The NFL combine is an age-old tradition that some teams value more than others. Generally, there is little that a coach can learn about a player that has not already been showcased over the course of their college career.
This week, National Football Scouting, Inc., the company that runs the combine has pulled together a committee of personnel surrounding the NFL to review the combine as an institution. The committee, helped along by the NFL operations department, will seek to answer the question of whether the combine is outdated. They will then look for ways to improve upon the pre-existing format, and whether to do away with things like 40-yard dash times and vertical jump heights, in favor of more technologically advanced tools.
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One new technology that will be a part of this year’s NFL combine, and will most likely be utilized more widely in future years, is STRIVR’s virtual reality software. Last season, STRIVR struck deals with six different NFL teams, among a host of college teams as well, and quarterbacks in the draft will be strapped with the system and evaluated.
Coaches will be run draftees through virtual plays, and track their eye movement, giving teams an extra variable to work with when selecting quarterbacks. In this manner, coaches will essentially be able to test a player’s football acumen.
Another type of software to look out for, which the committee should consider taking into account, is athlete assessment technology along the lines of that made by Kitman Labs, which uses a high-definition camera to capture biometric data from a player. This is then used to identify where a player is at risk for injury, and where their movement needs some adjusting.
A team knowing the exact biomechanics of the players they are looking to draft could make or break a draftee’s place. Imagine a scenario with players like Greg Oden (The Portland Trail Blazers’ 1st overall draft pick in 2007, taken one pick before Kevin Durant) being reassessed for the risk that they would bring to a team due to at-risk joints or ligaments.
All in all, one of the most useful tools for these NFL teams might not be high tech, but an old fashioned interview. Before the 2015 NBA draft, the Phoenix Suns took time to meticulously prepare interviews for their draft prospects, getting to know whether their mentality will drive them to succeed at the highest level.
This will help teams identify draft anomalies like Tom Brady, who performed terribly at his own combine back in 2000, drafted in the sixth round.
So hopefully soon, the NFL Combine will be filled with smarter, more hi-tech ways to analyze players, and the traditional measurements, such as vertical leap, bench press and 40-yard dash times, will not be as incorrectly valuable as they are today.