2022 General Draft Thoughts

[rossihunter2]

What's going on with the combine?

they've scheduled it so a load of guys are having to do weigh-ins, bench press and the athletic testing all in the same day which is pretty awful for recovery and could cause injuries etc. or guys just won't be able to put up the numbers they want to in the testing

and on top of that (not sure if the NFL has changed tack on this yet) they were suggesting that players wouldnt be allowed to bring their own trainers or rehab guys or whatever into the bubbles with them so they'd be reliant on the NFL's support staff and not the guys they've actually been training with

either way it's a shambles and even worse, they only told the prospects about all this in the last week or so

 

[Davesta]

What's going on with the combine?

I read they want to do a combine bubble (weird how we back to tightening up the covid protocols after playoffs). Also, I remember reading that nfl want to have the drill tests the same day as the bench press or something and agents / players hated that idea.

 

[Willbacker]

they've scheduled it so a load of guys are having to do weigh-ins, bench press and the athletic testing all in the same day which is pretty awful for recovery and could cause injuries etc. or guys just won't be able to put up the numbers they want to in the testing

and on top of that (not sure if the NFL has changed tack on this yet) they were suggesting that players wouldnt be allowed to bring their own trainers or rehab guys or whatever into the bubbles with them so they'd be reliant on the NFL's support staff and not the guys they've actually been training with

either way it's a shambles and even worse, they only told the prospects about all this in the last week or so

Yeah that makes no sense. I'm sure they're gonna test everybody so why put them in a bubble? With the press and the drills this has to be discussed well before this. F'n crazy.

 

[rossihunter2]

there's a "danger" here that this could spell the end of the combine

we saw last year that teams were fine getting a ton of info from pro days and pro days were taken more seriously with more trusted athletic testing data - and with the rise in GPS and more specific metrics available to teams from the games themselves, it's becoming less and less important to get the standardised testing from indianapolis

if the nfl wants to preserve this event, they really need to find a way to not have prospects (especially high-profile ones) drop out

 

[JO_75]

there's a "danger" here that this could spell the end of the combine

we saw last year that teams were fine getting a ton of info from pro days and pro days were taken more seriously with more trusted athletic testing data - and with the rise in GPS and more specific metrics available to teams from the games themselves, it's becoming less and less important to get the standardised testing from indianapolis

if the nfl wants to preserve this event, they really need to find a way to not have prospects (especially high-profile ones) drop out

Yeah the NFL can't just turn COVID on and off. It seems weird how they did testing throughout the regular season, players missed games, then no testing at all during the playoffs. Nobody missed a single playoff game or the Super Bowl, now they want to go back to COVID being a thing again for the Combine. NFL really has to get more consistent with their protocols if they are going to continue them for the 2022 season, hopefully by September they won't need the protocols anymore as it seems more states are starting to get eliminate some restrictions.

 

[Simba]

Yeah the NFL can't just turn COVID on and off. It seems weird how they did testing throughout the regular season, players missed games, then no testing at all during the playoffs. Nobody missed a single playoff game or the Super Bowl, now they want to go back to COVID being a thing again for the Combine. NFL really has to get more consistent with their protocols if they are going to continue them for the 2022 season, hopefully by September they won't need the protocols anymore as it seems more states are starting to get eliminate some restrictions.

I don't say this to defend the NFL by any means, but if it was up to them at this point, there really would be no protocols. Every time they've tried to loosen things up, they've gotten push back from the NFLPA.

Now why is this situation seemingly the opposite? No idea, but it's been very contradictory from both sides all along.

 

[rossihunter2]

I don't say this to defend the NFL by any means, but if it was up to them at this point, there really would be no protocols. Every time they've tried to loosen things up, they've gotten push back from the NFLPA.

Now why is this situation seemingly the opposite? No idea, but it's been very contradictory from both sides all along.

it's the opposite here because the NFLPA has always been against the combine (as it currently exists) for numerous reasons (many valid)

 

[rossihunter2]

whelp

 

[rossihunter2]

well unless the NFL backs down, i dont think we're going to have much of a combine this year... and that might be it for the combine as it exists in its current format too

 

[Dom McRaven]

well unless the NFL backs down, i dont think we're going to have much of a combine this year... and that might be it for the combine as it exists in its current format too

Honestly, I could care less about the combine. Years ago, I was interested in it to an extent but now my interest is zero. Aside from the interview process, I just don't see a point in it anymore, but maybe I'm just ignorant.

 

[rossihunter2]

Honestly, I could care less about the combine. Years ago, I was interested in it to an extent but now my interest is zero. Aside from the interview process, I just don't see a point in it anymore, but maybe I'm just ignorant.

i mean the testing's probably more useful to the fans than it is to nfl teams who now have the tracking data so don't really need to the athletic testing

NFL aren't going to want to create an empty spot in their annual calendar after working so hard in recent years to make the NFL an all-year interest sport - but it's possible that the combine needs to change to survive in a meaningful way... maybe they move away from testing and just do weigh-ins, medical checks, interviews and group drills

 

[Simba]

i mean the testing's probably more useful to the fans than it is to nfl teams who now have the tracking data so don't really need to the athletic testing

NFL aren't going to want to create an empty spot in their annual calendar after working so hard in recent years to make the NFL an all-year interest sport - but it's possible that the combine needs to change to survive in a meaningful way... maybe they move away from testing and just do weigh-ins, medical checks, interviews and group drills

In some ways, that stuff is all the teams really care about. Like yeah sure, they do want to see how they stack up against each other and that's much easier in a situation where everyone is together. But there's so much improvement in data and analytics and really everything tech right now that it's not hard to make those comparisons even if it is at separate pro days.

 

[rossihunter2]

In some ways, that stuff is all the teams really care about. Like yeah sure, they do want to see how they stack up against each other and that's much easier in a situation where everyone is together. But there's so much improvement in data and analytics and really everything tech right now that it's not hard to make those comparisons even if it is at separate pro days.

that's exactly the point - teams have been sending fewer and fewer personnel to the combine for years now

combine's been out of date for a while - the measurables they test for aren't particularly useful or applicable and aren't positions specific - the drills are super basic - so the interesting (for fans) part of the combine is the least useful part of it

senior bowl has flown right back into relevance because it's adapted under jim nagy to cater to what specifically the teams want to get out of their time there

right now the combine is more of an illegal free agency tampering period

 

[Simba]

that's exactly the point - teams have been sending fewer and fewer personnel to the combine for years now

combine's been out of date for a while - the measurables they test for aren't particularly useful or applicable and aren't positions specific - the drills are super basic - so the interesting (for fans) part of the combine is the least useful part of it

senior bowl has flown right back into relevance because it's adapted under jim nagy to cater to what specifically the teams want to get out of their time there

right now the combine is more of an illegal free agency tampering period

Yep. Basically if you can get measurements, medicals, and interviews all in one place... that's the real value nowadays. Works really well for the Senior Bowl but that's obviously a smaller subset of players.

 

[D1City55]

I hope Ahmad Gardner doesn't attend so he has a better chance of falling to 14....

 

[rossihunter2]

I hope Ahmad Gardner doesn't attend so he has a better chance of falling to 14....

i think him attending is the only way he has a chance of falling - because at his height and length it's likely that he'll have less exciting testing numbers vs some of the other top corners like stingley, mcduffie, booth etc.

on the plus side - if the combine does get scrapped, maybe teams keep letting stingley slide down the board with his somewhat injured 2021 and 2020 seasons... because if the combine does happen, stingley blows everyone away with his athleticism and he probably gets put back in the conversation at the top again

 

[rossihunter2]

only real question left is whether the schedule is altered at all with regards to the bench and the athletic testing and whether players participate in the testing if it isnt

 

[allblackraven]

Marcus Jones (Houston) would be nice day 2 pick.

 

[JAAM]

i think him attending is the only way he has a chance of falling - because at his height and length it's likely that he'll have less exciting testing numbers vs some of the other top corners like stingley, mcduffie, booth etc.

on the plus side - if the combine does get scrapped, maybe teams keep letting stingley slide down the board with his somewhat injured 2021 and 2020 seasons... because if the combine does happen, stingley blows everyone away with his athleticism and he probably gets put back in the conversation at the top again

Would you rather take Stingley over Sauce?

 

[Davesta]

Would you rather take Stingley over Sauce?

Does Stingley’s injury concern scare any of you? I’m still shell shocked from last year.