2015 NFL Combine: What to Watch for on Saturday

For just over 300 draft-eligible prospects, the NFL Scouting Combine is one of the most important weekends of their post-collegiate careers.

Saturday’s action in Indianapolis will take place both on and off the field. Most of the juiciest storylines will never hit our living rooms. Regardless, here’s a preview of what to watch for and what events are scheduled at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"Run fast, lift well and—by all means—say the right things."

That is the inner voice of every participant at the combine as each prospect is hoping to start his football career on the right foot.

Overview

Doug McSchooler/Associated Press

Saturday puts the Day 2 arrivals on the field for testing and workouts. This positional group includes the quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs.

Day 3 arrivals, which consists of defensive linemen and linebackers, will be tested for their mental acumen, personalities and bench press. This will be long day with pencil in hand, followed by their first physical test of the weekend with some max-rep weight lifting.

In addition, the defensive backs who arrived in Indy on Friday will spend the better part of their day waiting in line after line to complete their medical examinations.

Of all the things going on Saturday at the combine, the main show will be on the quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs.  

Interviews

Every evening, after the day’s events have concluded, several prospects cap the night with scheduled interviews for interested NFL teams. Day 2 arrivals have already had their interviews Wednesday through Friday.

Teams are permitted to interview up to 60 players during the combine. These interviews have a 15-minute time limit.

For the defensive linemen, Randy Gregory out of Nebraska might have a lot riding on the interview process. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller reports that some teams are concerned about Gregory’s character. There’s some insider information suggesting he might be a "me first" type of player who lacks in effort, per the above video.

Gregory has a lot to lose considering his expected draft status as a top-five pick. Should he say the wrong things or leave personnel guys with a poor impression, his time in the green room on draft day could be prolonged.

Top Quarterbacks Throwing

Traditionally, the top-rated quarterbacks opt not to throw at the combine because they prefer to wait for their pro day, when they can use guys with whom they’re more familiar. Choosing not to throw at the combine also gives these quarterbacks more time to fix their throwing motion and footwork.

But this year's top two quarterback prospects, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, will both throw at the combine. This is certainly going to be one of the most highly anticipated events of the day.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday reported that Winston planned to throw for scouts at the combine. Mariota also confirmed he will throw, per ESPN.com's Jeff Legwold.

We’re less than two months removed since these two Heisman-winning QBs squared off in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to see who would play for the national championship. Now, they will go head to head once more.

This time, the prize is for being named the first quarterback taken in the draft.

The expectation is that Mariota will impress more with his speed and athleticism in testing. This puts more pressure on Winston to get a victory with his arm, accuracy and mechanics.

Another interesting aspect of the event to keep an eye on is Winston’s developing shoulder issue.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com reported Friday that Winston has undergone an electromyography exam to determine the cause of weakness in his throwing shoulder. This is reportedly a minor deal, but it's still worth following as we watch his throwing motion and overall arm strength.

Wide Receiver Workouts

Butch Dill/Associated Press

The wide receiver workouts are important each year, but this year's crop could make the event more important than ever.

The wideouts at the top of this class are grouped extremely close together, and any standout performance on Saturday could shake up the hierarchy. The big names are Amari Cooper, DeVante Parker and Kevin White. 

Receivers will run through a series of drills to test their ability to concentrate, run routes, change directions and catch. 

One of the most enjoyable and valuable drills is where the wideouts run horizontally down a line as quarterbacks throw balls at them from every direction. This drill gives scouts and coaches a window into the players' hand-eye coordination by pushing the limits of getting their eyes turned around quickly to make a catch.

Although the top three prospects mentioned above all need to impress, the player who has the most to prove is probably Auburn’s Sammie Coates.

Coates is well known for his track speed, but his hands have been a major concern for teams. If he can excel at this and other receiver-specific drills, he might find his way into the first round of the draft.

Psychological and IQ Testing

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Try to imagine that nervous feeling you get before taking the SATs or a final exam, assuming you actually cared about school. This is what taking the Wonderlic and psychological exams can feel like for these guys.

It’s hard to escape the constant anxiety that comes from knowing that one wrong move could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars—even millions.

These tests are designed to find out as much about players' intangibles as possible so teams gain a better understanding of what makes these guys tick. Teams also want a better idea of how quickly a guy can process information; this is what the Wonderlic is for.

There’s also a designated time when every group sits down and completes various tests or questionnaires from different scouting organizations or individual teams.

When I was at the combine, the New York Giants had their own personality test that consisted of multiple-choice questions and was several pages long. The questions were mainly self-reflective, ranging from “what type of animal are you,” with choices like a cat or a dog, to a series of “what would you do if” questions.

Considering it’s the defensive linemen and linebackers turn to be mentally examined with written tests, one player who needs to show up here is LB Denzel Perryman out of Miami.

Perryman is likely going to play inside linebacker at the next level, and his intelligence and ability to process information is critical.

The inside linebacker is supposed to be the quarterback on the defense. His job is to relay the calls in the huddle, make adjustments based on formations and anticipate what is coming based on his keys. The position also requires a degree of reckless physicality that needs an aggressive mentality.

All of these character elements can be understood much better with the tests being filled out Saturday.

Defensive Line Bench Press

On Saturday, the big boys up front on defense along with the linebackers will put their upper-body explosiveness and strength to the ultimate test at the bench-press station.

The bench-press event consists of a free-weight bar with two 45-pound plates on each side totaling 225 pounds. The goal is to fully extend that weight as many times as you possibly can without stopping or bouncing the bar off of your chest.

This event is critical for the defensive line and linebacker positions, potentially more than any other position.

When I was at the combine in 2005, an Atlanta Falcons scout told me I needed to bench at least 20 reps at the event to qualify for their checklist for a defensive lineman. Unfortunately for me, I only managed 18 reps at the time.

The point is many guys will be crossed off of lists at this event if they underperform, while other names might pop up on a team’s radar for the first time.

So far this year, OT Ereck Flowers out of Miami has done the most reps with 37. In 2011, defensive tackle Stephen Paea set the record at the bench with an incredible 49 reps.

I’m most curious to see what USC defensive linemen Leonard Williams will do here. It’s hard to tell how strong he is because he’s so good at utilizing proper leverage and timing.

Williams is widely considered the top prospect of this draft class.

WR and RB 40-Yard Dash

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

The most popular event each year is always the 40-yard dash. This test of speed routinely draws the most chatter and seems to lift or drop a prospect’s stock more than any other event.

The record time for the 40-yard dash in the electric timing era is held by RB Chris Johnson. He blazed across the finish line in just 4.24 seconds.

Some of the guys worth watching are WR Phillip Dorsett (Miami), WR Sammie Coates (Auburn), RB Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) and WR Dorial Green-Beckham (Oklahoma).

Each of these players is expected to break the elusive 4.4-second mark, and in doing so, these prospects will quickly see their star power rise.

Gordon is working to make a case to not only be the first RB drafted in the first round since 2012 but also the first back picked in 2015. His biggest competition for that distinction is Todd Gurley from Georgia.

Gordon is often compared to Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs. Former NFL scout and draft analyst Bucky Brooks had this to say about Gordon via NFL.com:

"

Looking at Gordon's game and how it translates to the NFL, I believe he will develop into a Jamaal Charles-like playmaker. He is a rare inside/outside runner with enviable wheels, yet he also displays the toughness and grit needed to handle a heavy workload. Given his potential to contribute as a three-down back, I believe Gordon is one of the few blue-chip talents in this draft class. Several teams will view him as a franchise RB capable of transforming an offense from good to great in the coming years.

"

According to Bryan Fischer of NFL.com, many expect Dorsett to break Johnson’s record.

"I ran a lot of 40s at Miami, but it's all hand-timed. I ran a lot of 4.2s, but it's hand-timed, so it doesn't matter. Only thing that matters is what that clock says," Dorsett said during his media conference on Friday, per Fischer.

Green-Beckham (6’5”, 237 lbs) might be the most interesting guy to watch because he has the physical dimensions of Calvin Johnson and has been clocked at a blazing time of 4.37 seconds in the 40 while in college, according to The Oklahoman.

If a guy with his size can run a sub 4.4, he will certainly be a first-round pick.

Ryan Riddle is a former NFL player writing for Bleacher Report.