What is the NFL Scouting Combine? Live coverage details, how the process works and every test involved

The NFL season may have finished but the preparations are already underway for the next one.

The Los Angeles Rams, led by Matthew Stafford, claimed the Superbowl for the 2021/22 season, with the Cincinnati Bengals coming up just short.

But for the Rams, Bengals and their 30 NFL rivals, it’s time to start work on next season, and that work begins with the Draft.

This year’s NFL Fraft will be held on April 28-30 and it will be held in Nevada, but before then, all 32 teams will get a chance to get a closer look at the prospects coming out of college in the NFL Scouting Combine.

What is the NFL Scouting Combine?

Since 1982, the NFL has held a central Scouting Combine, which sees selected players invited to show off their skills at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. As many as 324 players have been selected for this year’s Combine.

The players undergo a number of tests which are designed to gauge their talent ahead of the Draft process in late April.

Clubs will have scouted these players throughout their college seasons, but these tests provide an extra measure for scouts, and particularly head coaches, who won’t have been watching quite so closely during the seasons.

From the end of the season, head coaches will have been studying film closely to sound out their Draft choices.

And they get a chance not only to watch their potential picks in action during the Scouting Combine, but they also get the chance to speak to the players to gauge their personality and possible interest in joining their team.

Fans can watch the NFL Scouting Combine on the NFL Network, which you can tune into via the NFL Game Pass in the UK.

What are the tests?

The full list of tests each player undergoes is as follows:

• 40-yard dash
• Bench press (225 lb repetitions)
• Vertical jump
• Broad jump
• 20-yard shuttle
• 3 cone drill
• 60-yard shuttle
• Position-specific drills
• Interviews – each team is allowed 60 interviews in 15-minute intervals
• Physical measurements
• Injury evaluation
• Drug screen
• The Cybex test
• The Wonderlic test

When is this year’s Combine?

The current combine is ongoing, having started on March 1.

It will run until March 7.

Pro days

Something to keep in mind is pro days.

These are privately held events where individual players show off their talents in front of invited scouts and club coaches.

These days include drills more typical to player positions so that coaches can get a better idea of the prospect and their abilities.

It’s not uncommon for some players to skip the Combine in order to concentrate their efforts on their Pro Day.

Though, this is only common for the real stand-out players who feel they have already done enough in their college career to secure a high pick in the draft.