NFL Combine 2015: What to Watch for on Wednesday

The next phase of the traveling roadshow that is the NFL offseason is upon us. The 2015 combine is set to begin in Indianapolis, Indiana this week, and if you are an NFL fan, this is a glorious week. The reality for many fans is that their teams just cannot match up with the elite of the league. However, this time of year hope springs eternal as every team has an opportunity to improve through the NFL draft.

Even though live coverage of the combine doesn’t begin until Friday, there is a tremendous amount of activity surrounding the event starting on Tuesday. Obviously, everyone tunes into the combine for the flash. Forty-yard dashes, vertical jumps and position drills draw the eye, however, the league understands that is only part of the picture.

So let’s break down what is going on in Indianapolis on Day 1 of the NFL scouting combine.

Schedule of events courtesy of ESPN.

Overview

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What is the NFL combine, exactly? Well, in one sense it is the NFL’s version of a massive job fair, and all of these potential employees want to do their best. All of their potential employers are going to spend the next several days poking, prodding, observing, testing and questioning these young men in ways they cannot be fully prepared for.

If you are a top prospect, the combine is a calculated risk. Any slips here and they could become magnified for the coming months. Even excellent game film can become muddied if a player doesn’t nail the combine. You don’t have to dig very hard into the data of an NFL franchise’s draft history to understand how many teams apply the numbers they pull from the combine into their war rooms.

For this first group, there are some real key players who will be arriving early and going right under the microscope. One might think with punters and kickers in the mix this isn’t a flashy group, however, the offensive line is truly one of the glamour positions in the NFL. There aren’t many teams in the league who can say they can go through an entire draft and not draft at least one offensive lineman. And even in a down year for tight ends, there are some interesting guys.

Early Arrivals

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This first day of the combine marks the arrival of the offensive line, kickers, punters and tight ends. Not exactly the most glamourous group that will descend upon Indianapolis this week but still packed with top-100 players.

Here is a quick look at what the week for these groups of prospects will look like, per the official combine site.

Day 1—Registration, hospital pre-exams and X-rays, orientation and interviews.

Day 2—Measurements, more medical examinations, media interviews and team interviews.

Day 3—NFLPA meeting, psychological testing, bench press, special teams drills and yet more interviews.

Day 4—A full day of on-field workouts and then depart from Indianapolis. 

To say that these young men will have a full week is something of an understatement. Between three days with time allotted for interviews, time for the media, two days with medical checks and even psychological testing it is a wonder any football even happens.

These young men will get off the plane and immediately get started with registration before being whisked away to one of the other mandatory events on the first day. Sleep is at a premium and these young men have to stay sharp no matter how tired they are.

Wednesday Interviews

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If you notice on the schedule for these players on the previous slide, interviews is an ongoing theme. That is because with each of the 32 NFL franchises able to interview 40 players apiece for 15 minutes at a time, you have the potential for 1,280 total interviews over three days, and that adds up to a whopping 320 total hours of interviews. And as Ranier Sabin of the Dallas Morning News wrote, what goes on behind the scenes in these interviews carries much more weight than the drills that get all the press.

The fascinating part is that these interviews can cover the gamut of topics both football and otherwise. The reports over the years of the strange and bizarre questions asked of players is well documented. There are many reasons for this not the least of which is to gauge a prospect's ability to adjust on the fly to various situations and handle high-pressure scenarios.

Some questions are more football-centric of course, and pertain to measuring the football acumen of players. This has become more and more prevalent with so many novel college football offenses, and the potential transition for players.

Players like LSU offensive tackle La’el Collins and Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff are sure to get questions about potential position moves, and a guy like Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams will be grilled about just how healthy he was in 2014.

Another key aspect of the interview is to address potential off-the-field situations and character concerns. Fortunately for this first group, there aren’t the litany of character concerns that we’ll see later in the week.

Medical Testing

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The league wastes no time in getting the medical checks in full swing. If you look back at the schedule you see that the league will take significant chunks of this group’s first two days to get under their skin (pun intended) to check not only on existing health concerns but in some cases, as with Carolina Panthers defensive end Frank Alexander, find a previously undiagnosed heart problem.  

In this group there are really only a couple of main players that will get the once, twice, three times a lady over by the league. The first is Texas A&M offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi. Ogbuehi suffered a torn ACL in the Liberty Bowl, bringing his draft stock into serious question.

There was a time when the former Texas A&M star was a near-lock for a first-round pick. Now the best he can count on is that the league sees a recovery going full steam ahead and could be ready for the season. If that happens his stock will soar once again.

Another player with medical on the line is Ohio State tight end Jeff Heuerman. Heuerman played the entire season dealing with the lingering effects of a foot injury he suffered the season before.

This could be a reason for the lack of overwhelming statistics that is typically a trademark of a player like Heuerman. An area Heuerman should excel in at the combine are in drills. However, if medical checks show his foot is not 100 percent, that could really push him deep into the third round.

Who to Watch

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I suppose the short answer here is no one. Unfortunately, as all the behind the scenes activity heats up, those who aren’t invited behind the veil just have to wait. Nevertheless, there are plenty of players in these first two groups to warrant a close look once the results come in.  

The medical team will certainly give Oregon center Hroniss Grasu a very close look as he missed part or all of several games with injury.

It also means a guy like Miami offensive tackle Ereck Flowers is going to have to answer about his inconsistent effort. Teams will want Flowers to shed some light on why he struggled so much in pass protection if they are going to spend a first-round pick on him.

Teams are also going to be very curious to put Oklahoma tight end Blake Bell under the microscope to see just how NFL-ready he is to play the position at a high level. Bell will be asked to break down things like coverages and protections to check his ability to see if his time at quarterback has helped him move to tight end.

Florida State’s Cameron Erving made the switch from tackle to center and flourished in 2014. Teams are going to try to figure out where he fits at the next level, because that will seriously impact his draft slot. Erving went from an average tackle to elite center during the season, but he might want to stay at tackle in hopes of being drafted higher.

Oh, and don’t be shocked if teams want an explanation from Miami tight end Clive Walford on how a player so athletic didn’t put up better numbers. Walford is going to wow in drills later in the week, but the film doesn't always support that.