Do workouts matter?

[Mr. Scot]

Combine and Pro Days - as a package - do they matter? Yes or no?

FYI to Newton Fans: "Pro Days matter but the Combine doesn't" is not an option.

They're pretty much the same thing, with the exception that Pro Days can be more favorable because they're run in familiar conditions. Thus, if you want to say that the Pro Day matters, then you must also accept that the Combine matters. If you choose to say that the Combine doesn't matter, then the Pro Day don't matter either. You can't have it both ways.

(be advised that eight paragraph rationalizations on why it's okay to accept one and not the other will be duly dismissed as irrelevant)

[iamcline]

I put more stock in the Combine more than a Pro Day. Pro Days are all about making the players comfortable. I want to see a player out of his element, and the Combine gives you that. Someone does well at their Pro Day but not at the Combine that can speak volumes about about how a player will adjust to different things.

[mav1234]

Sure they matter, but not even close to as much as film and interviews.

[SorthNarolina]

They're icing on the cake. Patrick Peterson was the highest rated CB but his size and physical skills are more like bonus.

[vorbis]

depends on the player. if you get a guy who is clearly a superior athlete like patrick peterson then a workout is not going to tell you much. you can tell by looking at the tape that he's going to ace the drills and be quicker than just about anybody else on the planet.

a guy like newton, what you want is to see reps. combine, pro day, private workout, a drill is a drill and is designed to exhibit skills and precision. inconsistency can bubble to the surface when a player is fatigued after 60 throws, or 5 agility cone drills, or when standing next to 10 other pro prospects with different games.

[CAVSS]

Workouts are a good way to judge a players work ethic IMO.

[CRA]

I think neither means as much as advertised....

How did Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith look when doing what are essentially individual drills in a combine type enviroment?

You want to find a football player then you watch how guys compete in game enviroments and scenarios where you actually are playing the sport....

you want to find out if a guy can do drills well....then you can put a lot of emphasis on drills.

[teeray]

I think they absolutely matter.

Film means much more though. What scouts are looking at during workouts are more than the actual statistics. They concentrate more on progress from what they have seen as weaknesses on film, especially for guys like Cam and Gabbert who come from a shotgun offense.

But yeah they are a piece of an about hundred piece puzzle.

[countryboi]

pro days are pretty much a test were you ask yourself all the questions.......at least the combine they make you work a little bit.....i think you need to look at the total body of work and is he getting better....to get an idea of what you have and still its a crap shoot........so to answer your question HELL YEA they matter....

[monstercat]

It's all part of the process, and it all matters, whether it's film, workouts or interviews. If it didn't matter, then nobody would change their draft board from what it was when the college bowl season ended.

[KillerKat]

Neither should matter

[spartan_pantherfan]

depends on the position.

WRs, RBs, DBs, LBs it is important because it shows how you move when you run those drills, smoothness of hips etc.... those things won't change much with pads and other guys on the field.

other then that I do not think it is important, film is.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

For QBs I'm never sold on a guy based on a great workout, however if he can't make plays in a scripted workout without a defense/pass rush to worry about then that's enough to knock him down.

[Jackofalltrades]

They matter a little bit in that you can evaluate someone doing things they didn't do in college, ie 3,5,7 step drops.

Even with that there's no pads, no defense, no pressure, no pocket, etc.

Game tape should be real test with the combine and pro days answering some minor questions.