Entry
The Storms Before the NFL Draft
By bryanflynnThere has been plenty of news before the NFL Draft’s kickoff tomorrow night, Thursday, April 27, that could send players down the draft board. Some is understandable, and some could be considered ridiculous.
Let’s start with the ridiculous and work our way to more serious elements. One thing to remember: the run-up to the draft is one long job interview.
Last week in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, writer Bob McGinn reported the scores of several players who took the Wonderlic intelligence test at the NFL Combine. ESPN’s Darren Rovell pointed out two players who scored an 11 out of 50 on the test and Rovell was roasted on social media. Since then, Rovell took the official test and wrote about taking it and how it changed him.
The leaking of Wonderlic scores has gone on since the NFL began using the test in the 1970s. If you don’t know, the test is 50 questions taken in 12 minutes with just a pencil and scrap paper. The employers use the test to assess the intelligence of prospective employees.
If you follow the NFL Combine, everyone does the same testing. All the players bench-press 225 pounds, run the 40-yard dash, and so forth. Not all the tests really apply to every position, but to get an apples-to-apples comparison, every player does the same tests.
The Wonderlic doesn’t mean a ton for most positions. If any position makes sense, it is the quarterback position, where you have to process a good deal of information and do it quickly.
What other players score on the test really isn’t entirely game-changing but is important. Players have known for years that the NFL gives the test at the combine. Agents have been preparing players for the test for years, as well.
If everything is a test at the combine, the way a player approaches the Wonderlic is a test. Remember, this is a giant job interview. If a player scores low on the test, teams might do more research on the player to find out why.
NFL teams will want to know why a player bombed a test that he knew he had to take. Did the player care enough to even prepare for the test? Is the player bad at taking tests? If the player didn’t care to prepare for the test, teams will wonder if that player will prepare for a NFL career. The test is part of an evolution process and not really about how smart the players are.
No one should be made fun for what he scored on the test. It is simply a way for teams to see whether players are going to put in the work that is needed to be in the NFL.
It also never fails that a player or two will fail the drug test at the NFL Combine. This year, it was University of Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster and University …
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