The new combine drills got a mixed reception.
In an effort to have the combine’s on-field efforts more closely replicate what happens on NFL playing fields, the league rolled out a number of new combine drills this year, taking others away. And the NFL’s ready-fire-aim pace was pretty apparent here.
“First, we want to make sure the drills are reflective of today’s game,” said Jeff Foster, president of the National Invitation Camp, which runs the combine. “We’ve been using the same drills for many, many years, which is great to use as comparative analysis. But we also wanted to make sure we were updating the drills to reflect how the game has changed. The second piece was to add some elements to it that would be more attractive to the players and the fans.”
Well, not so much. Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm told me last Tuesday that he only had a couple of days to prepare for new the fade drill; prospects weren’t really able to vet this. And there are agents who will undoubtedly hold their top players out with this as one reason. And the fade drill itself was kind of a mess as a result. There are college programs in which quarterbacks have never thrown fades, and subsequently, receivers have never caught them.
And the new hoop drill, in which defensive linemen have to run hoops, picking up towels and putting them back down, ran afoul of former NFL defensive end Stephen White, who played for the Buccaneers from 1996 through 2001, and for the Saints in 2002.
This little towel thing…for what? You're supposed to be low the whole time, not just when you bend down to pick something up. Some pf these dudes are picking up the towel and popping right up.
— Stephen White (@sgw94) February 29, 2020
I wouldn't go that far lol But yeah that was way too easy imo. The point is supposed to be staying low while you round a corner, not just dipping once to get a towel. At least it was when we did it. https://t.co/sZHv65k0cg
— Stephen White (@sgw94) February 29, 2020
So… maybe another year to work out all the wrinkles.