The NFL Combine is rather worthless to the average fan in telling anything about which potential draftees might wind up on an NFL roster. But it's not bad eye candy.
For four days on the NFL Network starting Friday in Indianapolis, you can watch college seniors (and some underclassmen who have declared for the draft), lift weights, jump, run and perform agility drills, all while wearing skin-tight workout wear. Their goal is to impress NFL scouts, coaches and executives and get drafted as high as possible.
In the old days, one even got to see the players in their underwear at weigh-ins, giving the event the nickname "Underwear Olympics." The league stopped showing that part because it made players uncomfortable, understandable since they are such shy, sensitive souls. Alas, no more shots of Tom Brady in dad boxer shorts looking like a future CPA instead of a future Hall of Famer.
It's amazing that the Combine is now must-see for hundreds of thousands of fans each year since it's literally watching players perform drills. It tells a casual fan nothing about a player's potential, yet the Combine is dissected and analyzed like a playoff game. It nonetheless shows the insatiable appetite for football in the U.S.
If you tune in for the visuals, here is what you can expect:
Photos by Getty Images and USA TODAY Sports.
