The NFL Combine is not about figuring out who the most talented rookies will be in the upcoming draft.
No matter what you have heard, the most important part of scouting has been done during the college football regular season. That's when you see how players perform week after week. And while players from lesser college conferences will have to prove themselves in All-Star games, players from major conferences who have two solid years of competition or more can be judged effectively.
Bowl games can also be vital because teams and players have extra time to prepare. Many scouts consider bowl games to be the college equivalent to NFL playoff games because the intensity of the players – especially draft-eligible players – is ratcheted up.
So what is the real importance of the Combine? There are two huge factors. The most important is the medical exam that each player goes through. Past injuries are checked out, and physicians have a chance to make sure players have fully recovered from past injuries. While there has been quite a bit of improvement in the last 10 to 15 years, players don't always receive the same level of care at the college level that they do at the NFL level.
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This is often the case with players who have a chance to get drafted in the fourth round or later or get invited to a training camp as a free agent. These are the players who are most likely to diminish any injury when reporting it to their trainers or team physicians. They want to get on the field, and they know they can't afford to miss playing time.
The medical exam can also unearth injuries or conditions that were previously undiagnosed. Spine injuries or deficits may not be known prior to the Combine, but a narrowing spine (spinal tenosis) can be detected during the medical exam.
Players will get downgraded if the medical teams find significant issues that could impact him in the future.
Once a player gets flagged, teams have to play a game similar to Russian roulette when it comes to drafting that individual. Is it worth it to bring in a potential young star whose career could be curtailed by a previous injury that could prevent him from ever being back to 100 percent or leave him prone to reinjury.
These decisions are made every year. The 49ers took a huge gamble when they drafted Frank Gore in the third round of the 2005 draft. Gore had two major knee injuries during his college career at Miami, yet he has been remarkably durable in his 13-year NFL career.
Gore has had several injuries at the NFL level, but he always finds a way to stay on the field. He has not missed a regular-season game since 2010. Now 34 years old, Gore has slowed down considerably and may not have a job in 2018, but if any team wants to sign him, he will stay in the lineup.
Compare Gore to Chicago Bears wideout Kevin White, who had a relatively clean medical report coming out of West Virginia in 2015. He has played in just five games in three years after suffering a fractured fibula, tibia and scapula.
The other key to the Combine is the way a player comports himself in team interviews and throughout the weekend in Indianapolis.
Teams will try to pressure potential draftees with a series of questions and tests that measure IQ and mental capacity. They get to see how a player's mind works and if he is natural and honest, rather than calculating and saying what he thinks the team wants to hear.
Teams with experienced interviewers – general managers, personnel directors and key scouts – usually have enhanced BS detectors. They can usually figure out when they are being snowed and when the player is speaking from the heart.
Players are often schooled by agents and college coaches on the interview process, and that can help the performance. However, there is quite a bit of pressure during the weekend, and when player A is next to player B and they are both competing for the same draft position, it can lead to awkward moments and strange behavior.
Teams get to see how players react to stressful situations, and that can be quite useful.
Most players go through the physical workouts, but that's not the most important part of the Combine. Many players offer a personal workout in a much more comfortable environment, and that will allow for better numbers in the 40-yard dash, three-cone drill and vertical jump.
However, the best football judgments come from a player's game performance, and game film will come back to the forefront in the days and weeks right before the draft.
The Combine's value comes from the medical exam and a player's personality revelations under pressure. Both of those factors can be quite revealing.
Follow Steve on Twitter at @Profootballboy
