Dear NFL combine prospects (and fans): Here's what you really need to know | Opinion

Dear NFL draft prospects,

Welcome to the NFL grind.

There are 319 of you invited to Indianapolis for the NFL’s annual meat market (uh, scouting combine) and it promises to be quite the blast. You will be measured, inspected, poked, prodded, timed (at least most of you will engage in all the drills at Lucas Oil Stadium) and probed – mentally and physically – for the purposes of arranging the pecking order for the NFL draft.

Don’t sweat it too much. If your 40-yard dash time is a tick or two off during the so-called Underwear Olympics, just remember that you’ll be able to do it again in the coming weeks at your school’s pro day.

And just think of the people that you’ll meet at this football version of a job fair. There will be team owners, head coaches, general managers, personnel directors, position coaches, regional scouts and the all-important team trainers and doctors from all 32 teams. If you’re lucky, you’ll also come across one of the draft analysts as part of the media throng…which might allow the chance to state your case for a higher slot on mock draft 3.0.

Then again, hopefully you’re not in Indy this week hoping to meet Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Brandon Staley or Kyle Shanahan. They are among the head coaches who won’t be in the joint. Bill Belichick? Also not expected. And neither are at least a couple of GMs: Les Snead (Rams) and Tom Telesco (Chargers).

Which might make you wonder: If coaches and GMs are skipping out on this because they’ve got more efficient ways to use their time, then what’s the use?

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Hey, it’s an important step (or so they say) in the draft process that includes the all-star bowl games, pro days, visits to team headquarters and whatever background checks the security aces could be conducting at this very moment. All of this, on top of the video from your performances as a BMOC that the teams can dissect and absorb.

Now, if it were up to DeMaurice Smith, the NFL Players Association chief, you wouldn’t be here. During his media session in Phoenix a few days before Super Bowl 57, Smith railed on the very existence of an event that just keeps growing in popularity (and presumably revenues) as one of the league’s tentpole offseason events.

“As soon as you show up,” Smith said, “you have to waive all of your medical rights and…sit there and endure embarrassing questions.”

No, Smith is no fan of the medical whirlwind that was the foundational impetus for establishing the combine during the 1980s – with all NFL teams having access to players at a central location to conduct physical exams – or the array of interview sessions.

“Would you want your son to spend hours inside of an MRI (machine) and then be evaluated by 32 separate team doctors who, by the way, are doing it for one reason?” Smith said. “What’s the reason? To decrease your draft value. So, instead of thinking about whether we enhance the combine process, what would we want for our sons? We’d want to get rid of the combine.”

Smith contends that NFL teams can get along just fine by sending reps to the pro days, as was the case in 2021 when the combine was canceled due to the pandemic.

Of course, the NFL – which in recent years has opened up the combine to fans, complete with interactive-themed attractions surrounding the main event – is hardly parting with its signature launchpad toward the draft. Whether the combine remains in Indianapolis, where it has been staged since 1987, is a more legitimate question. The league is committed to coming back to Indy again next year but after that, it could move the event – as it has the draft – to other locations with a bidding process. You know. Ka-ching.

In any event, this week’s lineup comes on the heels of pledges from the NFL that the combine will become more dignified. During the last NFL owners meeting, in Irving, Texas, in December, CBS Sports reported that Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president and a former Pro Bowl defensive back, compared the combine to a “slave auction” while making a point to owners.

Vincent explained to reporters in December that discussions that he and Commissioner Roger Goodell had with recent draftees added fuel for some of the combine tweaks implemented this time around.

“The combine is the player’s first experience with the NFL,” Vincent said. “In that experience, there has to be a level of dignity and respect as they go through that process.”

Over the years, the NFL and some teams have been slammed, rightfully, for some of the hideous questions that prospects have been are asked during interview sessions with teams. As a recent memo from the NFL, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, reminded teams, federal and state laws should be enough to define some boundaries.

In other words, these are some things you should not be asked:

“Are you straight or gay?”

“What country are your parents from?”

“Were you placed in special education?”

You get the picture. NFL teams should know better by now, buthistory has shown that some people might still try pushing the envelope.

Vincent said that in getting feedback from recent draft picks that there were still some details shared from the process that left him scratching his head.

“Other times, you’re embarrassed,” he added. “These are things we can fix, things we can adjust to make the whole prospect experience better.”

So maybe you’ve landed at this combine at a better time. On top of the warnings about interview etiquette, the NFL contends that it has streamlined the medical process to enhance efficiency, which includes virtual interviews conducted prior to this week. And the process has limited post-exam scans to one per prospect.

The feedback from previous attendees and dieticians, the league contends, has also resulted in improvements with the meal service.

Then there are the workouts. They are beginning and ending earlier in the day, although still extending into the primetime window for the broadcast window. Last year, prospects were required to do the bench press on the same day they were tested in on-field drills…which was a bit much.

Also, the new apparel and presenting partner, NOBULL, has stepped up the player headquarters to include a workout gym and turf field for stretching and a recovery room. All in the name of optimal performance that could, well, enhance your draft status…or the chance to become the next combine legend in the spirit of Mike Mamula.

One thing that hasn’t changed: There’s a huge contingent of players from the University of Georgia on hand. What’s up, Dawg? Last year, a record 15 players from the national championship squad attended the combine. This time, with another national title won, 12 Bulldog players have been invited, led by defensive tackle Jalen Carter, arguably the top-rated player in the draft.

No, Carter won’t be working out for the teams this week. He’ll save that for his pro day in mid-March.

Yet with Carter running, jumping, lifting or not, the show goes on.

Which is essential to the NFL grind.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NFL draft prospects: Here's what you really need to know