Nearly 350 prospects for April’s NFL Draft will descend on Indianapolis for the annual scouting combine. In year’s past, much of the first and second round talent declines to participate in some or all of the physical drills, preferring to wait until their school’s Pro Day on campus. They like to run on a surface they’re accustomed to or to give a nagging injury just a little more time to heal. This combine looks to be different as very few players, other than quarterbacks, have refused to participate in their position drills. Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy are both rehabbing shoulder injuries and won’t throw. Tim Tebow is currently undergoing a drastic change to his throwing motion under the watchful eye of several personal coaches. He will throw on campus March 17. With so many juniors figuring into the mix, very few position players are refusing to go all out in every drill.
Teams send an army of coaches, scouts, trainers, personnel people, doctors and the general manager in an attempt to be everywhere over the six days. I read the Vikings are sending 48 people to the combine. If every team sends that many people, that works out to almost 5 teams reps for each draftable prospect. One would think that would pretty much cover everything right? Wrong, that’s how guys like Priest Holmes, James Harrison, Antonio Gates, Wes Welker, Brian Waters and Donald Driver all went undrafted, it’s not an exact science. Last season a guy I touted leading up to the combine, Sebastian Vollmer, wasn’t even invited to attend. In April, he was New England’s 2nd round selection and Vollmer started 11 games, playing both offensive tackle spots. Scouting and drafting is much harder than it looks.
Read more...
No comments:
Post a Comment