Could the Patriots target another tight end in this draft?
NEPD Staff
The NFL Scouting Combine starts in earnest today for fans of the event, having the offensive linemen and tight ends going through their workouts and positional drills.
What are you looking for and what did you see?
Matt Elam has a lot to prove at the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine.
NEPD Contributor: Peter Bukowski
Fans and sports media tend to get more excited about the NFL Combine than the average NFL team. Sure, teams still fall victim to so-called workout warriors (See: Poe, Dontari 2012), but the reality is most teams rely more heavily on what they see on the field than in this workouts.
What makes the combine great is players will surprise you. We knew Chris Johnson was fast at East Carolina, but all-time fast? His workout took him from a second round pick into the first with his explosiveness.
Workouts, whether outstanding or underwhelming, will usually make teams go back and look at the tape. You want the workout to underscore what you’re seeing on film.
The combine gives players a chance to show they have better speed than their film indicates, or perhaps they’ve gotten stronger and put on weight since they were playing.
While it isn’t the be all and end all, the combine does mean a lot at stake for the 300 or so college prospects who are lucky enough to attend. We took a look at prospects with the most to gain and the most to lose with their performance at the combine starting next week.
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