about this? This years defensive player of the year, James Harrison, wasn’t even drafted.
Remember Jeff George? He combined his way to the #1 overall pick! How about carved from granite Vernon Davis form a couple years back? NO you don’t remember the top 5 pick because he hasn’t done anything in San Francisco. Great athlete, crappy football player.
This is just a couple of a million examples. Here is what I know.
The combine does have a huge impact. That is whether a guy moves up or down in the draft. So it will effect his contract, but it won’t have one fraction of influence on whether he can play in the NFL.
Even the draft guru’s like Mel Kiper Jr, don’t make the combine the end all. So why do some NFL teams cave in? They are gutless to trust their eyes evidently. Hey you are going to be wrong no matter what sometimes but if they have some kind of rationale they think the fans will understand. Speed and strength shows potential is what we are to believe. No, that tells me who should try out for a track team or weight lifting competition. Those things are relative. Important? Only in context of their football ability.
I do believe is important for teams to see a guy workout however. You need to see a player and his work ethic. And you can tell if he is about the numbers or he is serious about his preparation. That does matter. Plus you need to see how he interacts and receives criticism.
So here we go again. Another year of a gutsy being drafted way above their true potential and others being shrugged aside or pushed down because they are 3 tenths of a second slower.
Does it make interesting though doesn’t it?
