Welcome to Indianapolis … Draft hopefuls have begun arriving in Indianapolis for the start of the NFL’s annual scouting combine on Tuesday in what is arguably the most important week of the pre-draft testing period. Just over 320 prospects will be poked and prodded, as well as tested both mentally and physically as they go through what amounts to a pressure cooker job interview. Players are broken into 4 groups each of which which will undergo 4 days of testing. The week will be lead off with the offensive lineman and TEs which start their week in Indianapolis later today, followed by Group 2, which includes the QBs, WRs and RBs, which goes from Wednesday through Saturday; Group 3, which includes the LBs and defensive linemen, runs from Thursday through Sunday; and Group 4, which includes the corners and safeties and runs Friday through Monday. The first day for each group involves registration and orientation with the players also undergoing preliminary medical tests and getting basic x-rays. The second day involves the weigh-in, more medical tests, as well as some psychological testing. On the third day, players meet the players association and undergo further pyschological testing; they also undergo strength testing including the bench press. Finally on the fourth day players hit the field for physical skills test and as well as positional drills. The physical tests include running the 40 – the gold standard for draft propsects – as well as the 3-cone drill, 20- and 60-yard shuttles, broad jump and vertical leap. The offensive linemen and TEs will be the first to hit the field on Friday, followed by the offensive skill positions on Saturday, the defensive linemen and LBs on Sunday and the DBs on Monday. The NFL Network will provide live coverage of the on-field drills for all 4 groups starting on Friday at 9 AM ET. Of course, not all players will do a full workout, as over the years many of the very top prospects have opted to wait until their own school’s pro day or a private workout to run the 40 and participate in position drills. as of now, for example, neither of top-rated QBs Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota have committed to throw the ball at Saturday’s positional drills. As well, on each of the first three days players can be interviewed by individual teams. However, every team is limited to interviewing just 60 player and have to submit a list in advance of the players they wish to interview. As well, each interview is limited to only 15 minutes meaning the players are under immense pressure as it may be the first and possibly only time they have direct contact with NFL coaches and general managers. In particular, during the interviews, players will be asked to explain any past off-field indiscretions and/or questions about work ethic and motor; teams will also put them in front of a chalk board and test their football acumen. And, as noted by the GBN’s Pigskin Paul Guillemette in a report in the combine blog earlier today, there are a number of players with some real ‘splaning’ during interviews this week starting with the aforementioned Jameis Winston of Florida State who has enough red flags that he can hold his own personal May Day parade. While the physical testing gets most of the press, the heart-and-soul of the combine are the medical exams. Indeed, the combine came about in the early 1980s to centralize the medical tests so players wouldn’t have to undergo the same procedure for 32 different teams. In fact, every NFL team will have their entire medical and training staffs in Indianapolis going over the medical history, X-rays and MRI results of the prospects. As well, players who have had a surgery in college or high school will be asked to go for additional tests. And players with serious medical concerns may be recalled in early April for further tests.
