The NFL Scouting Combine runs Feb. 22-25 in Indianapolis, and it brings together 335 of the nation's most draftable players and numerous front-office representatives and scouts from each NFL team.
A big portion of the combine is the individual events, such as the 40-yard dash, the bench press and the vertical jump.
We'll take a position-by-position look at the combine, spotlighting six players who will be scrutinized and also look at some notable event performances in the past five combines. We'll also look at how some notable current players performed at their combine events.
Part 1 is on quarterbacks. Truthfully, the combine events aren't all that meaningful when it comes to evaluating a quarterback. You'd like a quarterback to be fast or athletic, but just take a gander at some of the numbers Tom Brady turned in at the 2000 combine before you dismiss quarterbacks who score poorly.
Six to watch this year
Blake Bortles, UCF: Bortles is an excellent athlete, especially for a guy who is going to weigh in around 230 or so pounds at the combine. He should have a good 40 time.
Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville: There are questions about his bulk (or lack thereof) and his athleticism. But he's a better athlete than many give him credit for, though seemingly not in the same class as Bortles or Johnny Manziel.
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M: Speaking of Johnny Football, he is extremely quick and has good speed. His 40-yard dash time frankly is irrelevant to the discussion about how high he will be drafted, but it doesn't mean a lot of people aren't looking forward to seeing him run the 40.
AJ McCarron, Alabama: McCarron has been everybody's whipping boy of late -- he skipped the Reese's Senior Bowl event and says he might not throw at the combine -- and it will be interesting to see how he performs in some of the combine tests. In short, how athletic is he?
Connor Shaw, South Carolina: Shaw should test well -- among the best of all the quarterbacks, we'd guess. He is athletic, and his toughness is way up there, too.
Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech: There are questions about Thomas' ability to be an NFL quarterback. There are no questions about his athleticism. Bortles is often praised for being athletic for a 230-pounder -- Thomas outweighs him by about 25 pounds and should wow all onlookers with his work in the drills. He had better wow folks with his athleticism, because when NFL decision-makers view most of his game tapes, more than a few probably will cover their eyes.
Combine bests over past five years
40-YARD DASH
Notable players
VERTICAL JUMP
Notable players
3-CONE DRILL
1. Tim Tebow, Florida
Time: 6.66 seconds in 2011
Draft status: 1st round (25th overall), Denver
2. Matt Scott, Arizona
Time: 6.69 seconds in 2013
Draft status: Undrafted
3. Austin Davis, Southern Miss
Time: 6.73 seconds in 2012
Draft status: Undrafted
4. Mike Reilly, Central Washington
Time: 6.76 seconds in 2009
Draft status: Undrafted
5. Jake Locker, Washington
Time: 6.77 seconds in 2011
Draft status: 1st round (8th overall, Tennessee
Notable players
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
