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NFL to reconsider combine drills

By Charles Rahrig V

Dec 7, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton before a game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton before a game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NFL is going to study years of data to see if a change needs to be made

Every year at the combine teams around the league convene in Indianapolis along with scouts to pour stock into 40 times and bench press results. Now, the NFL could reconsider changing the format and the drills that are run every year.

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For years, people have been complaining that the drills in the combine are a terrible indicator of what the draft prospects can do.

Former Baltimore Ravens’ center, Matt Birk, the director of player development for the NFL, spoke at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference panel at MIT about the league taking a look at whether the drills need to be changed.

“That’s a project we’ll be working on this offseason,” Matt Birk, the league’s director of player development, said Friday. “Once we look at the data that was gathered in-game this year, it may be important to know how fast a wide receiver or defensive back can go 60 yards. Maybe for an offensive lineman it’s only 20 yards.

“We can actually see that in-game: How far are these guys running? What are the real or improved measures of importance and value as it relates to evaluating players and whether or not they should be drafted in the first round or the sixth round?”

Birk brings up a good point, are the drills really equal. Does 40 yards matter for an offensive lineman the way 20 yards would?

While their may be nothing wrong with the drills, perhaps they could be tailored to each position at the combine.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton spoke at the panel about potential changes to the format currently run.

“I think we’re in the midst of seeing some of these measurables change. I know we are,” he said. “We’re going to look at position-specific and be willing to start with a certain year and build from that point forward.

“There’s been a ton of studies being done now on your bone length as it pertains to your chances of playing a receiver position, chances of playing a defensive back position. How is your chassis basically made up of? Now when you’re actually putting it to movements other than a cone drill, I think that’s in the long term going to show up in a player evaluation.”

The combine for years has helped improve players stock and at the same time decrease it.

While drafting in the NFL is never a sure thing, perhaps creating drills via analytical data can produce better combine drills and give teams a better look at the players they are scouting.

With the NFL making major advances in safety and the way the game is played thanks to scientific studies over the past few years, maybe it’s time they can start applying it to the combine as well.

[H/T: ESPN]

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