Fear not, draft junkies. This is your time, a time when avid (or rabid) fans as you may be, get to take a look at some of the players that might end up on your roster for years to come. It’s the beginning of the second season in the NFL, the evaluation of all the talent that leads up to draft day in April.

The 325 invitees are preparing to be put through the football wringer during their workout day, combining not only the physical tests, but also meetings with NFL representatives and extensive personality and intelligence tests. It becomes extremely grueling, even for the best of prospects.

Be sure to visit Draft Stock regularly for daily Combine prospect updates

Some players shine (think Mike Mamula in 1995, Matt Jones , Fabian Washington in 2005) and those who leave with some questionable marks (think Vince Young and his alleged Wonderlic results, or even Maurice Clarett. Yikes.)

Some question how much of a measure the combine can mean to these prospects.  Clearly, some of the drills are helpful in evaluating the talent, but as was the case with Mamula, they don’t guarantee anything.

While his case may be extreme, Philadelphia scouts fell in love with Mamula after his combine workouts. He bench pressed more repetitions of 225 pounds than any other DL that year and then proceeded to head to the field and run a 4.6 40.

Philadelphia traded a first round pick and two second round choices away so they could move up and draft Mamula with the seventh overall pick. Five picks later, Tampa took what would be a cornerstone of its Super Bowl Championship team years later in Warren Sapp.

While Mamula enjoyed a serviceable NFL career, he was most certainly no Sapp. And that is part of the process of the combine ... there are no guarantees, only opportunities.

This is where it starts, but by all means is not where they finish.

Here is how the combine works ...

Players are broken up by position and are assigned a day to perform their drills. There are seven standard drills and then position specific add-ons. There are also physical measurements, interviews, and injury evaluations.

Drills include: The 40-yard dash, bench press, three cone drill, broad jump, vertical leap, 20-yard shuttle, and 60-yard shuttle.

Draft Stock will preview all of the important action:

On Saturday, all offensive lineman, tight ends, and kickers and punters will go through the process (or is it ordeal?)

On Sunday, the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers will get their turn.

On Monday, the defensive lineman and linebackers will go, and on Tuesday, the final day, it is time for the corners and safeties to leave their marks.

There are some prominent names looking to improve their stock, and some prominent names who hope to prevent their current freefalls and get back in the good graces of the scouts and front office personnel.

Let’s take a look at some of those players:

Brian Brohm, QB Louisville
Still the second or third rated QB prospect, Brohm still is likely to go in the first round but has slipped behind Matt Ryan of Boston College. Probably not much he can do here to change that, but who knows.

Mike Hart, RB, Michigan
Hart was exceptional in college, but can his skills carry over to the pro game? He’s small and has questionable speed, and he skipped the Senior Bowl last month. Stay tuned.

Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU
Dorsey used to be a lock to be the top player taken. He still may be, but USC DT Sedrick Ellis is applying the pressure much like he did to opposing QBs this season. Will certainly be a top-5 choice, but may have cost himself some money. A good combine can prove his detractors wrong.

Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky
Woodson was once the darling of the QB prospects, but a poor showing at the Senior Bowl showed his inability to grasp an NFL offense as well as some fundamental flaws in his delivery. Needs a good showing to improve stock.

Colt Brennan, QB, Hawaii
See, Woodson, Andre above. Falling hard and fast. Maybe there is something to the fact that Hawaii didn’t play enough competition.

Keep an eye on:

WR Dexter Jackson, Appalachian State
WR Devone Bess, Hawaii
WR Donnie Avery, Houston
OT Oniel Cousins, UTEP
QB Joe Flacco, Delaware
CB Leodis McKelvin, Troy
RB Chris Johnson, East Carolina
WR Eddie Royal, Virginia Tech

All these prospects have an immense opportunity to improve their standings and draft position with a good workout.


Marc Pruitt is the managing editor of the Sports Buff Fantasy Network and a contributing writer for Draft Stock