Is the NFL Combine Overhyped?

College stars, one and all, come to Indianapolis and show scouts your skills that weren’t shown on the field. Did you run for 4,000 yards in a season? Don’t worry, if you run a sub 3.5 40-yard dash, you’re an automatic top pick.

This is the feeling I am getting from the yearly NFL Combine, held every Feb. in Indianapolis to measure college athletes against one another in different skills. Such drills include the vaunted 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, shuttle drill and anything else that can combine a football field and a stopwatch.

The Combine has gotten so big, that it is no televised for its three-day duration on the NFL Network. Players from all over the country are chomping at the bit for their invitation to put on the Under Armour practice jersey and run wind sprints to earn millions of dollars.

During this time of year, in between the BCS Championship Game and the NFL Draft in April, the combine takes over mainstream college football news on every network sports channel. Even during the draft, the main statistics shown during the player highlights are from the combine, not the actual game stats which could prove to be more of a measuring stick for success than doing 20 reps at 225-pounds.

And if a player misses the NFL Combine for any reason and doesn’t participate in the warm-up drills that seem to make or break college football players, their draft stock will automatically slide and millions of dollars will disappear into thin air. Even if that player was an All-American and major award winner in college, the combine is turning out to be all that really matters in determining draft stock for NFL teams.

One of the most shocking instances of that this year is Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Crabtree, in just two years at college, has pulled in 40 touchdown passes and has won the Biletnekoff Award for the nation’s top receiver in both seasons. Now the disclaimer on this is that Crabtree needs surgery to repair a bone spur in his foot, causing some concern among draft “experts”. Crabtree also commented that he played most of the last year with the same injury, catching passes for over 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns

Due to the injury, Crabtree refused to run the 40-yard dash in the combine and red flags everywhere were thrown in the air, claiming that if he didn’t run the 40-yard dash, that he would fall out of the top-ten in the draft. Read the above statistics if you forgot what kind of game receiver Crabtree has proved to be. The fact that a team would pass up on arguably the best pass-catching receiver in the draft because of not running a 40-time is simply absurd.

Now, sometimes the combine proves to be an asset, showcasing talent that might have otherwise gone unnoticed, such as a Joe Flacco of last year or a Brian Westbrook a few years ago. Another argument for the combine is that the interviews that take place are important in determining the player’s character. If that’s the case, then hold separate interviews with the players that have nothing to do with the combine.

As for the rest, it seems as though too much emphasis is being placed on a drill. There is too much hype going into and coming out of the combine, which in itself is a great asset in helping a general manager make that decision on draft day, but it shouldn’t be the main point. Just because a guy can leap 40 inches in the vertical jump, doesn’t mean he can make the plays on the field, unless he has proven it before.

The bottom line is, is that the NFL Combine doesn’t simulate gameplay at all and doesn’t show which player can make plays. The players don’t even do these drills in pads, so what good is it? Yeah, a guy can bomb the ball 70-yards in warm-up clothes, but put him in pads and with seven guys running down his neck and that’ll show who can really perform.

Maybe if I go out there and run a 4.1 in the 40-yard dash, that an NFL team will draft me, despite never playing any college football. The precedent set in the past makes me think I stand a pretty good chance.