Every February, hundreds of prospective NFL players take the field in Indianapolis with hopes of impressing the NFL’s top coaches, general managers and scouts. The NFL Combine is a final test for college players to show what they can do and prove why they deserve the big signing bonuses.
But is too much value placed on this annual exercise?

The Combine puts players through numerous tests and evaluations that aim to test their speed, strength and smarts. Events such as the 40-yard dash, the bench press and the Wonderlic Test measure these external characteristics. Although the challenges may be important in determining who possesses certain attributes, it should not be the all-deciding factor that many GMs have made it out to be.
When it comes down to it, the most important factor should always be how well these football players have performed in college. Not only whether their stats are exceptional, but also if they have led their respective teams to victories and bowl games.

Knowing how to win is an underrated skill that still eludes many great players. That’s why players like Joe Montana and John Elway are considered to be better than Dan Marino, who may have been a better statistical quarterback, but never won a championship.

Being able to play well in college is also important because it shows that the players are able to understand how to play the game. There’s always a reason why a certain wide receiver is starting, as opposed to the second-stringer who may be faster or have better hands.

But at the Combine, they don’t measure who the better player on the field is, only who can work out the best.

Why does it matter how quickly an offensive guard can sprint 40 yards? It’s not like he’s ever going to run downfield and catch a pass. Rarely do they ever move more than five yards away from the line of scrimmage during a given play — and even if they do, you’ll never see them sprinting.

Why does it matter how many reps a fullback or tight end can bench press at 225 pounds?

If they can block well in college, they’ll most likely be able to block well in the pros because they understand the technique and strategy. The ability to push a weight a couple more times than someone else only proves that they’ve spent more time in the weight room — and less on the practice turf.

At the end of the day, many scouts and GMs will overvalue combine results as opposed to college production because it potentially shows more upside in a player and sets them apart from the rest of the pack.

As everybody wants to draft the next fire-throwing Brett Favre, NFL front offices have continued to overvalue arm strength in recent years. In the 2007 draft, Oakland selected JaMarcus Russell with the first pick after watching him effortlessly toss a football eighty yards downfield in his pre-draft workouts. He’s now their third-string signal caller.

Forty-yard dash time is another overrated statistic that means very little during a real game. The difference between a wide receiver running a time of 4.3 seconds and a cornerback running a 4.5 is hardly noticeable on a pass pattern. What matters is whether the receiver can juke the defender because he’s an exceptional route-runner — something that can’t be quantified in a combine drill.

Oakland proved once again in the 2009 Draft why they are the laughingstock of the NFL. Owner Al Davis selected wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey with the seventh overall pick, after the decrepit Davis became enamored with Heyward-Bey’s blistering 4.25 second 40 time. The Raiders chose him over college stud Michael Crabtree, a two-time All-American, who was eventually taken 10th.

At the end of their respective rookie seasons, Crabtree had 48 receptions for 625 yards, while Heyward-Bey finished with only nine catches for 124 yards. Is speed really that important?

Clearly, every player at the NFL Combine is a good football player. Tons of these athletes have trained their entire lives to get there, and they refuse to waste the opportunity. Meanwhile, many others are immaculate athletic specimens who could always get by without working too hard. Being born with certain physical gifts is one thing, but knowing how to utilize them is what ultimately matters.

Reminds me of the real world.

— Contact Evan Rapkin.