Category: NFL Scouting Combine

A Vikings fan’s guide to understanding the NFL Scouting Combine

With the NFL’s scouting combine this weekend, @TheKevinFielder has your guide to understanding how to watch and understanding what happens

The NFL Scouting Combine has become more of an event and less of a showcase.

Yes, the events have remained the same. Players run the 40-yard dash, lift some weights, and enter conference rooms for top-secret interviews with teams. Scouts use stopwatches to time how fast a player runs, and executives for teams watch on with cameras in their faces.

And, in true NFL fashion, fans watch on in amazement.

Ultimately, what to take away from the combine can be difficult. Football isn’t played in shorts, but the combine is run in shorts. Fans can’t watch the team interviews, so they can’t see how prospects react in “job interview” scenarios.

Like many parts of the NFL Draft process, the combine is an imperfect science. Combine warriors exist, as do the strugglers. Players will finish with record-breaking bench press reps but lack functional play strength. Some players will struggle in position drills, but the tape will show a player who knows how to play the position.

See? Imperfect science.

When NFL personnel, prospects, and media flock to Indianapolis, the combine will be the talk on network television and social media. Fans and media will find new “draft crushes,” and other players will have their draft stocks tank. That’s just the reality of such an event.

While some approach the combine with skepticism, there is information to take from the event. Scouts and fans can gain invaluable knowledge from these events. It just takes an understanding of how to approach the event.

Here at Vikings Wire, we want to simplify the NFL Combine. While predicting who will show out at the combine is difficult, here are five things to help you understand the combine.

2022 NFL Scouting Combine: Biggest winners from Sunday’s workouts

Which prospects made themselves the most money at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday?

The 2022 NFL Scouting Combine concluded Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, as the defensive backs took the field in front of all 32 teams.

Here are a handful of prospects who helped their draft stock during Sunday’s testing and on-field workouts.

NFL combine stats for Mahomes, Manziel, Tebow, other notable QBs

How did Patrick Mahomes and other notable QBs perform at the NFL scouting combine? We revisit the statistics.

The NFL Scouting Combine has become a key component of the draft process over the past few decades.

Hundreds of top college football prospects participate in the annual talent showcase each year in hopes of winning the attention of NFL scouts and talent evaluators by excelling in the 40-yard dash, bench press (225-pound repetitions), vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle run and 60-yard shuttle run.

Patrick Mahomes, Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, Cam Newton and Tim Tebow are a few prominent quarterbacks that performed at the combine in recent years, although a handful of prospects skip the combine each year.

With that in mind, Draft Wire revisits the combine statistics of 17 notable quarterback prospects in recent years. Did their efforts help or hurt their draft stock? You be the judge.

[Source: NFL.com archived scouting reports]

Also see:
• NFL combine: Top historical marks in each drill

Seahawks: 8 notes from Pete Carroll’s press conference at the 2022 NFL Combine

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll just wrapped up his talk with reporters at the 2022 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll just wrapped up his talk with reporters at the 2022 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.

Here are eight notes from that conversation.

How COVID-19 will change the 2021 NFL Scouting Combine

See what changes the 2021 NFL Scouting Combine will experience due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many changes across the NFL landscape this year, and that will continue to be the case as the league moves through major events this offseason.

Among them, the NFL Scouting Combine, which will look much different than in years past.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated broke down some of the big changes coming to the NFL’s annual job fair for incoming college prospects, which includes regionalized medical checks, more formalized pro days to replace the lost workouts, and plenty of Zoom meetings.

These changes are no surprise, as the NFL continues to navigate the unknown territory the pandemic continues to force upon the sport.

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WATCH: Louisville’s Mekhi Becton runs 5.11-second 40-yard dash at 364 pounds

Watch as the heaviest prospect at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine shows off his rare athleticism in the 40-yard dash

Louisville offensive lineman Mekhi Becton is a massive individual. He can also run incredibly fast.

The 6-foot-7, 364-pound blocker tallied a 5.11 40-yard dash at the 2020 Scouting Combine, blowing the Internet’s mind in the process.

Seen by many as a first-round talent, Becton certainly did his draft stock some favors by putting up one of the faster 40-yard dash times among offensive linemen.

It appears Becton’s day of workouts at the combine may be over, but he’s already put on enough of a show:

Becton’s tape showcases his pure strength and his tenacity as a run blocker, but he also has some solid agility in pass protection. Even though many knew he was a solid athlete for such a hulking lineman, very few could have predicted he would run as fast as he did.

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Bruce Arians knows what he’s doing at the QB position

See what Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians had to say at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine when asked about the team’s QB position.

At Tuesday’s NFL Combine press conference, coach Bruce Arians, again, fielded questions about quarterback, Jameis Winston. “I had Andrew Luck as a rookie, I had Carson Palmer later in his career. I just like winners.”

When asked about what the team may do with Winston now that he’s a free agent, Arians said, “I know what I am doing at the quarterback position. Jameis Winston doesn’t know, but the team does.” Continuing, Arians said “the team is doing due diligence on Door No. 2. We can win with Jameis, I know that.”

You can view the entire 15 minutes interview session in the video below. Around the 2:25 mark is where Arians starts his initial conversation about quarterbacks.

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Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs named a ‘must-watch’ for Buccaneers at 2020 NFL Combine

See why NFL.com’s Charley Casserly thinks the Bucs should be keeping a close eye on OT Tristan Wirfs at the upcoming NFL Scouting Combine.

The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is set to begin in less than two weeks, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be actively scouting the talent as they have a number of needs that need to be addressed through both the draft and free agency.

One area of need is along the offensive line, and several mock drafts have the Bucs looking to take an offensive tackle at the 14th spot in April’s NFL draft. And, NFL.com’s Charley Casserly seems to be in that camp, as he’s named Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs as a must-watch player for the Buccaneers at the upcoming combine.

Per Casserly:

“The Bucs have several holes, but the offensive line is the one they must focus on in the draft. Wirfs provides versatility along the line; he could play right tackle or guard at the next level.”

Drafting a solid offensive tackle can have an immediate impact on a team, and with the Bucs looking like a dark-horse playoff contender in 2020, shoring up the O-line will go a long way in helping to ensure their offense remains one of the NFL’s most potent.

Getting someone like Wirfs would be a huge “get” for Tampa Bay. The only question is, who will be the quarterback the Bucs’ O-line will be protecting in 2020?

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