NFL Scouting Combine

The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Football League coaches, general managers, and scouts. With increasing interest in the NFL draft, the scouting combine has grown in scope and significance, allowing personnel directors to evaluate upcoming prospects in a standardized setting. Its origins stem from the National, BLESTO, and Quadra Scouting organizations in 1977.^[1]

Athletes attend by invitation only. An athlete's performance during the combine can affect their draft status and salary, and ultimately their career. The draft has popularized the term "workout warrior", whereby an athlete's "draft stock" is increased based on superior measurable qualities such as size, speed, and strength, despite having an average or sub-par college career.^[2][3][4]

Tex Schramm, the president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys from 1960 to 1989, proposed to the NFL competition committee a centralization of the evaluation process for NFL teams. Prior to 1982, teams had to schedule individual visits with players to run them through drills and tests.^[5] The national invitational camp (NIC) was first held in Tampa, Florida, in 1982.^[6] It was originated by National Football Scouting, Inc. as a means for member organizations to look at NFL draft prospects. For non-member teams, two other camps were created and used from 1982 through 1984. The NIC was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1984. It was renamed the NFL Scouting Combine following the merger of the three camps in 1985 to cut the cost of running the extra camps. It was held in Arizona in 1985 and once again in New Orleans in 1986 before permanently moving to Indianapolis in 1987.

Tests and evaluations include:^[7][8][9]

• 40-yard dash
• Bench press of 225 pounds (102 kg)
• Vertical jump
• Broad jump
• 20-yard shuttle
• 3 cone drill
• 60-yard shuttle
• Position-specific drills
• Interviews – each team is allowed 60 interviews in 15-minute intervals
• Physical and injury evaluations
• Pruebas de detección de drogas
• Prueba Cybex
• Prueba Wonderlic

Los periodistas deportivos cuestionan si estas pruebas tienen alguna relación con el rendimiento en la NFL. ^{[ 10 ]} Una investigación empírica publicada en 2011 encontró que las pruebas de carrera de 40 yardas, salto vertical, carrera de 20 yardas y ejercicio de 3 conos tienen una validez limitada para predecir el rendimiento futuro en la NFL, lo que sugiere que el rendimiento pasado de un prospecto en la universidad es un mejor indicador del rendimiento futuro en la NFL que estas pruebas de capacidad física. ^{[ 11 ]}

The NFL's first scouting organization, LESTO (Lions, Eagles and Steelers Talent Organization), was started in 1963 by the teams mentioned in its name with headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[20] It became BLESTO when the Bears joined the following year and BLESTO-V when the Vikings came on board later in the decade; by 1971 the Bills, Colts and Dolphins had joined and the group was known as BLESTO-VIII.^[21] It is now known simply as BLESTO despite the fact that the Bears and Eagles are no longer members.^[22] The group's offices stayed in Pittsburgh until 2007 when the headquarters moved to Jacksonville, Florida, with support offices remaining in Pittsburgh.^[20]

CEPO (Central Eastern Personnel Organization), formed in 1964, was a joint venture of the Colts, Browns, Packers and Cardinals. Its name was changed to United Scouting after the Falcons, Giants and Redskins joined, then to National Football Scouting in 1983 to avoid confusion with the United States Football League, which began operations that year. National Football Scouting is now known simply as the National.^[22] Another scouting organization formed in 1964 was Troika, launched by the Cowboys, Rams and 49ers. It was renamed Quadra when the Saints joined in 1967.^[22] Quadra no longer exists; its former members now all belong to the National.

In a typical year, there are about 330 invited players. About 250 invitations are sent before bowl games are completed to those who have completed their seasons. However, underclassmen have until mid-January to confirm their draft status. Invitations are made to those receiving supermajority support from the selection committee.^[23]

Sportswriter Steve Silverman has expressed skepticism of the combine's utility as a predictor of players' potential by citing the experience of Terrell Suggs in 2003. Suggs was an impressive defensive end for Arizona State, but when Suggs ran the 40-yard dash in a relatively slow 4.83 seconds, he was downgraded by NFL scouts. However, despite his lackluster performance at the NFL combine, Suggs later became an elite defender for the Baltimore Ravens after being selected with the tenth overall pick, including 12.0 sacks during his rookie season.^[24] Doug Tatum of Times-Picayune argues that it is unlikely players will be asked to run a 40-yard dash again during their career.^[25] Silverman says that the best way to scout is to simply watch them play.^[24]

Others think the value in the 40 depends on the position; Daniel Jeremiah, an NFL Network analyst and former scout, says "The position where the 40 holds the most weight is cornerback. If you're a receiver who runs a 4.6 like (Anquan) Boldin, but you have short-area quickness and strong hands, the 40 isn't a big deal. But if you're a cornerback who runs a 4.6 and you're facing a receiver who runs a 4.4, it doesn't matter how good your ball skills are."^[26]

The NFL scouting combine was first shown on television in 2004. Media and cameras were historically prohibited, but with the launch of NFL Network on November 4, 2003, six installments of one-hour shows to recap the day's events aired in February 2004.^[27][28] NFL Network aired two hours of combine workouts for each workout day in 2005,^[29] 26 total hours of coverage in 2006,^[30] 27 hours in 2007,^[5] and 25 hours in 2009.^[31] It began airing over 30 hours of Combine coverage starting in 2010,^[32] which received 5.24 million viewers.^[33]

In 2019, ESPN began to additionally provide live coverage from the Combine, with daily broadcasts of NFL Live on-site, including a two-hour edition airing on ABC with coverage of quarterback and wide receiver drills (marking the first time that official coverage had been provided outside of NFL Network).^[34][35]

A partir de 2011, se llevó a cabo una serie de once Combines regionales para jugadores no invitados al Combine principal de exploración, así como otros agentes libres, en ocho ciudades ( Los Ángeles , Houston , Baltimore , Tampa , East Rutherford , Chicago , Atlanta y Cleveland ) de enero a marzo. Los mejores jugadores de estos Combines regionales fueron invitados al Combine superregional de la NFL en el Ford Field de Detroit a finales de marzo. ^{[ 36 ]} En 2016, la NFL abandonó este formato y solo realizó cinco Combines en Houston, Arizona, Baltimore, Minnesota y Nueva Orleans. ^{[ 37 ]}

El primer NFL Veteran Combine se programó para el 22 de marzo de 2015 en las instalaciones del equipo Arizona Cardinals. El Combine coincidió con la reunión de propietarios de la NFL, que también se celebró en Phoenix del 22 al 24 de marzo de 2015. El Combine contó con la participación de agentes libres veteranos y los 32 clubes. Se recibieron más de 2000 solicitudes de jugadores para participar, aunque solo se seleccionaron unos pocos. Algunos de los jugadores destacados fueron Adam Carriker , Felix Jones , Michael Sam y Brady Quinn . ^{[ 38 ]} Sin embargo, solo dos jugadores que participaron en el Combine (el linebacker Brandon Copeland y el tight end Ifeanyi Momah ) seguían en las plantillas de la NFL para la Semana 1 de la temporada regular de 2015. ^{[ 39 ]}

La NFL canceló el Veteran Combine previsto para 2016, alegando falta de interés por parte de los jugadores. ^{[ 40 ]} Más tarde ese mismo año, la NFL anunció que lo renombraría como Pro Player Combine y centraría su atención en jugadores más jóvenes que intentaban conseguir otra oportunidad en la NFL. ^{[ 41 ]}

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