Bob Magaw
Footballguy
The combine/pro day circuit would probably matter less if players were moving laterally from college - to college.
But they are bumping up a level of competition. Sometimes what worked in college for a QB doesn't in the NFL, the windows are smaller, DB recovery time faster, defects that didn't surface at the lower level can become magnified in the pros.
The athleticism tests and skill drills (does the ball jump out of his hand, how well does he spin it, does he have accuracy at all levels, how well can he throw a deep out, etc.) are A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE (not the most important one - paging Mike Mamula to the front desk) and additional information in projecting how a prospect might translate to the NFL.
Obviously throwing against air has limits as an evaluation tool, no scout would use it as the sole criteria for evaluation, it is an adjunct to the primary tool - their body of work and film.
With other positions, if Kadeem Carey and Jarvis Landry run a 4.4 and Aaron Donald runs a 5.0, it could have SOME impact on their ultimate draft status.
* Sometimes teams may envision using a prospect in a different role, and this phase of the scouting process could give them a better sense of the athletic raw material they would have to work with.
But they are bumping up a level of competition. Sometimes what worked in college for a QB doesn't in the NFL, the windows are smaller, DB recovery time faster, defects that didn't surface at the lower level can become magnified in the pros.
The athleticism tests and skill drills (does the ball jump out of his hand, how well does he spin it, does he have accuracy at all levels, how well can he throw a deep out, etc.) are A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE (not the most important one - paging Mike Mamula to the front desk) and additional information in projecting how a prospect might translate to the NFL.
Obviously throwing against air has limits as an evaluation tool, no scout would use it as the sole criteria for evaluation, it is an adjunct to the primary tool - their body of work and film.
With other positions, if Kadeem Carey and Jarvis Landry run a 4.4 and Aaron Donald runs a 5.0, it could have SOME impact on their ultimate draft status.
* Sometimes teams may envision using a prospect in a different role, and this phase of the scouting process could give them a better sense of the athletic raw material they would have to work with.
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