2014 NFL Draft Nuggets – Scouting Combine Primer

Draft Nuggets 2014: Entry #7

By Jeff Bowers of www.thedraftnarrative.com

Scouting Combine Primer

If you’re a draft nerd like me, this is one of the best weekends of the year: the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine. The entire NFL descends on Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to watch 335 prospects audition for their spot in the NFL. These young men are measured, weighed, interviewed and put through several various drills to determine if they have what it takes to play at the next level. But to the average fan, this looks nothing like the game of football itself. Here’s a complete list of all the participants broken up by position and the drill or drills that most scouts use to gauge abilities at that position.

Quarterbacks:

Pos	Player	School	Pos	Player	School
QB	Blake Bortles	UCF	QB	Stephen Morris	Miami (FL)
QB	Tajh Boyd	Clemson	QB	Aaron Murray	Georgia
QB	Teddy Bridgewater	Louisville	QB	Bryn Renner	North Carolina
QB	Derek Carr	Fresno State	QB	Tom Savage	Pittsburgh
QB	David Fales	San Jose State	QB	Connor Shaw	South Carolina
QB	Jimmy Garoppolo	Eastern Illinois	QB	Logan Thomas	Virginia Tech
QB	Jordan Lynch	Northern Illinois	QB	Dustin Vaughan	West Texas A&M
QB	Johnny Manziel	Texas A&M	QB	Keith Wenning	Ball State
QB	Jeff Matthews	Cornell	QB	Stephen Morris	Miami (FL)
QB	A.J. McCarron	Alabama	QB	Aaron Murray	Georgia
QB	Zach Mettenberger	LSU	QB	Bryn Renner	North Carolina

Key Drill: Interviews

For the quarterbacks, the most important element goes on behind the scenes. Each team is allotted 60 fifteen minute interviews total. With a QB in the room, teams will often show some game film or place them at the chalkboard to diagram plays and assess their football IQ. This is also when questions about off-field concerns, leadership qualities or anything else may be asked to assure a team’s front office before they hand the keys of their franchise over.

For example of what the interview process is like, here’s a link to Gruden’s QB Camp featuring Russell Wilson.

Running backs:



Pos		Player		School	Pos			Player	School
RB	Antonio Andrews		Western Kentucky			RB	Henry Josey			Missouri
RB	Dri Archer		Kent State			RB	Tre Mason			Auburn
RB	George Atkinson		Notre Dame			RB	Jerick McKinnon			Georgia Southern
RB	Kapri Bibbs		Colorado State			RB	Trey Millard			Oklahoma
RB	Alfred Blue		LSU			RB	Adam Muema			San Diego State
RB	Ka'deem Carey		Arizona			RB	Ladarius Perkins			Mississippi State
RB	J.C. Copeland		LSU			RB	Silas Redd			USC
RB	Tim Cornett		UNLV			RB	Bishop Sankey			Washington
RB	Isaiah Crowell		Alabama State			RB	Lance Seastrunk			Baylor
RB	Timothy Flanders		Sam Houston State			RB	Charles Sims			West Virginia
RB	David Fluellen		Toledo			RB	Jerome Smith			Syracuse
RB	Devonta Freeman		Florida State			RB	Lorenzo Taliaferro			Coastal Carolina
RB	Tyler Gaffney		Stanford			RB	De'Anthony Thomas			Oregon
RB	Marion Grice		Arizona State			RB	Terrance West			Towson
RB	Ryan Hewitt		Stanford			RB	James White			Wisconsin
RB	Jeremy Hill		LSU			RB	James Wilder			Florida State
RB	Carlos Hyde		Ohio State			RB	Andre Williams			Boston College
RB	Storm Johnson		UCF			RB	Damien Williams			Oklahoma

Key Drill: 3 Cone Drill

The best drill to showcase the RBs is the 3 Cone Drill. Three cones are placed 5 yards apart in an L shape. The runner starts at cone 1, sprints forward 5 yards and comes back, rounding the starting cone in a weave to cone 2 and then 3, the loops back and sprints to the finish. This displays a runner’s initial burst, change of direction and flexibility. Here’s a videoof what it looks like.

The recent record in the 3 Cone drill was set in 2011 by Oregon WR Jeff Maehl who blazed through it in 6.42 seconds.

Wide Receivers:

Pos	Name	School	Pos	Name	School
WR