But it doesn’t always mean that they are the best football players. It shouldn’t mean that they are the best football players. Hell, it doesn’t mean that they are the best football players, or are better than guys who can’t do the 3-cone drill in 6.7 seconds. There are kids in training facilities all across the country that are working on 40 times, the vertical jump and pro-agility drill. This doesn’t mean they can play football or that they will be better at football.
Maybe the Combine would be more interesting if they sprung surprises on the “contestants” as if the Combine were a reality show. But now that there are no surprises in store for prospective NFL players, the Combine is a boring exercise in the obvious. It would be way more instructive and interesting to see these guys try - and fail - in attempting to finish the course on Ninja Warrior.
Is it really any surprise to anyone that Arkansas’ Darren McFadden turned in the best performance of all the big-name, big school backs at the Combine? Look at the quarterback results from the Combine and tell me that you’d pick the guys who scored in the top-5 for the 40-yard dash, vertical jump or broad jump.
And I’m not even going to go into the likelihood that guys who stand to make millions of dollars playing football would be willing to use performance-enhancing drugs to move up the ladder or to get attention. Don’t fall prey to the logic that since the league tests for drugs that these NFL prospects aren’t using. Remember, HGH, designer steroid drugs and other high-tech PEDs won’t show up in drug screening.
The bottom line is that all good Division I football players can run the 40, jump and move explosively over a short course while under control. Guys who weigh 300 pounds are going to bench press three-quarters of their weight a bunch of times just like a fit 200-pound guy can bench 150 pounds a bunch of times. Shocker.
Of course the NFL Combine isn’t going anywhere. As a matter of fact, this secretive 4-day event in which fans aren’t allowed to attend will surely grow to be an even bigger revenue-generating event than it already is when the league starts selling tickets to various events. Guaranteed.
But bigger isn’t necessarily better, and a more popular NFL Combine won’t result in better draft decisions made by personnel people.Join me every Tuesday night at 8PM EST to discuss this and other issues on Performance Enhancing Radio.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
American Gladiators - rookies vs. pros. That would be a fantastic combine.
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That could replace the Pro Bowl.