Its that time of year again. The time when young talented college football stars will take the field and strut their stuff. The NFL combine is this weekend and starting Friday morning the 336 players who were lucky enough to receive an invite to this prestigious event will be attempting to wow coaches and general managers from around the NFL. Everyone who is anyone in football circles is at the combine or is tuned into the action.
The NFL combine is a weekend long spectacle where the top U.S. college football athletes compete in a variety of events to showcase their strength and skills. It is very olympic like in nature except you compete in each event individually. The combine consists of the following events:
| 40 Yard Dash | Bench Press | Vertical Jump |
|---|
| Broad Jump | 3 Cone Drill | Shuttle Run |
A full description of events can be found here
These events are timed and recorded and judged with the utmost scrutiny. NFL managers and coaches are looking for the shiniest diamond in the box and for any possible unexpected standouts. These are the players that are going to be drafted in the top rounds of the NFL draft on April 26-28. Teams will be putting their faith in their scouts and the results of this weekend when choosing their next great player.
For the players this is the last chance to show NFL teams that they indeed are the best at their position and deserving of a high draft pick. The results of this weekend could vault them higher and into the top echelon of the draft or potentially hurt their draft stock causing them to fall. Where you get drafted has a huge impact on thue players financial future. The higher you get drafted the more you can demand in your rookie contract negotiations. The higher draft position also creates more demand for marketing deals and advertising money. Needless to say that these young men have a lot riding on the results of this weekend. These young men will have the opportunity to set themselves and their families for life with a great performance this weekend. The life span of the average NFL players is limited so it is essential to score the biggest contract you can.
As stated above there are 330 players that have been invited to the combine. This means that with roughly 250 players being drafted each year there will be a significant number of these combine players that don't get drafted at all. Not mention the more than 3000 players that are eligible based on their age and collegiate level. Many on these players are going to be relegated to the hard working fight of walk on tryouts and practice squads. With the odds so difficult to beat and it being so hard to end up at the top and get drafted at all let alone in the first round it is imperative that players have their absolute best performance this weekend. It could be the difference between million dollar contracts and working part time while you pursue an NFL career the hard way.
This years combine will be extra interesting because the high end projections for the draft are full with top end talent at skill position. The top of the draft is usually reserved for the ultra important "big" guys in the draft and many first rounders typically are offensive or defensive lineman. These are guys that fight in the trenches and can be unsung heros in a game. There are usually skilled position players sprinkled throughout. Positions like QB, RB, WR and CB. This year there is projected to be an unprecedented number of these skill guys going high.
Players to watch for include:
| QB | RB | WR |
|---|
| Josh Rosen | Saquon Barkley | Calvin Ridley |
| Josh Allen | Sony Michel | Christian Kirk |
| Sam Darnold | Derrius Guice |
| Baker Mayfield |
| CB | DL/OL | DE |
|---|
| Minkah Fitzpatrick | Quenton Nelson | Bradley Chubb |
| Mike Hughes | Orlando Brown | Tremaine Edmunds |
| Josh Jackson | | Marcus Davenport |
| Denzel Ward |
A full list of players can be found here
Good luck to all the players this weekend as they participate in the NFL Million Dollars Skills Sweepstakes.
Highlights from the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine
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