More than three hundred of College Football’s top football players will descend on Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this week, for the NFL Scouting Combine. It is one of the highlights of the offseason, as players attempt to improve their status for the NFL Draft in April. Players have started arriving for their on-field workouts that begin today.
General Managers, coaches and scouts from every NFL team will conduct interviews and observe medical evaluations, as well as eye ball the on-field workouts, in an attempt to get a leg up for their selection in Kansas City at the Draft (April 27th-29th).
The workouts will run from today through Sunday, and are broken up by position.
Despite the conventional wisdom that players should be judged by their actions on the field, performances at the Combine have historically impacted Draft positions in many instances. Regardless of individual philosophy, the data gathered at the Combine helps NFL teams further evaluate a player’s potential. Not only that, things like a player’s 40-yard dash time, tend to stay with them for the duration of their NFL career.
Specialized drills are conducted with each positional group, as well as the aforementioned 40-yard dash, vertical and broad jumps, the 3-cone drill, shuttle runs (20- and 60-yard tests), and the bench press. Each team is allowed up to 45 one-on-one interviews with 18-minute limits.
NFL Scouting Combine Schedule
Defensive Linemen / Linebackers
Thursday, March 2nd
3pm ET
Defensive Backs
Friday, March 3rd
3pm ET
Quarterbacks / Wide Receivers / Tight Ends
Saturday, March 4th
1pm ET
Running Backs / Offensive Linemen
Sunday, March 5th
1pm ET
Commanders Watch
The Washington Commanders have the 16th overall pick in the upcoming Draft. That’s the same spot that they drafted Jahan Dotson from in the 2022 NFL Draft.
They have several openings to fill.
The recent release of Bobby McCain has created an even further shortage in a secondary that already needed to add some depth. So the Defensive Backs are a must watch on Friday, as there is definitely a possibility that Washington’s first round selection will be used at the position.
The Commanders also need to bolster their quarterback room, with Carson Wentz being released this week and Taylor Heinicke’s future with the team still up in the air. Wether the team prefers to add veterans at the position or another young quarterback to go along with QB1 Sam Howell remains to be seen. The top quarterback prospects will likely be gone by the middle of the first round, so it’s doubtful that a top pick will be used there.
Washington also have strong needs at both offensive line and linebacker.
If linebacker is the spot that you want to see filled for the Commanders, then tune in today at 3pm and get a look at what might be available.
More Information
The NFL Scouting Combine is presented by NOBULL. On-field drills will be shown live, exclusively on NFL Network starting at 3pm ET today.
Live streaming of NFL Network is available across multiple devices (smartphone, PC, tablet and connected TVs) through the NFL app or NFL.com/watch.
