Lammey: What to know ahead of the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine

Feb 26, 2019, 12:00 AM Updated: 1:25 am

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This week I’ll be in Indianapolis for the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, an important event in the pre-draft process and one final time where the entire NFL community descends on a city to see the incoming crop of prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft.

A need to know

For 10 years, I have traveled to this event in an effort to get to know the players better. For the first time this offseason, I will get to talk to some of the top underclassmen entering the draft.

I want to know what makes them tick and whether they’ve got what it takes to shine at the pro level.

In addition to meeting the underclassmen, I get to reconnect with some of the senior prospects I met on my “All-Star Road Trip” back in January.

But the interview process is just one small portion of what’s going to happen at the Combine this week.

Hello, my name is …

Players will be tested physically through multiple drills where their quickness, speed, strength, and agility are measured. They will also be tested mentally, as the days are long with team interviews, media interviews, medical checks, and the aforementioned drills.

Prospects wanting to enter the NFL must feel the weight of this situation. The Combine is the biggest job interview of their lives, and it can catapult them to stardom or get them lost in the shuffle.

Some players understand this important factor and react comfortably to the situation. Others don’t “get it” and seem to wilt in the spotlight.

I remember the mosh pit of humanity that was around Tim Tebow at the Combine back in 2010, with every media member wanting to get closer to the superstar college quarterback and hanging on his every word. I remember Andrew Luck sounding like a football dork at the podium in stark contrast to how Robert Griffin III owned our souls with his charm and charisma during his media interview. I also remember asking Manti T’eo the first question at his press conference just a day after the shocking report came out about his fake girlfriend.

Those are just a few of the stories that Indianapolis has provided. There is high drama around the NFL, and the Combine is where things can come to a head.

Behind enemy lines

The Scouting Combine is the last time information around the NFL is traded. Good information can be had in January and February, where teams seem to have their guard down and players who they like — or don’t like — can be determined with just a bit of digging.

Once the Combine is done, teams seem to either stop talking to media or toss out misinformation to throw other teams off the scent.

Having great intel about a team’s plans or wish list can be a great asset for clubs as they assemble their own draft boards.

While teams are bad enough when it comes to misinformation after the Combine, the NFL agents can be bad as well.

A client can have his draft stock — or perception of his draft stock — increase or decrease based on information floated by agents. They know some people in the media, many with large followings, who will parrot exactly what they say — and they know how to use that to their client’s advantage.

NFL fans need to recognize there is spin, starting in March and April.

One rule I’ve followed is if I don’t hear it in January or February then I’m less likely to believe something I hear in the final two months leading up to the draft.

I’m excited to get back to the Combine, mainly for the information that can be learned at this event.