Run faster. Jump higher. Leap further. Once a year, NFL hopefuls lace up their PF Flyers and look to impress pro scouts, coaches and the legendary hair of Mel Kiper.
That time has arrived. The NFL combine, held in Indianapolis, is a chance for future draftees to display their athleticism, and hope to see their draft stock soar as scouts and media personnel clamor over their “tremendous upside.” We stare intently at stopwatches, overanalyzing the difference between a 4.39 40-yard dash and a 4.40. Players are fawned over or completely dismissed, all because of how many repetitions they can bench press, or how high they can jump. It’s savage, it’s inhumane, and yet, it’s a standard part of the drafting process.
What always struck me about the combine was that the NFL is the only major American sport to put on such a public display. Did major league baseball scouts ask Stephen Strasburg to do curls before they drafted him No. 1? Of course not, they just drooled over his game film. Did NBA coaches need to see Larry Bird’s time sprinting from one basket to the other to know that he was a tremendously instinctive, talented player? I doubt it. The NFL is simply a different breed. Much more attention is paid to pure athleticism; if players aren’t deemed the strongest, fastest and most agile at their position, many scouts and coaches assume they won’t succeed. At the combine, a player’s skill on the football field doesn’t even come into the picture. Players are put under a spotlight, for coaches and scouts to dissect and gawk at. Yet, for a player to make the jump to the next level, they must not only attend the combine, they must excel.
Of course, we’ve seen over time that a player’s physical attributes doesn’t define them; you can be as fast and strong as you want, and still have no idea how to play football (example: Brian Bosworth). Look at Emmitt Smith. He is one of the greatest running backs of all time, and holds the NFL record for rushing yards. Yet, he wasn’t the strongest or fastest at his position. He didn’t have breakaway speed like Barry Sanders, and couldn’t swat away potential tacklers like they were mosquitoes, a la Bo Jackson. What he did have was superb instincts and vision, attributes that carried him to the Hall of Fame. And to the chagrin of NFL scouts and coaches, instincts and vision can’t be judged at the combine.
In the same vane, here’s a cautionary tale. In 2008, Ohio State DE Vernon Gholston was drafted 6th overall by the New York Jets. He had been erratic during his college career, but dominated at the combine, raising his stock significantly. After running a 4.67 second 40-yard dash and bench pressing 225-pounds an inhumane 37 times, he couldn’t miss, right? Wrong. Gholston was cut this week after three seasons of poor technique and zero total sacks. In 45 games, he accumulated a mere 42 tackles, zero forced fumbles and zero interceptions. In pop culture terms, Gholston may have been a worse flop than “Gigli,” if that’s possible.
The lesson is: take the combine with a grain of salt. Yes, it can be helpful. Athleticism is a huge part of the game, and the combine can help expose poor conditioning and work ethic. But still, brute strength isn’t everything. Players can excel with less, or fail with more. Coaches and scouts need to take a deep breath and put down the stopwatch. In the end, talent is all that matters.