NFL Combine Preview Extravaganza

It’s here! The NFL Combine is underway and by Friday we’ll be getting on-field testing results from the first group. Be prepared to overreact to every tenth of a second!

No matter how you feel about the “Underwear Olympics”, the Combine is a crucial part of the NFL Draft process for several reasons. It’s not just the testing, but the medical evaluations and interviews that teams weigh into their full picture of a prospect.

On The Kist & Solak Show #81, we break down each part of that process and which prospects have the most to lose or gain. For instance, one prospect recently linked to the Philadelphia Eagles by Daniel Jeremiah has a crucial box to check. My thoughts on him in this loose transcription from the show:

“10-yard splits within the 40-yard dash matter more than the 40-yard dash for running backs.. I’m also looking for the broad jump and vertical jump to measure short area explosion because all three of those factors measure into burst, and you could really apply that to a lot of positions where it’s not so much the long speed that’s crucial, it’s the ability to close distances in a beat and that beat is the difference in short gains and long gains.

Two players I’ll mention that this will be important for.. First, running back Devin “Motor” Singletary of Florida Atlantic. I just watched his game against Marshall and he took over, but he’s got some questions to answer about functional burst to win at the second level, if he runs around a 1.55 10-yard split, or even under 1.60, count me in on him, because the rest is gorgeous.

Same goes for Iowa State running back David Montgomery who only had two gains of 30+ yards last year, but it’s not so much the home runs that I’m concerned about, I want to see functional burst.

For a solid resource on baseline results for the rest of the positions, this handy dandy chart from longtime NFL executive and scout Gil Brandt is a good place to start.

Get our thoughts on the rest of the process and prospects on The Kist & Solak Show #81 by listening on the media player below, or click here if the player doesn’t load. New to podcasts? Check out our guide on how to listen to BGN! Also, keep an eye out for my top 50 big board dropping here soon! FLY EAGLES FLY!