How The NFL Combine Should Change (as told by a strength coach)

It's the NFL combine, baby! And of course, the annual conversation comes up in the strength community about the big controversy surrounding the big event: Is the combine the best way to test athletes and what does it say about the strength coaches involved?

Don't Diss The College Strength Coach (you'll look like an idiot)

First, let's get something straight: There is always talk about how athletes get slower from high school to college as evidenced by 40 yard dash times. The argument here (a really dumb one) is that strength coaches put too much "mass" on their athletes and slow them down from when they are in college.

The evidence? Looking at reported 40yd dash times from athletes as high school recruits compared to their 40yd dash times at the combine. Fact: 157 of the 203 players are as fast or slower than they were in high school, according to their claimed 40 times. But don't buy into this stuff just yet.

Mizzou strength coach Dr. Bryan Mann has squashed this theory a few times: High school times are simply inaccurate due to hand-timing vs. laser-time at combine. However, some still like to indulge in the debate. Please, do everyone a favor and do not insinuate that strength coaches are failing their athletes by comparing a recruit's 40-yard dash time to their combine time. That is just plain silly and may get you slapped by a collegiate strength coach (and you don't want that).

Is 2016 the Year the Combine Changes?

Strength and conditioning is growing in popularity both in athletics and in the mainstream media (record-setting salaries for strength coaches will do that... Roll Tide!). That may be connected to the fact that the combine is undergoing more scrutiny this year than past years. Case and point: Bill Belichick had this to say:

We're training our players to play football, not to go through a bunch of those February drills. Yeah, our training is football intensive. We train them to get ready to play and ultimately that's what they're going to do.

An anonymous NFL player responded:

I think there are a lot of players and I think a lot of players learn from that, that they look at their rookie year and feel like, 'I wasn't really as physically as well prepared as maybe I was in college or what I will be in their succeeding years in the league,' and train more for football and train less for the broad jump and three-cone drill and stuff like that.

Additionally, ESPN's Mike & Mike discussed the efficacy of the NFL combine after an athlete's record-breaking 49 reps at the 225# Bench Press made headlines. Their stance? Who cares!?!

Finally, the NFL Scouting Inc. (which runs the NFL combine) came out yesterday (Feb. 22nd) and announced that they have formed a committee to review the current stages of the combine and reconsider events to see how the NFL combine should change - and the advent of new event - incorporating developments in "evolving technology and sports science."

Take your program's strength and conditioning to the next level this offseason with TeamBuildr. Strength coaches from high school to the NBA trust TeamBuildr to program workouts, empower athletes, and collect data.

Try our 14-day free trial today.

A Strength Coach's Take on the Combine

Ok - so the league admits that they need to catch up with the times but let's hear what a real, professional strength coaches have to say:

Lee Taft recently published an opinion on the NFL combine summarizing his thoughts on the required drills, what the combine lacked, and how it could improve:

• The players are not really showing "Game-Athleticism" because they are simply doing a physical regurgitation of what was drilled into them for 6 plus weeks. If they want to show real athleticism then watch them on film, make them react on every single test to a random stimulus, and include tactics. If they can't do these well they can't transfer to playing on Sunday's.
• The 40 yard can stay at 40 but the 20 needs bigger focus. The athletes should have to perform from various stances based on position. DB's must turn hips and run on a command, and so forth.
• The 5-10-5 should be completely by command and read and react. I want to see Athletes not robots. Robots don't transfer well.
• The vertical should be performed by jumping and touching a moving object that passes over head at a steady pace and height (It can be raised incrementally)- the player has to time the jump and touch it. That is athleticism in action.
• The standing broad jump can be taken out for all I care. You can see power output through the 20's and 40's. The athlete never jumps off 2 feet horizontally but they do jump off 2 feet vertically in football.
• The 3 cone drill is so scripted and makes the athlete plant on the same foot- Get rid of it.
• I have trained many athletes for various combines. But when combine training is over and real training begins that is when we improve athletes.

Strength coach Tom Blaney has this to say: "Really, the combine has been proven useless in predicting prospect outcome. And I am a data freak. They are testing the wrong things."

The Strong Argument That Defies Sports Science and S&C

Then again, there are strong points that argue that the combine is inherently a good test. Since the combine can be "gamed" with enough work and preparation, it can really be considered a litmus test for the athletes that put in the most work and determination in their preparation.

Todd Hamer of of RMU points out:

"On the other side of the coin.... I remember Joe Defranco saying years ago that the combine is your job interview and if you aren't willing to prepare for the interview then you don't want the job. I agree with Joe. The tests make no sense but, and let's be honest here, of all the job interviews you have had how many make sense? One doesn't prepare to be a strength coach to interview to be one. They are related and different."

Hard to argue with that!

What do you think of the combine? Tell us the comment section below or tweet us @TeamBuildr