Potential can be a Scary Thing
Does anyone else think the NFL Combine is a gigantic waste of time? In what other sport does the league put its potential new players through such a rigorous, meaningless workout? Does the NBA rank the entrant's speed on how well they run timed suicides? No, they just watch the guys play. Does the NHL pull out a radar gun to see how hard every slap shot is? No, they just watch the guys play. Certainly potential MLB power hitters are asked to bench 225lbs. as many times as they can so the GMs can gauge their homerun potential, right? No, they simply…watch…them…play!
Anyone else sensing a theme here?
In every other league, the top picks are very easily determined. No one can tell me that if Lebron James ran a slow suicide that he still wouldn’t have been the top pick. The same goes in baseball and hockey. The top picks are the top picks because of how they perform on the field, ice, or court. Their draft status doesn’t have anything to do with a weight room, a stop watch, or radar gun. In the NFL, it’s all about potential. *(Quick side note. Does anyone else think it’s curious that the only league that puts so much stock in weights and timed sprints is the league that has more “draft busts” than any other? Think about it.)*
People are always talking about a player’s “draft stock” and how it keeps rising and falling due to private workouts, the combine, and that “test” players have to take. Obviously the Wonderlic test means nothing. Some of the greatest players in NFL history didn’t score well on that test (Dan Marino to name but one). So the test is just a waste of time. I don't think Dan's career was defined by the test. Players don’t need to know algebra to play sports. They might need to know it to help their kids with their homework someday, but that doesn’t affect a player’s draft status, does it?
Maybe if they had watched more game film and less combine work, teams in the NFL would not have passed on so many top players for those “potentials” or those “workout warriors.” Can you imagine if Jerry Rice was just coming into the NFL today? It is reported that he ran in the 4.6-4.7 range at the combine. Just think of how many teams would have passed on him for someone who could run a 4.3 in the 40.
Every single year, NFL teams pass on the top players in college football to draft the guys with potential. That’s the key right there, potential. For most people, it’s just a word. For the NFL, it’s the scariest word there is. To think, GMs in the NFL actually ask themselves questions like, “Do we draft Peyton Manning because he has the skills and has proven them over his life, or do we draft Ryan Leaf because of all the potential he has shown?”
Anyone else sensing a theme here?
In every other league, the top picks are very easily determined. No one can tell me that if Lebron James ran a slow suicide that he still wouldn’t have been the top pick. The same goes in baseball and hockey. The top picks are the top picks because of how they perform on the field, ice, or court. Their draft status doesn’t have anything to do with a weight room, a stop watch, or radar gun. In the NFL, it’s all about potential. *(Quick side note. Does anyone else think it’s curious that the only league that puts so much stock in weights and timed sprints is the league that has more “draft busts” than any other? Think about it.)*
People are always talking about a player’s “draft stock” and how it keeps rising and falling due to private workouts, the combine, and that “test” players have to take. Obviously the Wonderlic test means nothing. Some of the greatest players in NFL history didn’t score well on that test (Dan Marino to name but one). So the test is just a waste of time. I don't think Dan's career was defined by the test. Players don’t need to know algebra to play sports. They might need to know it to help their kids with their homework someday, but that doesn’t affect a player’s draft status, does it?
Maybe if they had watched more game film and less combine work, teams in the NFL would not have passed on so many top players for those “potentials” or those “workout warriors.” Can you imagine if Jerry Rice was just coming into the NFL today? It is reported that he ran in the 4.6-4.7 range at the combine. Just think of how many teams would have passed on him for someone who could run a 4.3 in the 40.
Every single year, NFL teams pass on the top players in college football to draft the guys with potential. That’s the key right there, potential. For most people, it’s just a word. For the NFL, it’s the scariest word there is. To think, GMs in the NFL actually ask themselves questions like, “Do we draft Peyton Manning because he has the skills and has proven them over his life, or do we draft Ryan Leaf because of all the potential he has shown?”
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