What: 2014 NFL Scouting Combine
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
When: Feb. 22-24
TV: NFL Network
Online: NFL.com
Radio: Seriously?
The Combine workout schedule
Here are the days the actual workouts for each position group:
Saturday, Feb. 22: Tight Ends, Offensive Linemen, Special Teams
Sunday, Feb.23: Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Wide Receivers
Monday, Feb. 24: Defensive Line, Linebackers
Tuesday, Feb. 25: Defensive Backs
Players invited
The NFL invited over 300 players to attend the event, and most accepted their invite. While they won't all participle in every drill, they'll likely come to be interviewed and go through medical checks.
Who is eligible to be invited to the Combine? Basically, seniors without college eligibility left and those who have declared early.
And how are players selected to the Combine? Read this:
Participants are determined annually by a Selection Committee. The Directors of both National and BLESTO scouting services, which combined represent twenty-five NFL teams, are joined by members of various NFL player personnel departments to form the committee. The participating NFL executives can rotate on a yearly basis, and remain anonymous.
ALL eligible players are reviewed and voted on by the committee members. Each athlete receiving the necessary number of votes, by position, is then extended an invitation. While it is not a perfect science, the goal of the committee is to invite every player that will be drafted in the ensuing NFL Draft.
The workouts
The most important one is not a workout -- it's the interview. Teams will have the opportunity to interview players where they'll get about 15 minutes with them. With so little time, the questions have to be precise and all have a purpose.
The second most important item there is getting the medical check-up. Team doctors will want this information so the GMs and coaches can make an informed decision.
Does a player have a previously undisclosed injury or sickness? They'll likely get revealed here and could cause a player to drop in the drat because of it.
Some of the other workouts, via Big Blue View:
40-yard dash: Measures straight line speed over a distance. Not very important for non-skill position players, but coming from the 40-yard dash is the "10-yard split." That is the time it takes to travel the first 10 yards of the event and gives a measurement as to the player's explosion and first step.
Very important for defensive and offensive linemen. Dontari Poe had a 10-yard split of 1.7 at 330 pounds, which is decent for a linebacker.Bruce Irvin at 235 pounds had a 10-yard split of 1.57, which is a good number for a defensive back. Both help push those players into the middle of the first round.
Bench press: Fairly simple, it measures upper body strength. Moreso it shows if you have stayed in good condition over the offseason. Poor numbers here possibly indicate not working hard enough.
Vertical and Broad jump: Another measurement of explosion and lower body strength. Also important for wide receivers and defensive backs to show off their leaping ability.
3-cone drill: Essentially a change of direction drill. Most important for skill position players. Shows off lateral agility and ability to accelerate out of a turn. One of the drills that translates best on the field. A good score in the 3 cone is often a marker for a high draft pick.
20/60-yard shuttles: Shows the ability to come to a complete stop and accelerate. Obviously important for any position and a good score here is indicative of explosion and body control. As you can see, explosion is a big factor here and one that the NFL is keen to see.
Position-specific drills: Each position has specific drills that test for many different attributes. Change of direction and hip swing for defensive backs, hands skills for wide receivers during the "gauntlet," kick slide drills for the offensive linemen, power for the defensive linemen in hitting bag drills and accuracy for quarterbacks in throwing drills.
SB Nation Representatives On-Site
Dan Kadar (@MockingTheDraft)
Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn)
Other SB Nation Combine Material
Yes, here are a few links to prep you for the upcoming draft season:
- Latest SB Nation monck draft
- Top 200 Big Board
- Player scouting reports
- Player rankings at each position
Players Participating
The full list is below. Our thanks go out to SBNation's Big Cat Country for the table.
Pos | Player | School | Pos | Player | School |
QB | Blake Bortles | UCF | DE | Ryan Carrethers | Arkansas State |
QB | Tajh Boyd | Clemson | DE | William Clarke | West Virginia |
QB | Teddy Bridgewater | Louisville | DE | Jadeveon Clowney | South Carolina |
QB | Derek Carr | Fresno State | DE | Scott Crichton | Oregon State |
QB | David Fales | San Jose State | DE | Kony Ealy | Missouri |
QB | Jimmy Garoppolo | Eastern Illinois | DE | Kasim Edebali | Boston College |
QB | Jordan Lynch | Northern Illinois | DE | I.K. Enemkpali | Louisiana Tech |
QB | Johnny Manziel | Texas A&M | DE | Dee Ford | Auburn |
QB | Jeff Mathews | Cornell | DE | James Gayle | Virginia Tech |
QB | A.J. McCarron | Alabama | DE | Taylor Hart | Oregon |
QB | Zach Mettenberger | LSU | DE | Jackson Jeffcoat | Texas |
QB | Stephen Morris | Miami (FL) | DE | Timmy Jernigan | Florida State |
QB | Aaron Murray | Georgia | DE | Howard Jones | Shepherd |
QB | Bryn Renner | North Carolina | DE | Zack Kerr | Delaware |
QB | Tom Savage | Pittsburgh | DE | Demarcus Lawrence | Boise State |
QB | Connor Shaw | South Carolina | DE | Aaron Lynch | South Florida |
QB | Logan Thomas | Virginia Tech | DE | Eathyn Manumaleuna | BYU |
QB | Dustin Vaughan | West Texas A&M | DE | Cassius Marsh | UCLA |
QB | Keith Wenning | Ball State | DE | Kareem Martin | North Carolina |
RB | Antonio Andrews | Western Kentucky | DE | Josh Mauro | Stanford |
RB | Dri Archer | Kent State | DE | Tevin Mims | South Florida |
RB | George Atkinson | Notre Dame | DE | Zach Moore | Concordia |
RB | Kapri Bibbs | Colorado State | DE | Jonathan Newsome | Ball State |
RB | Alfred Blue | LSU | DE | Louis Nix | Notre Dame |
RB | Ka'deem Carey | Arizona | DE | Jeoffrey Pagan | Alabama |
RB | J.C. Copeland | LSU | DE | Kaleb Ramsey | Boston College |
RB | Tim Cornett | UNLV | DE | Michael Sam | Missouri |
RB | Isaiah Crowell | Alabama State | DE | Chris Smith | Arkansas |
RB | Timothy Flanders | Sam Houston State | DE | Marcus Smith | Louisville |
RB | David Fluellen | Toledo | DE | Ed Stinson | Alabama |
RB | Devonta Freeman | Florida State | DE | Stephon Tuitt | Notre Dame |
RB | Tyler Gaffney | Stanford | DE | George Uko | USC |
RB | Marion Grice | Arizona State | DE | Larry Webster | Bloomsburg |
RB | Ryan Hewitt | Stanford | DE | Ethan Westbrooks | West Texas A&M |
RB | Jeremy Hill | LSU | DT | Jay Bromley | Syracuse |
RB | Carlos Hyde | Ohio State | DT | Deandre Coleman | California |
RB | Storm Johnson | UCF | DT | Aaron Donald | Pittsburgh |
RB | Henry Josey | Missouri | DT | Dominique Easley | Florida |
RB | Tre Mason | Auburn | DT | Justin Ellis | Louisiana Tech |
RB | Jerick McKinnon | Georgia Southern | DT | Ego Ferguson | LSU |
RB | Trey Millard | Oklahoma | DT | Ra'shede Hageman | Minnesota |
RB | Adam Muema | San Diego State | DT | Kerry Hyder | Texas Tech |
RB | Ladarius Perkins | Mississippi State | DT | Anthony Johnson | LSU |
RB | Silas Redd | USC | DT | Daquan Jones | Penn State |
RB | Bishop Sankey | Washington | DT | Dan McCullers | Tennessee |
RB | Lache Seastrunk | Baylor | DT | Tenny Palepoi | Utah |
RB | Charles Sims | West Virginia | DT | Mike Pennel | CSU-Pueblo |
RB | Jerome Smith | Syracuse | DT | Kelcy Quarles | South Carolina |
RB | Lorenzo Taliaferro | Coastal Carolina | DT | Caraun Reid | Princeton |
RB | De'Anthony Thomas | Oregon | DT | Shamar Stephen | Connecticut |
RB | Terrance West | Towson | DT | Will Sutton | Arizona State |
RB | James White | Wisconsin | DT | Robert Thomas | Arkansas |
RB | James Wilder | Florida State | DT | Khyri Thornton | Southern Mississippi |
RB | Andre Williams | Boston College | DT | Brent Urban | Virginia |
RB | Damien Williams | Oklahoma | DT | Chris Whaley | Texas |
WR | Jared Abbrederis | Wisconsin | DT | Kerry Wynn | Richmond |
WR | Davante Adams | Fresno State | LB | Jeremiah Attaochu | Georgia Tech |
WR | Odell Beckham | LSU | LB | Anthony Barr | UCLA |
WR | Kelvin Benjamin | Florida State | LB | Lamin Barrow | LSU |
WR | Christopher Boyd | Vanderbilt | LB | Chris Borland | Wisconsin |
WR | Philly Brown | Ohio State | LB | Carl Bradford | Arizona State |
WR | John Brown | Pittsburg State | LB | Jonathan Brown | Illinois |
WR | Martavis Bryant | Clemson | LB | Preston Brown | Louisville |
WR | Isaiah Burse | Fresno State | LB | Max Bullough | Michigan State |
WR | Michael Campanaro | Wake Forest | LB | Khairi Fortt | California |
WR | Brandon Coleman | Rutgers | LB | Jeremiah George | Iowa State |
WR | Kain Colter | Northwestern | LB | Anthony Hitchens | Iowa |
WR | Brandin Cooks | Oregon State | LB | Adrian Hubbard | Alabama |
WR | Damian Copeland | Louisville | LB | Drew Jackson | Western Kentucky |
WR | Mike Davis | Texas | LB | Christian Jones | Florida State |
WR | Bruce Ellington | South Carolina | LB | Devon Kennard | USC |
WR | Quincy Enunwa | Nebraska | LB | Chris Kirksey | Iowa |
WR | Mike Evans | Texas A&M | LB | Boseko Lokombo | Oregon |
WR | Shaq Evans | UCLA | LB | Khalil Mack | Buffalo |
WR | Bennie Fowler | Michigan State | LB | James Morris | Iowa |
WR | Austin Franklin | New Mexico State | LB | C.J. Mosley | Alabama |
WR | Jeremy Gallon | Michigan | LB | Trent Murphy | Stanford |
WR | Ryan Grant | Tulane | LB | Kevin Pierre-Louis | Boston College |
WR | Matt Hazel | Coastal Carolina | LB | Ronald Powell | Florida |
WR | Robert Herron | Wyoming | LB | Trevor Reilly | Utah |
WR | Cody Hoffman | BYU | LB | Ryan Shazier | Ohio State |
WR | Josh Huff | Oregon | LB | Prince Shembo | Notre Dame |
WR | Allen Hurns | Miami (FL) | LB | Shayne Skov | Stanford |
WR | Jeff Janis | Saginaw Valley State | LB | Yawin Smallwood | Connecticut |
WR | T.J. Jones | Notre Dame | LB | Telvin Smith | Florida State |
WR | Jarvis Landry | LSU | LB | Tyler Starr | South Dakota |
WR | Cody Latimer | Indiana | LB | Jordie Tripp | Montana |
WR | Marqise Lee | USC | LB | Uani' Unga | BYU |
WR | Marcus Lucas | Missouri | LB | Kyle Van Noy | BYU |
WR | Jordan Matthews | Vanderbilt | LB | Avery Williamson | Kentucky |
WR | Donte Moncrief | Mississippi | LB | Jordan Zumwalt | UCLA |
WR | Kevin Norwood | Alabama | DB | Mo Alexander | Utah State |
WR | Walt Powell | Murray State | DB | Ricardo Allen | Purdue |
WR | Tevin Reese | Baylor | DB | Dion Bailey | USC |
WR | Paul Richardson | Colorado | DB | Deion Belue | Alabama |
WR | Allen Robinson | Penn State | DB | Bene' Benwikere | San Jose State |
WR | Jalen Saunders | Oklahoma | DB | Nat Berhe | San Diego State |
WR | Willie Snead | Ball State | DB | Tre Boston | North Carolina |
WR | Josh Stewart | Oklahoma State | DB | Bashaud Breeland | Clemson |
WR | Devin Street | Pittsburgh | DB | Terrence Brooks | Florida State |
WR | L'Damian Washington | Missouri | DB | Deone Bucannon | Washington State |
WR | Sammy Watkins | Clemson | DB | T.J. Carrie | Ohio |
WR | Albert Wilson | Georgia State | DB | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix | Alabama |
TE | Jace Amaro | Texas Tech | DB | Ross Cockrell | Duke |
TE | Rob Blanchflower | Massachusetts | DB | Aaron Colvin | Oklahoma |
TE | Trey Burton | Florida | DB | Chris Davis | Auburn |
TE | A.D. Denham | Utah | DB | Darqueze Dennard | Michigan State |
TE | Joe Don Duncan | Dixie State | DB | Pierre Desir | Lindenwood |
TE | Eric Ebron | North Carolina | DB | A.D. Dixon | Baylor |
TE | C.J. Fedorowicz | Iowa | DB | Brandon Dixon | Northwest Missouri State |
TE | Crockett Gillmore | Colorado State | DB | Jonathan Dowling | Western Kentucky |
TE | Xavier Grimble | USC | DB | Antone Exum | Virginia Tech |
TE | Nic Jacobs | McNeese State | DB | Kyle Fuller | Virginia Tech |
TE | Marcel Jensen | Fresno State | DB | E.J. Gaines | Missouri |
TE | Reggie Jordan | Missouri Western State | DB | Phillip Gaines | Rice |
TE | A.C. Leonard | Tennessee State | DB | Justin Gilbert | Oklahoma State |
TE | Colt Lyerla | Oregon | DB | Demetri Goodson | Baylor |
TE | Arthur Lynch | Georgia | DB | Dre Hal | Vanderbilt |
TE | Jake Murphy | Utah | DB | Victor Hampton | South Carolina |
TE | Jordan Najvar | Baylor | DB | Marqueston Huff | Wyoming |
TE | Troy Niklas | Notre Dame | DB | Bennett Jackson | Notre Dame |
TE | Jake Pedersen | Wisconsin | DB | Kendall James | Maine |
TE | Richard Rodgers | California | DB | Stanley Jean-Baptiste | Nebraska |
TE | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | Washington | DB | Dontae Johnson | North Carolina State |
TE | D.J. Tialavea | Utah State | DB | Lamarcus Joyner | Florida State |
OL | Matt Armstrong | Grand Valley State | DB | Kenny Ladler | Vanderbilt |
OL | Joel Bitonio | Nevada | DB | Nevo Lawson | Utah State |
OL | Russell Bodine | North Carolina | DB | Isaiah Lewis | Michigan State |
OL | Conor Boffeli | Iowa | DB | Craig Loston | LSU |
OL | Justin Britt | Missouri | DB | Dex McDougle | Maryland |
OL | Dakota Dozier | Furman | DB | Keith McGill | Utah |
OL | Kadeem Edwards | Tennessee State | DB | Terrance Mitchell | Oregon |
OL | Matt Feiler | Bloomsburg | DB | Jabari Price | North Carolina |
OL | Cameron Fleming | Stanford | DB | Calvin Pryor | Louisville |
OL | Zach Fulton | Tennessee | DB | Louchiez Purifoy | Florida |
OL | Ryan Groy | Wisconsin | DB | Keith Reaser | Florida Atlantic |
OL | Jon Halapio | Florida | DB | Ed Reynolds | Stanford |
OL | Jonotthan Harrison | Florida | DB | Rashaad Reynolds | Oregon State |
OL | Seantrel Henderson | Miami (FL) | DB | Marcus Roberson | Florida |
OL | James Hurst | North Carolina | DB | Bradley Roby | Ohio State |
OL | Gabe Ikard | Oklahoma | DB | Daniel Sorensen | BYU |
OL | Gabriel Jackson | Mississippi State | DB | Dez Southward | Wisconsin |
OL | Ja'Wuan James | Tennessee | DB | Vinnie Sunseri | Alabama |
OL | Wesley Johnson | Vanderbilt | DB | Jemea Thomas | Georgia Tech |
OL | Cyrus Kouandjio | Alabama | DB | Brock Vereen | Minnesota |
OL | Tyler Larsen | Utah State | DB | Jason Verrett | TCU |
OL | Charles Leno | Boise State | DB | Jimmie Ward | Northern Illinois |
OL | Taylor Lewan | Michigan | DB | Todd Washington | Southeastern Louisiana |
OL | Brandon Linder | Miami (FL) | DB | Jaylen Watkins | Florida |
OL | Corey Linsley | Ohio State | DB | Lavelle Westbrooks | Georgia Southern |
OL | Spencer Long | Nebraska | LS | Marcus Heit | Kansas State |
OL | Luke Lucas | Kansas State | P | Steven Clark | Auburn |
OL | Marcus Martin | USC | P | Zach Hocker | Arkansas |
OL | Zack Martin | Notre Dame | P | Tom Hornsey | Memphis |
OL | Jake Matthews | Texas A&M | P | Richie Leone | Houston |
OL | Jack Mewhort | Ohio State | P | Cody Mandell | Alabama |
OL | Morgan Moses | Virginia | P | Pat O'Donnell | Miami (FL) |
OL | Matt Paradis | Boise State | K | Chris Boswell | Rice |
OL | Matt Patchan | Boston College | K | Anthony Fera | Texas |
OL | Antonio Richardson | Tennessee | K | Cairo Santos | Tulane |
OL | Cyril Richardson | Baylor | |||
OL | Weston Richburg | Colorado State | |||
OL | Greg Robinson | Auburn | |||
OL | Michael Schofield | Michigan | |||
OL | Anthony Steen | Alabama | |||
OL | James Stone | Tennessee | |||
OL | Bryan Stork | Florida State | |||
OL | Xavier Su'a-Filo | UCLA | |||
OL | Travis Swanson | Arkansas | |||
OL | Brandon Thomas | Clemson | |||
OL | Trai Turner | LSU | |||
OL | Billy Turner | North Dakota State | |||
OL | John Urschel | Penn State | |||
OL | Chris Watt | Notre Dame | |||
OL | David Yankey | Stanford |