The Ghostwriter

It’s no secret that the NFL draft draws worldwide interest. In fact, next to the Super Bowl, it is the most watched football-related event of the year. Now, it’s true that some of this mass appeal can be attributed to scheduling: its late April arrival each year serves as an oasis of sorts to the average football fan in the barren emptiness that separates the end of the Super Bowl and the start of training camp. Plus, it is the one true event that merges the collegiate and professional levels–thus, unifying two enormous pools of fans. So, this is all to say that I fully understand the inherent appeal of the system. The yearly NFL Combine, however, I believe to be an entirely different animal.

I can appreciate that statistics are a fundamental facet of sports. If someone catches a large bass, we want to know its length and weight. If someone runs a mile, we want to know his or her timed speed. If someone dominates a basketball game, we want to know his or her points, field goal percentage, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. If someone quarterbacks a team to victory, we want to know his or her passing yards, passer rating, completion percentage, touchdowns, interceptions, rushing yards, fumbles, and sacks. Hey, I even enjoy tracking that stuff more than most people. Still, I cannot believe how much emphasis is placed on a short little six-day week in February when it comes down to evaluating collegiate prospects for the pros.

It seems like this happens every year. A four-year starter who racked up incredible numbers over the course of his college career has his productive resume undone by a slow timed forty at the Combine. Meanwhile, another guy (who may have had one productive year at best) runs a great forty at the same event and winds up being selected multiple rounds before the first guy. I’m not saying that speed isn’t important, but it drives me crazy just how much significance is given to this one little run. Not to mention the fact that the final timed speed itself seems to be extremely subjective. Go ahead, google someone’s timed speed from years past and see how many different results you may get for the same run. This year is no different. I’ve seen Florida’s Louis Murphy clocked at 4.36 on one website and 4.4 on another. I’ve seen Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey clocked at 4.39 on one website and 4.3 on another. The same thing goes on with the Combine’s measurements. I’ve seen Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell criticized for being too short, while Sam Houston State’s Rhett Bomar is praised for having ideal size. The difference in their height is 1/4 of an inch! I don’t understand it. Every year we have “workout warriors” who are taken high in the draft but amount to nothing in the NFL (just as they amounted to very little in the college ranks). Troy Williamson, anyone? Fabien Washington? Tye Hill, Chris Henry, Matt Jones, Vernon Davis, Craig Davis…?

Buyer beware as these reports start trickling in this week about certain athletes’ incredible measurables.

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