It’s that time of year again when the NFL hype machine prepares new storylines for the upcoming pro-day and draft portion of the offseason— the Scouting Combine has officially come and gone, ladies and gents!
As always, the event was held in Indianapolis and players from all across the country performed various athletic tasks highlighted by the 40-yard dash and the bench press. Players were asked to jump (in ways they’ll never need to in a real game), squat, run and they had their measurements taken. As a result, there will be risers and fallers, athletic freaks and big man teats, and in the end, all of it means…
NOTHING THAT WE DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW!
Once the Combine comes around, three or four years of game tape is ignored by scouts and sports talking heads alike because a guy from “Directional State College” runs really fast in a straight line and catches a ball without pads or the threat of getting hit. In most years, many of the top talents (specifically quarterbacks) attend the Combine and avoid some of the higher-profile drills, or avoid the Combine altogether, and I for one don’t blame them.
After having the second greatest rushing season in FBS history, does former Wisconsin Badger and Heisman Trophy finalist Melvin Gordon need to run the cones to prove he’s got the goods to compete at the next level? I think we all know the answer to that is no. What about Amari Cooper, the consensus best wideout in college football? If he ran a 4.9 in the 40, the “draft industrial complex” would implode and some idiot coach and GM combination would take someone else and essentially seal their fate all because they’re drunk on that Combine wine.
Look no further for the pure idiocy of the NFL Combine than Louisville Cardinal turned Minnesota Viking QB Teddy Bridgewater; a sub-par performance during his combine and pro day basically erased a stellar college career. Despite being a consensus top two overall pick across most NFL mock drafts early in the 2013 season (say what you will about mock drafts), Bridgewater plummeted all the way to 32nd overall — losing MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in the process — yet still eventually won the 2014 Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Quiet as kept, Teddy B had a record breaking rookie season.
Teddy Bridgewater’s 75.6 completion rate on 41 attempts was an #NFL rookie record. #Vikings QB Snapshot: http://t.co/8DOuwwajpq
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) December 16, 2014
Teddy Bridgewater is the first rookie QB to ever complete >70% of his passes in four straight games.
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) December 22, 2014
Sidebar: No seriously, Teddy BROKE RECORDS!
On the flip side, Johnny Manziel impressed at the 2014 Combine— ask the Browns how the draft day decision of selecting Johnny Football, and passing on Bridgewater (twice), worked out. Not even Kevin Costner could clean up the mess in Cleveland.
By the time the Combine arrives, scouts, coaches and GMs have watched the regular season, bowl games, the Senior Bowl, and have access to film of nearly every snap of every player in the country. Aside from sit-down interviews, what else does a team need to make an informed decision?
The hype machine is revving up in Indy, but whatever comes from this year’s gathering in Indy, know that the players who proved themselves this past weekend have already done just that.