Josh Doctson shares interesting question Bengals coaches asked him at NFL Combine

NFL teams have been known to ask prospects some weird and seemingly random questions during the NFL Combine. This year, the Falcons made headlines for all the wrong reasons when they asked former Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple if he liked men. But, that was just inappropriate (and illegal if you consider employment laws regarding discrimination). Austen Lane, a 2010 fifth round draft pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars recently took to Twitter to announce some of the bizarre (and stereotypical) questions he was asked at the Combine and during the draft process:

• If you could kill someone and not get caught, would you?
• Do you think your mother is attractive?
• Boxers or briefs?
• I see you have dreads, you smoke weed don't you?
• If you had to murder someone: Would you use a gun or a knife?

While again, those questions are borderline harassment and inappropriate for a job interview, they're also very random questions that don't have any obvious connection to the game of football.

Even Geno Atkins (who rarely speaks to the media) shared a story about random questions he was asked during his draft experience, via NFL.com:

"The only unusual question I got was if I was straight or gay," said Atkins, a Georgia defensive tackle whose father, Gene, played 10 seasons in the NFL. "And that was about it.

"'McDonald's or Burger King?' I think 'pillow or blanket?' was another one," Atkins added. "Those were the strange, unusual ones I got. I was like, 'What does that have to do with football?' I think they were kind of trying to loosen me up a little bit."

During the Combine, wide receiver prospect Corey Coleman out of Baylor said the weirdest question he got during the Combine came from the Bengals, and that it had to do with a war that America was involved in.

Now, another top receiver prospect from this year's draft is coming forward with some details from his interview with the Bengals at the Combine. That receiver is Josh Doctson, out of TCU, who's gaining momentum as the draft approaches and is regarded as one of the best, if not the best, receivers in this year's draft. The Bengals sent Ken Zampese to Doctson's Pro Day on Thursday, and TCU alum Andy Dalton was there as well. The Bengals also have a workout scheduled with Doctson and as he's about to detail, met with him at the Combine. The Bengals have a clear need at wide receiver, so it's safe to say Doctson is someone they're very interested in.

Here's Doctson's account of his experience at the Combine with the Bengals as told to Sports Illustrated:

Asked if any moment at the combine took him aback, Doctson is measured. He was prepared, in a sense, for all of it, but the ridiculous stands out. In his interview with the Bengals, he says, a coach asked him at the outset to remember four words: sock, green, brother, golf. Easy. He'd be asked at the end to repeat them, so he filed them away. Then, he says, he was asked a more complicated question: If you're standing at the northeast corner of a grass field at 4 p.m., which way is your shadow cast? In the moment, his head swam. He asked if someone could repeat the question. He knew the sun rises in the east and sets in the west—but he didn't have time to think it through. He couldn't say nothing, and guessing was the next-best idea, so he did. "East," he told the assembled personnel. He was correct.

Asking Doctson to remember four words makes sense. They're testing his memory. Fine.

Asking him about the direction of his shadow, that seems random, and Doctson guessed, making whatever the Bengals were hoping to get out of him kind of irrelevant. But, I'd think this question is asked more to see how he reacts and the way in which he responds. Would he freak out? Would he say he didn't know? Or, would he think about it and try and answer accurately? He went for the latter option and it paid off, theoretically. Though, who knows what the Bengals were really hoping his response would elicit.

What's the weirdest or most inappropriate question you've been asked at a job interview? If it was anything like the questions Lane says he was asked, well, you should probably a hire a lawyer and make some money out of the situation.