NFL Combine combines scouting and meat market
Associated Press
Linebacker Bud Dupree stretches before drills at the NFL scouting combine on Feb. 22, 2015, in Indianapolis. Dupree was selected by the Steelers in the 1st round in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Stanford offensive lineman David Decastro runs the 40-yard dash at the NFL football scouting combine on Feb. 25, 2012 in Indianapolis.
PITTSBURGH 鈥� One can glean a lot during the NFL Combine. From a player鈥檚 height and weight to medical and drug testing, the league鈥檚 next wave of stars reveal plenty 鈥� and, in spandex shirts and shorts 鈥� probably a little too much.
But what the annual gathering, which gets under way next week in Indianapolis, can鈥檛 translate is whether a prospect will one day be a great NFL player. No offense to the 3-cone drill or the broad jump, greatness usually reveals itself over time, in pads and on, you know, a football field.
Case in point: Tom Brady.
No one could have foreshadowed greatness from the Michigan quarterback judging by his underwhelming combine performance 17 years ago. The image of a decidedly dad-bod Brady rumbling 40 yards in a speed 鈥� a 5.28 鈥� that could have been measured with a sun dial has become the stuff of legend.
The 鈥淯nderwear Olympics,鈥� as the combine鈥檚 critics derisively call it, is a veritable decathlon of football in shorts, a seemingly useless series of on-field events resembling the Presidential Physical Fitness Test more than anything one might see in an actual NFL game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty miserable process to be honest,鈥� Steelers guard David DeCastro, a first-round pick and combine invite in 2012, said in December. 鈥淭hey poke and prod at you in the combine, treat you like a piece of meat. Then you have to go out four days later on no sleep and run a 40 and perform. Looking back on it, you kind of laugh. It was an interesting process.鈥�
鈥淒idn鈥檛 like the combine process,鈥� says Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree, the 22nd overall pick in 2015. 鈥淚t was draining, really draining. Me, personally, I think you鈥檙e set up for failure. They want to see how you handle adversity.鈥�
Of course, the combine is more than just body-fat percentages and Wonderlic scores.
Just as importantly, the combine is a chance for players to make a good impression on future employers. Each team is allowed up to 60 interviews 鈥� from the 330-plus invites 鈥� lasting 15 minutes each. Those sessions are where teams can learn about a player鈥檚 mental makeup and can address any character issues or concerns.
Most of the heavy-lifting has already been done in the fall by the teams鈥� scouts and by what a player has put on film. The combine isn鈥檛 a be-all and end-all as much as it鈥檚 another step in the player evaluation process, which also includes pro days and pre-draft visits.
鈥淭he combine鈥檚 one thing, but the film is what speaks pretty highly,鈥� DeCastro said. 鈥淭he combine just confirms things. The medical process is the biggest part, MRIs and stuff. Just making sure they鈥檙e getting a good investment. That makes sense.鈥�
Obviously scouting has come a long ways since the days of Bill Nunn and Art Rooney Jr. trekking the country, but it remains just as vital to the Steelers, who traditionally build their teams through the draft. The Steelers are scheduled to have seven picks in this year鈥檚 draft, one in each of the seven rounds, including the 30th overall in the first.
Since its rather humble beginnings 30 years ago, the NFL combine has grown exponentially in size and scope. For starters, the event is now a televised spectacle as the NFL鈥檚 grip on the nation鈥檚 sporting conscience has grown year-round. The NFL Network will televise all four days (March 3-6) of on-field workouts live and, for the first time ever, fans are even being allowed to watch the bench press up close at the Indiana Convention Center.
While exposing the game and pushing the brand is good for the league鈥檚 bottom line, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert says that the focus has to remain on the product.
鈥淚鈥檓 old school,鈥� said Colbert. 鈥淲hen the TV came in, I was really worried because it鈥檚 intrusive. But it actually enhanced the combine participation because kids enjoy competing on television. I think we have to be careful that it doesn鈥檛 become an event other than a necessary tool for us to complete the scouting process.
鈥淎gain, the history of that, the combine was to get medicals. Then, it grew into physicals. Now, it鈥檚 into the character, the interviews. So all of that has to stay (at the) forefront of the event. I don鈥檛 want it to become a marketing opportunity that supersedes the necessary football business that has to happen in that seven-day period. There鈥檚 so much work that gets done, because to get 330 physicals and visits, if we didn鈥檛 do it in that setting, it would be impossible. So we can鈥檛 lose sight of that fact that it鈥檚 football first, entertainment second.鈥�
If you take the combine for what it is, it鈥檚 a useful accessory. But nothing more than that.
If that means running 40 yards in a straight line or seeing who jumps highest, all in spandex, so be it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy,鈥� Dupree said. 鈥淲hatever it takes, I guess. We dream about this since we were kids. So whatever it takes to get there.鈥�