Just when you thought the NFL and professional football were done for the season, along comes the scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Starting on Tuesday Feb. 17, all the important NFL executives such as Commissioner Roger Goodall and the managers, coaches, and scouts from all the 32 teams, along with the sports media, will there to check out the top player prospects for the upcoming NFL college draft and their agents. So if you see Mike Ditka, Bill Belichick, Erin Andrews, or some very large young men popping out of St. Elmo’s or Shapiro’s or even the Red Garter for the next couple of days, you know why they are here.
The combine is an invitation-only chance for 300 or so of the top college football players in the country who are eligible to be selected in the 2015 Draft of College Athletes to strut their stuff in front of their prospective employers. They don’t scrimmage or hit each other and they do their workouts with their fellow positional prospects only. Quarterbacks work with quarterbacks, defensive linemen with other defensive lineman, wide receivers with other wide receivers, and so on. Not every athlete eligible to be drafted will be here, just the best known ones. There will be strength and conditioning tests, agility drills, timed running tests, jumping for height and distance, and drills specifically designed for the player’s positions. They will also go through a battery of verbal tests to test general football knowledge and character. The athletes will get a chance to meet with various representatives of the teams that are interested in acquiring their services in private meetings. It will be a busy week for all concerned. Why Indianapolis? Because it is centrally located and everything such as hotels, restaurants, and Lucas Oil are located within walking distance.
As always, the quarterbacks available will be of special interest to observers. Quarterbacks James Winston of Florida State and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota of Oregon will be at the center of attention in what a number of pro scouts claim is one of the weakest quarterback classes in years. Neither Winston nor Mariota is expected to participate in the throwing drills, however. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the first selection of the draft and are reportedly looking for a franchise quarterback. Wide receivers Kevin White of West Virginia and Armani Cooper of Alabama are figured to go very early in the opening round. Offensive linemen Brandon Scherff of Iowa and T. J. Clements of Pittsburgh will be getting a lot of attention. Leonard Williams of USC and Dante Fowler Jr. of Florida lead the list of top-rated defensive linemen and Paul Dawson of TCU is a top linebacker prospect. A number of teams, including the Chicago Bears, are interested in Alabama safety Landon Collins as a possible first pick. A good performance at the combine can help lift a prospect’s draft status considerably. Last year going into the combine, Washington State safety Deone Bucannon was considered a solid third or fourth round pick. But an outstanding combine performance and great pro day turned him into a first round pick of the Arizona Cardinals. Likewise, a poor combine performance can lower the regard a team may have for a particular athlete. Johnny Manziel, “Johnny Football,” was considered a possible number one pick in last year’s draft but a shaky performance and attitude problem at the combine dropped him to the 25th pick of the first round by the Cleveland Browns (with the pick they received in the Trent Richardson trade).
The Colts are thought to be looking at offensive linemen along with pass rushers and run stoppers on defense. However, the news that Ahmed Bradshaw has been arrested and charged with pot possession may change their focus. Trent Richardson has been suspended for violation of team rules and will probably be released. Vic Ballard has suffered two season-ending injuries in the last two years which may make him expendable. That would leave the Big Blue with just two experienced running backs, Daniel “Boom” Herron and Zurlon Tipton. The Colts have the 29th pick in the first round. While I don’t see the Colts using their top pick on a running back they could invest their second round pick in a runner. The top running backs available are Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin and Todd Gurley of Georgia. I don’t expect them to still be around by the time the Colts pick on the second round. However, Telvin Coleman of Indiana University will most likely be available and he is a highly regarded running back prospect. He could wind up with a Horseshoe on his helmet. Coleman will be at the combine but will not participate in the workouts because of a foot injury.
Here’s hoping the Colts can locate some solid picks that will help the team!
snicewanger@yahoo.com