2017 NFL Draft Combine Invite List Released: Participants, Comments and Reaction
February 15, 2017
The NFL released its official list of invitees to the NFL Scouting Combine on Wednesday ahead of the event's start on Feb. 28.
NFL.com provided a full listing of the participants. Here is a rundown of some of the most notable players to receive an invite:
| NFL Scouting Combine 2017 Notable Invitees | ||
| Position | Player | School |
| QB | Deshaun Watson | Clemson |
| QB | Mitch Trubisky | North Carolina |
| RB | Dalvin Cook | Florida State |
| RB | Leonard Fournette | LSU |
| WR | Mike Williams | Clemson |
| DL | Jonathan Allen | Alabama |
| LB | Myles Garrett | Texas A&M |
| LB | Reuben Foster | Alabama |
| S | Jamal Adams | LSU |
| S | Malik Hooker | Ohio State |
| NFL.com | ||
On-field workouts at the combine will begin on March 3 and run through March 6.
Zach Shaw of 247Sports tweeted the following list of the schools boasting the most invitees, with Michigan leading the way at 14:
While essentially all of the draft's top prospects were invited, there will undoubtedly be discussion about which players didn't receive the combine nod and why.
Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly was among those left off the list, and according to Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, that was due to off-field issues.
Kelly agreed to a plea deal in 2015 for his role in a 2014 nightclub fight in Buffalo, New York.
He wasn't the only one to receive that treatment, as Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon and Baylor wide receiver Ishmael Zamora fell into that category too, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
Mixon punched a woman at a sandwich shop in 2014, while Zamora was seen kicking and whipping his dog in a video released last year.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the NFL instituted a policy for the combine last year barring prospects from participating if they have misdemeanor or felony convictions involving violence or use of a weapon, domestic violence, sexual offense and/or sexual assault.
In terms of players who will be in attendance, there will be plenty of eyes on Clemson's Deshaun Watson, North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky and Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer as they vie for top quarterback honors.
Watson revealed recently on NFL Network (h/t ESPN.com) that he will throw at the combine:
I can just go out there and compete and just be the quarterback that I am. I don't want to get too focused on what I have to show or what I need to do because I think I'd lose track of doing the little things. Doing the little things right, completing passes, doing whatever the coaching staffs want me to do at the combine and just go out there and show what I've got.
Trubisky and Kizer have yet to divulge their combine plans.
Per the NFL, a total of 330 players received an invite to take part in the 2017 combine.