All Access: Breaking The Combine
An evolving CFB landscape flooded with COVID super-seniors, NIL and Wild West transfer portal, has bred a new generation of athletes that is impacting how the NFL conducts business at the combine.
COMBINE BUZZ
IS THE COMBINE BREAKING? In our previous report, we detailed the increased number of NFL head coaches who have opted to skip the combine this year. The players are not too far behind them. On the first day of workouts, we saw a record amount of players opt not to participate in testing. In fact, nearly one-third of the players decided to wait until their pro day to workout for teams. The breakdown includes 11 linebackers, eight defensive ends and five defensive tackles; that would be 24 of the 82 participants (29.2%) invited to Indianapolis. Illinois DT Johnny Netwon, who played through a Jones fracture injury, which required surgery after the season, was the only player with an injury of record.
CALEB SKIPS MEDICALS. Welcome to the era of the NIL athlete. It was previously known that USC star QB Caleb Williams did not intend on working out at Indy. However, in an unprecedented move that we know of, Williams did not even participate in the medical examination portion of the combine, according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport. With Williams reportedly earning somewhere in the neighborhood of $10M+ in NIL money this past season, the whispers of diva-like behavior and a helicopter dad have bristled through downtown Indianapolis. It all makes for an added layer of intrigue surrounding the Chicago Bears No.1 overall pick.
BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER. This phrase seems to be muttered on the first day of combine testing every year. If Thursday was any indication, we are about to witness the fastest combine in NFL history. Watching North Carolina State LB Payton Wilson [6037/233] run 4.43 and Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner [6026/247] run 4.46 in the forty-yard dash was astonishing! Other eye-popping times were turned in by Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson [6027/254] at 4.48, Florida State DT Brandon Fiske [6005/292] who ran 4.78 and Texas DT Byron Murphy II [6004/297] who clocked 4.87. On Friday, all eyes will be on Texas Tech S Tyler Owens who has a legitimate shot to break the forty-yard dash modern-day combine record of 4.22, set by wideout John Ross in 2017. Owens was the fastest player timed on the all-star game circuit, registering a mark of 21.55mph on the Catapult tracking technology at the East-West Shrine Game.
ALL ACCESS FOOTBALL NETWORK
2023 Best Draft Award: Congratulations to Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions for being named the 7th Annual Inside The League Best Draft Award Winner! The Best Draft Award is presented to the NFL organization determined to have selected the most impactful rookie draft class, as chosen by their front office peers. We will have the complete list of ITL industry award winners, presented by Neil Stratton in our next update.
Stay Tuned: Keep it locked for our ‘Combine Confidential’ by Howard Balzer, plus an in-depth look at the quarterback conundrums around the league and exclusive interviews from Candice Davis-Price. (Photo Credit: Bill Schmid)