NFL Scouting Combine is Overrated

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On Wednesday, the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine began in Indianapolis, where over 300 college football players will be tested to determine their draft eligibility.

Each player will be under an intense magnifying glass as they are looked at from every angle by examining their physical abilities, mental capacity, personal character and medical history.

Over the next few days we will continue to hear about the players who ran the fastest 40 yard dash, how many times a player was able to bench 225 pounds, or how they performed on the Wonderlic test.

Will there be a player who will be able to best Bo Jackson’s verified time of 4.12 in the 40? Or are we going to see another player score a 6 on the Wonderlic test like Vince Young did during his combine participation?

The term Workout Warrior was helped coined by players like Mike Mamula, out of Boston College, who was picked 7th overall in the 1995 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Thanks to his 4.63 time in the 40 and tying tackle Tony Boselli with how many times he was able to bench 225 pounds, Mamula shot up the draft boards. Despite the success he had during the combine, Mamula had an average career in the NFL.

There have been star college players whose poor performance at the NFL combine caused their stock to drop when the NFL draft came took place. Remember running back Maurice Clarett whose 40 yard time was slower than a turtle?

Despite the performance, Clarett was drafted in the 3rd round by the Denver Broncos when many expected him to be selected in the later rounds. Needless to say, Clarett did not have any success in the NFL.

Just like after the Senior Bowl, there will be players who surprise the scouts and cause a stir in the countless numbers of mock drafts. It is important to remember that the combines are only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to determining the future ability of a particular player.

Since present day players spend countless hours training and prepping for the combine, it takes away some of the luster from having one of the top scores.

The successful teams remember to take everything into perspective and not let the results of the combine outweigh what the player may have done during the private workouts or what they did during their college career.

Then there are those teams whose love for a player increases because of how well the athlete performed in the testing conditions.

It is okay for fans to enjoy the combine but not to fall in love with a player because they out performed everyone else expectations. These are just tests and are no substitute for the real thing.