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Is the NFL Combine still necessary or an overrated circus? (Video)

By Patrick Schmidt

Feb 22, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A general view of the defensive linemen going through drills during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A general view of the defensive linemen going through drills during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NFL Combine gets underway this week, but is it still necessary or just an overblown media circus?

For 300 of the top NFL Draft prospects in the 2016 class there won’t be a more stressful time than the NFL Combine where they’ll run the 40, do position drills, put up 225 as much as they can on the bench and have one interview after another.

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For some of these prospects, they don’t have to stress because players like Joey Bosa, Laremy Tunsil and Jalen Ramsey are locked in as high first round picks. But they represent the minority because the fact is this weekend at the Combine could make or break their NFL careers.

Which begs the question, after four years in college, what’s left to learn at the Combine that holds so much weight when it comes to their draft position?

The Combine used to be a necessity because NFL teams didn’t have access to these college football players throughout the country. They only had regional scouts that would be able to look over the talent in the state and surrounding areas. For example, the Chicago Bears could have a great understanding of players from the Big Ten, but their knowledge of players from the SEC or the Pac-12 could have been limited.

SI.com’s Boomer Esiason takes a look at the merits of the annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis, IN.

That’s not the case now where NFL teams have more information at their fingertips than they know what to do with it all. The Combine used to be an event that could trump what you did your entire college career. And it could literally happen in a matter of seconds if a player runs a substandard time in the 40.

Conversely, a player could have been an afterthought on his college team but comes to the Combine and runs 4.3 and instantly becomes a first round player.

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As Boomer mentions in the video above, the Combine may be strange, but it’s also necessary.

The amount of stock each team puts into Combine workouts is very much up for debate, but the actual Combine is an absolute necessity to keep unearthing diamonds in the rough.

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