Proposal: New NFL Combine Tests/Drills

[BringBackFergy]

Hoping everyone here is as excited about the NFL Scouting Combine as I am. It's always fun to see the tomorrow's NFL stars showcase their talents. Unfortunately, the combine drills are both boring and overdone. In addition, I don't think they truly capture or gauge the athleticism our scouts need to consider on whether a player should be drafted.  Was just thinking about the various drills and tests last night. Didn't get much sleep because I worry that we've been conditioned to accept the 40 yd dash, bench press or the three cone drill as the "be-all-end-all" without considering other options that might more accurately reflect the skills needed to play NFL football.

 

Here's a few ideas that I came up with to replace some of the old, stale drills we see every year and hoping the NFL responds to my email by changing over to these newer tests for agility and strength.

 

1) Benchpress is supposed to test raw stength. It doesn't. It simply shows which guys have been gym rats for 8 years and whoever has short stubby arms can do more reps.  

REPLACE with "Bull Push": Players go to the parking lot and push a Angus bull (secured with a heavy chain) as far as they can for 60 seconds. The weight of a bull is equivalent to five offensive linemen so the draftee will be testing his strength against similar weight as in a game situation. The bull will push and pull in all different directions (unlike a bar with weights that goes only up and down)

 

2) Three cone drill is supposed to test quickness and agility, as well as proper recall for the sequence in which you run around the cones.

REPLACE with "22 Cone Drill":  22 Cones are placed within 10 yards of each other and the coach gives each candidate a new sequence for every player. The cones are numbered so the coach may say "Go 4, 8, 3, 1, 9, etc."  This spreads out the quickness beyond two yards (which doesn't help any of us evaluate the player) and also tests the players ability to recall a 22 number sequence to see if their brains are working. 

 

3) 40 Yard Dash is supposed to test straight line speed. The problem is, how often do we see linemen or LB's run straight lines.

REPLACE with "Gladiator Run": The player lines up at the goal line. NFL Scouts and GM's watch as the player must maneuver through a maze of tackling dummies, trap doors and rope swings/water pits.  The obstacles act as opposing players in real live game action.  

 

4) Broad Jump is supposed to test leg strength and ability to jump over a pile of people. No. It's an antiquated test that my grandfather won in Field Day 1927.

REPLACE with "Blindfolded Giant Hopscotch" : The player is allowed to review the hopscotch set-up for thirty seconds and then, once blindfolded the stadium blares some music of the player's choice.  Some may pick rap, country or classical.  The player tosses a 25lb boulder into the field of play, then proceeds to jump with both feet through each section of the field calling out "1, 2, 3, etc" until they reach the boulder/field stone. Once they locate the stone, they hold it above their heads and jump in the same fashion to the starting line. This tests recall, trust, leg strength, endurance and voice volume.

 

5) Wunderlick test is supposed to test basic common sense intelligence and approach to problem solving.  Big mistake. There is no room for creativity or individuality because all players come from different backgrounds.

REPLACE with "Free Draw": The player is given a pad of paper and three markers. The player chooses which color markers to use (red, green, black, yellow, mauve, turquois, etc).  The scouts are able to watch the player in a private viewing room as the player begins to select different colors, draw various shapes, lines, hearts, daggers, smiley faces or landscapes. The scouts and GM's can garner much more information re. the background of a player and measure his creativity which plays a huuuuge role in the modern NFL.

 

There's other drills I'm thinking about and hope the NFL makes a real change to the monotony of the Combine. After all, we are drafting humans not cattle.  Make the Combine tests fair for humans in real life situations like the examples above.

 

 

[DJB]

8 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

 

 

5) Wunderlick test is supposed to test basic common sense intelligence and approach to problem solving.  Big mistake. There is no room for creativity or individuality because all players come from different backgrounds.

 

 

 

 

 

How high did you score on your wonderlic  test?

Edited February 11, 2020 by DJB

[Buffalo Junction]

That’s a lot of words. 

[BuffaloBillies]

REPLACE with "Free Draw": The player is given a pad of paper and three markers. The player chooses which color markers to use (red, green, black, yellow, mauve, turquois, etc).  The scouts are able to watch the player in a private viewing room as the player begins to select different colors, draw various shapes, lines, hearts, daggers, smiley faces or landscapes. The scouts and GM's can garner much more information re. the background of a player and measure his creativity which plays a huuuuge role in the modern NFL.

 

This idea could go horribly wrong....

 

[Mike in Horseheads]

@BringBackFergy   I think I would replace the bull push with trying to stop a car going 5mph if they succeed, then up the speed until it runs them over. This would test for strength but also recovery time from injuries.

[BringBackFergy]

56 minutes ago, DJB said:

 

 

How high did you score on your wonderlic  test?

Alternative spelling

[Seasons1992]

I was hoping this was yours before clicking on it.

Well done.

[RyanC883]

I like most of these ideas. The Bull rush seems a bit off, but I like the thought process behind it.  

[JMF2006]

29 minutes ago, Mike in Horseheads said:

@BringBackFergy   I think I would replace the bull push with trying to stop a car going 5mph if they succeed, then up the speed until it runs them over. This would test for strength but also recovery time from injuries.

 

It could also replace the wonderlic because once the vehicle is moving faster you would probably mentally deficient if you stepped in front of it  

[GoBills808]

Mauve was a high point

[Bangarang]

We reached the low point of the offseason quicker than I expected.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Any running test should involve being chased by a swarm of bees.

 

im tired of these QBs sandbagging their 40 so they aren’t made WRs 

[badassgixxer05]

If anything, this version would be far more entertaining for us. Id buy tickets and watch this live in a stadium. 

[machine gun kelly]

Ferg’s, thanks for the laugh.  A bull?  I’ll say one which is this will go over like a fart in Church with all of the various animal rights groups.

Oh, but A for effort and creativity.

[JMF2006]

14 minutes ago, machine gun kelly said:

Ferg’s, thanks for the laugh.  A bull?  I’ll say one which is this will go over like a fart in Church with all of the various animal rights groups.

Oh, but A for effort and creativity.

 

Just make sure the PBR is in town the same week  

[Bulldog]

With all the injuries inherent to the NFL - player availability & durability is a major concern for any draft pick, however there is no truly reliable combine test to assess the potential risk that a prospect might carry (in addition to any "proven" durability that may have been evident in a players college career).  I propose the "Kevin Kolb Durability/Availability Test" -- players would be required to run while stepping on a variety of different rubber mats. It would be a sort of "Running the Gauntlet" type of test - if a player can make it through without slipping, the probability of him at least surviving training camp can be demonstrated.

[BringBackFergy]

20 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

With all the injuries inherent to the NFL - player availability & durability is a major concern for any draft pick, however there is no truly reliable combine test to assess the potential risk that a prospect might carry (in addition to any "proven" durability that may have been evident in a players college career).  I propose the "Kevin Kolb Durability/Availability Test" -- players would be required to run while stepping on a variety of different rubber mats. It would be a sort of "Running the Gauntlet" type of test - if a player can make it through without slipping, the probability of him at least surviving training camp can be demonstrated.

This is the kind of "outside the box" thinking I'm talkin' bout.

 

 

[Augie]

2 hours ago, Bangarang said:

We reached the low point of the offseason quicker than I expected.

 

I suspect your are underestimating us, sir. 

 

I’m not sure if our bar is set much higher or lower, but we are clever enough to exceed this if we all work together! 

[Bangarang]

29 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

I suspect your are underestimating us, sir. 

 

I’m not sure if our bar is set much higher or lower, but we are clever enough to exceed this if we all work together! 

Challenge accepted

[Don Otreply]

Nice, but that’s why they are called highdeas, ??