Most every college football player aspires to find himself in the National Football League at some point in his career.  These guys have trained most of their lives for that opportunity.  The annual NFL Combine is one of the final chances these athletes have to impress pro scouts in order to ultimately achieve their goal of getting drafted in April.  It is pretty interesting to watch because only the best of the best get invited to the combine and they all show their true competitive colors. 

A topic that has frequently been under debate is the actual importance of the NFL Combine.  There is a lot of stock put into it by the media, and therefore the fans, but is it warranted?  I think you would have to look at it on a case-by-case basis.  There are some athletes that go into the combine with little to answer physically, and therefore the combine will simply confirm what the scouts originally thought about that prospect, whether it be good or bad.  There are other players who are already a lock to get drafted but could improve their stock by impressing in an area that was once thought to be a weakness.  And finally, there are the occasional players who come out of nowhere to put on an impressive enough display to blow the minds of NFL scouts (Chris Johnson), and go from an undrafted status to a first day selection. 

There is no way that everyone is going to agree about just how important the NFL Combine is for these potential NFL players.  You cannot, however, disagree with the facts:

• All 32 NFL teams are in attendance watching the prospects in an equal setting.
• All team executives (Owner, GM, Coaches) are available for interviews with an opportunity for the players to impress them off the field.
• The physical and mental tests that are conducted (and not all players participate in all drills) include: 40-yard dash, Bench Press, Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, Shuttle, 3 Cone Drill, Specific Positional Drills, Wonderlic Test, Cybex Test, and an Injury Evaluation.
• A positional breakdown from last years draft:

I know that some of the drills don’t matter for certain positions (For example, who cares what Terrance Cody’s 40-time is?), but the facts don’t lie.  If you participate in the NFL combine you have a much better chance of getting drafted.  Now I’m going to look at some of the winners and losers from this years NFL combine:

Stock Rising:

Russell Okung (Oklahoma State, OT): 

Okung was already thought of as the top offensive lineman in this draft class, but he confirmed any doubts scouts may have had at the combine.  He tweaked his groin midway through so he was not able to finish his workouts but that didn’t matter.  He bench pressed 225 pounds 38 times, and was very impressive in several pass-protection and change of direction drills.   

Taylor Mays (USC, S): 

Before Taylor Mays lined up to run the 40-yard dash, he looked back at Deion Sanders (one of the fastest football players ever) and said, “I’ve got something for you in the 40.”  Mays backed his comments up by running a sizzling 4.24 40-yard dash after checking in at 6’3” and 230 pounds.  I know that this was his unofficial time and his official time was a 4.43, but still that is flat out moving and has helped him move back into most first round projections for the NFL Draft come this April.  He also recorded an impressive vertical leap of 41”.  His 40 time is especially attractive considering he may be making the move to outside linebacker in college.  If he could put on 5-10 more pounds and still maintain that speed, he could be a force on the outside.  His big question mark among NFL scouts is his ball skills.  He seems to always go for the big hit instead of playing the ball.  Seems like a good fit at linebacker to me.

Jerry Hughes (TCU, DE): 

Hughes is one of those guys that was very productive throughout his collegiate career, but had some concerns when it came to how he would work out.  He didn’t come from the most obvious NFL pipeline college in Texas Christian, and maybe didn’t play against the consistent competition of some other top-tier defensive lineman.  He put all those concerns to rest by running a 4.7 forty at 6’2” and 257 pounds and impressing in all defensive lineman drills, often standing out at the position.  

Everson Griffen (USC, DE): 

Griffen measured in at 6’3” and 273 pounds, obviously all muscle because he was able to complete 32 reps on the bench.  He was one of the more physically sound prospects in attendance.  He even ran a remarkable 4.65 40-yard dash both times in the 40, and looked smooth in the agility drills.  Griffen proved to be a workout warrior and definitely improved his draft stock to the top-40 range. 

Kareem Jackson (Alabama, CB): 

Kareem surprised many by declaring for the draft early shortly after winning the National Championship earlier this year.  He must have gotten some good advice because he is shooting up the draft boards.  Kareem has been labeled a physical, bump-coverage, corner, that is obviously well-coached coming from Nick Saban’s defensive schemes.  The main knock on him has been his speed, which made his 40-time all the more important.  He impressed NFL scouts by running a 4.48 in the dash, the second best time among all cornerbacks.  He may now see his name called in the first round. 

Stock Falling:

Joe Haden (Florida, CB): 

This is a bit of a stretch because most still believe Haden to be the first CB taken off the board.  He is placed on this list based solely on his abysmal 40 time.  He was expected to run in the low 4.4’s, but ended up running a disappointing 4.58.  Most believe it was more of a technical error on his start, or a similar issue that caused the poor time, and he is expected to run much better at Florida’s pro-day later in the month.

Joe McKnight (USC, RB): 

Joe McKnight has not proven to be durable, and scouts are uncertain whether he is worth the risk.  I believe he is thought of as a valuable prospect mainly based on the fact that he was such a high-profile recruit coming out of high school.  He was given all the comparisons to Reggie Bush, but injury concerns and fumbling problems hampered his career a bit.  I personally don’t think McKnight is worth the risk, but will be interested to see where he ends up.

Desmond Briscoe (Kansas, WR):

Briscoe ran a slow 4.64 forty, which isn’t that huge of a concern considering his strength is not his electrifying speed.  The big concern is that he is too much of a “system” receiver, and won’t have success if he is forced to deal with a jam at the line.  He is more of a crafty receiver that works well in open spaces.  I think Briscoe could be a bust in the NFL.

Carlos Dunlap:

Dunlap is an absolute freak, measuring in at 6’6” and 277 pounds while still being able  to  record a 40 time of 4.71.  The big question about Dunlap is his work ethic, and his       actual love of the game.  There is no doubt he has top-10 pick potential, but I don’t think anyone would be surprised if he was out of the league in 4 years.  He was going through the drills at the combine like he could care less, and I guarantee you NFL scouts took notice.  He may drop all the way out of the first round.

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