Official NFL Combine Thread

[Prime Time]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/02/27/d...kouts-quarterbacks-coach-gm-press-conferences

What to Watch at the NFL Combine
By CONOR ORR

Indianapolis is an enjoyable city any time of year. But every winter it transforms for this strange NFL convention, the place to be in late February/early March if you’ve ever wanted to see an NFL offensive line coach drinking Yuengling at a Dick’s Last Resort after midnight, or a high-profile agent huddling with a cap management executive over a $30 Caesar salad at Don Shula’s steakhouse.

But from a practical standpoint, anyone with an interest in football loves this time of year in Indy because it’s the beginning of two very important periods of the NFL calendar: draft speculation and the free agency speculation.

Not only are the top prospects for the upcoming draft on display, but most of the NFL’s 32 general managers and head coaches will speak with reporters—in complete generalities. Their desire not to tip any of their offseason plans fuels the tireless minds who believe their favorite team can accomplish anything. To those getting ready to hunker down for more than 70 hours of football, here’s what to watch for at this year’s NFL combine (all times Eastern):

QUARTERBACK WORKOUTS

Quarterback Workouts: Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield and the others who make up a hyped class of passers arrive on Wednesday, take their hospital pre-exam and x-rays and go through orientation. From there, it’s measurements and interviews on Thursday, media opportunities on Friday and finally on-field workouts Saturday.

Talk of Darnold’s less-than-perfect USC finale, Rosen’s durability, Allen’s accuracy, Jackson’s pro translatability and Mayfield’s size will dominate the early days of the combine and crescendo on Friday during their in-person media availability. Here, reporters will get a first-hand look at how their personalities—almost entirely crafted for answering banal questions from reporters and strange, technical questions from coaches—will play in front of television cameras.

NFL Network starts Saturday’s live broadcast at 9 a.m., and has three hour condensed editions that re-run at 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and 12 eastern.

HEAD COACHING/GM INTERVIEWS

While the schedule is tentative—once, then-Giants head coach Tom Coughlin walked up to the podium hours before his scheduled time and decided he just felt like going—the lineup has been posted.

Before 1 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, when NFL Network begins their live weekday broadcasts, you might have to turn to your friendly local beat writer on Twitter for live updates. The MMQB will also have a heavy presence in Indianapolis, so refresh the site frequently.

WEDNESDAY

9 a.m.: New Texans GM Brian Gaine meets the press at the same time as Browns head coach Hue Jackson. Jackson did his best to evade countless quarterback questions at last year’s combine, but will need an even greater finesse this year with two top-five picks and a well-regarded lineup of QB prospects to choose from.

9:30: A live look at the duality of man—Jon Gruden and Pat Shurmur, two new coaches with wildly different backstories, speak with reporters. As evidenced by Gruden’s recent comments to S.L. Price in Sports Illustrated, his Corona-swigging, visor-wearing personality has only deepened during his lengthy spell as a television commentator. What will he be like now that it’s time to get down to business?

11:30: Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, suddenly thrust into the limelight amid rampant Kirk Cousins speculation, could theoretically unleash three starting-caliber quarterbacks onto the open market (Case Keenum, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford), while gobbling up the best passer to hit free agency in years.

Noon: Eagles GM Howie Roseman and Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell appear live. Both have fascinating offseasons on tap, especially Caldwell, who will break down the Blake Bortles deal.

4 p.m.: John Elway always goes late in the day and is always worth watching. With the Vikings gaining momentum in the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes, does Elway keep a poker face, or does he break protocol and make an under-the-radar bid for the Pro Bowl quarterback?

THURSDAY

A thinner crowd, but a few names worth watching…

10:30 a.m.: Rams GM Les Snead will field questions on Marcus Peters even though he can’t acknowledge the trade has taken place. Set your DVR.

Noon: Pete Carroll, on the verge of a potentially disruptive offseason (see our cap casualties encyclopedia) will meet the media.

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH

• Top offensive line prospect Quenton Nelson and the rest of the hogmollies arrive Wednesday. On-field workouts on Friday.

• The defensive backs round out the action on Monday, and there are a ton of them in Indianapolis. Roughly 70 prospects will hit the field for timing, stations and skill drills a day after their Sunday media meet up.

• Saquon Barkley will meet with reporters on Thursday. The Penn State running back could make it three years straight (Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette) that a running back is selected in the top five. Barkley, who will start meeting with teams Tuesday, should have a clear picture of who is interested in his services heading into Thursday.

2018 NFL SCOUTING COMBINE

http://www.nfl.com/combine

 

[Merlin]

WRT the QBs the most interesting workouts will be with the guys outside that top 5. Will be paying attention in case the Rams surprise us by addressing the backup position.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Darnold not throwing....oh well

 

[OldSchool]

Yay for the underwear olympics!

 

[Psycho_X]

Yay for the underwear olympics!

Yeah I very rarely watch any of it. A mostly pointless event in my mind. It's definitely worth it for teams to go watch so that players can prove they don't have any nagging injuries. The interview is probably the most valuable part of the whole combine and we don't get to watch those. But the spectacle of it just seems overdone and overhyped. I'll peruse videos of players I'm interested in and read up on some write ups but I have zero interest in actually watching it.

 

[DaveFan'51]

PROGRAMING NOTE: Today starting at 2:00pm PST on NFLN they will be covering Defensive Lineman and Linebackers!! Think pick #23!!

 

[wolfdogg]

Pretty sure first pick is DL, LB, or CB, so if they can get one of THEIR top 2 guys at either of those positions then I'm happy.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Yay for the underwear olympics!

Wait, ... am I missing the Victoria Secrets Lingerie Bowl ?

 

[LACHAMP46]

PROGRAMING NOTE: Today starting at 2:00pm PST on NFLN they will be covering Defensive Lineman and Linebackers!!

That's from 2017 Dave....I think they'll have interviews of this years players starting on Wednesday.....and probably some stuff on Thursday.

 

[DaveFan'51]

That's from 2017 Dave....I think they'll have interviews of this years players starting on Wednesday.....and probably some stuff on Thursday.

Oops! Thanks Champ! My Error!

 

[DaveFan'51]

Wait, ... am I missing the Victoria Secrets Lingerie Bowl ?

Now this^ top Photo is a QB/WR I'll take any day of the week!!

 

[RocknRam29]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUI5NdGVVlw

 

[Prime Time]

View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/GM-Les-Snead-Previews-the-2018-NFL-Combine/495766d3-4106-4d35-8b81-e08df51b5800

GM Les Snead Previews the 2018 NFL Combine
Myles Simmons

The 2018 Combine begins this week — one of the important, marquee events of the NFL offseason. Each of the league’s 32 teams will send a contingent to Indianapolis, Ind. for what amounts to a significant data-gathering exercise on the league’s top incoming rookies.

Rams general manager Les Snead isn’t quite sure how many times he’s attended the Combine, but said in an interview with therams.com last week that he expects the number is at least approaching the 20s. And though the Rams had their most successful season of Snead’s tenure with the franchise in 2017, he’s not changing his approach to this year’s Indy trip.

“If you’re trying to win the West, you should probably have an urgency to win that Combine. But if you’re trying to repeat as champions of the West — guess what — you should try to win that Combine,” Snead said. “And whatever side of the coin you’re on, there’s an urgency there. And there’s not one that’s more important than the other.”

But in order to get the most out of the Combine, Snead says there’s an intentional method to preparing for it.

“In terms of, ‘If there’s 300-plus players at the Combine, what are we trying to do?’ You can’t just go there and get the same thing for each of those 300,” Snead said. “Each one has a file. And when are we going to close that file and say, ‘Are we OK drafting him? Or are we OK not drafting him?’”

The Combine, according to Snead, aids significantly in understanding how much more information L.A. will need — and how the club can get it — to ultimately be satisfied with closing that file on each player.

“And what the Combine really will do is really set the blueprint for how we handle, let’s call it, March and April,” Snead said. “And by that it’s, we’re getting close to the draft, so there’s less time. So you’ve got to start eliminating players — and not necessarily taking them off your draft board, but more, ‘You know what, we’re done. We’ve done enough, we’re good. If they’re there when we pick, we’ll take that player.’ Or, ‘Oh by the way, we need to go see this person, we need to bring this person in.’”

While the Combine is a key factor in player evaluations, the Rams have been hard at work preparing for the 2018 NFL Draft essentially since the end of the same event last year. Within Los Angeles’ front office, that means establishing draft grades on the many different eligible players.

“Let’s just say we have a numbers scale. And from the beginning, it starts right after the draft. So all of our scouts are going to send in [what] we call the summer grade — prospects for next year,” Snead said. “And what that allows us to do is [determine] who are our directors and senior personnel staff going to go out and see? And then you get their fall grades, and we come in in December and we grind through and try to basically get it to, ‘Hey, can a guy start for you? Can he have a role for you or does he not?’

“And those grades we do when we first set that board in December allows you to look up and go, ‘OK, wait a minute, might be deep at some positions,’” Snead continued. “Again, it’s all subjective — it’s our grades. Or it might be a little thin at some positions, so if we want to fill one of those needs, is it better to do it in free agency? Is it better to do it early in the draft? Things like that.”

Aside from the on-field drills, one way the Rams will continue to answer those kinds of questions at the Combine is through the formal interviews. Teams may have as many as 60 interviews with individual players throughout the week — a process which Snead calls one of his favorite parts of the event.

“You’ve been looking at these players, they’re wearing a helmet, they’ve got a college logo on it, they’ve got a number, they’ve got a last name on their jersey. Finally, you can see a personality — you feel someone, a human,” Snead said. “Because at the end of the day, you know what, it’s the human being that’s going to end up starting, or end up having an All-Pro career, or Hall of Fame career. So that’s the most fun part.”

And even with as many times as Snead has made the winter trip to Indianapolis, he still gets excited for the Combine.

“I’m not tired of going to Indy,” Snead said. “It’s that part of the year where, OK, we’ve had a little dead time. And OK, let’s go to a different environment. The nice thing about it, too, is it’s just focused. There’s nothing you do during the day but that. So that’s always fun.”


View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/968605544935079936

 

[Prime Time]

View: https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/968871084035641344

 

[DaveFan'51]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUI5NdGVVlw

This^ is the first time I have ever seen LFL Play! Some great Hits! Now I have to attend a game or two!!

 

[Merlin]

Cheerleader talent scout. That's my ideal second career right there!

But yeah, this must be a really fun time of year to be a scout. And one thing I think Trader Les really excels at is stacking the board, I know Fish never forgave him for losing Wagner when they moved down but you heard McVay mention to him that the board fell out in last year's draft exactly how they foresaw it. So I think that element plus the way this staff gives him and the scouts such exacting details on what they want will result in many more fine draft classes.

Re: 23 overall in this draft just get an IMPACT player. Someone who steps right in as a high end starter and hopefully perennial Pro Bowl player for us. No reaches due to need plz. Best player on the board or move down and accrue more picks.

 

[OldSchool]

Interesting hearing McVay talk about our WR and TE group. Gerald Everett needs to feel comfortable playing TE in the NFL but he’s feels good about our TE group moving forward. Really like hearing him talk up Josh Reynolds too.

 

[OldSchool]

Lots of weigh in info from this guy

https://mobile.twitter.com/CharlesRobinson

 

[Angry Ram]

Yeah I very rarely watch any of it. A mostly pointless event in my mind. It's definitely worth it for teams to go watch so that players can prove they don't have any nagging injuries. The interview is probably the most valuable part of the whole combine and we don't get to watch those. But the spectacle of it just seems overdone and overhyped. I'll peruse videos of players I'm interested in and read up on some write ups but I have zero interest in actually watching it.

The Combine started? Really??

But at least Mike Mayock will get a kick out of the WRs and their "good hip movement".

 

[DaveFan'51]

PROGRAM ALERT!! Sean McVay will be on NFLN This hour (Between 8:00-9:00am PST) from the Combine!!