Behind The Team: The NFL Scouting Combine

A look inside the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine

By Tennessee Titans

March 3^rd, 2020

The Tennessee Titans football staff spent a week in Indianapolis, IN at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. Take a peak behind the curtain as the General Manager, coaches, and scouts prepare for the 2020 NFL Draft.

Behind The Team: The NFL Scouting Combine

Media Day

The NFL kicks off the Scouting Combine by providing the media access to coaches and general managers from across the NFL. On Tuesday, GM Jon Robinson and Head Coach Mike Vrabel each had 15-minute interview sessions to kick off the week. In addition to the main podium interviews, they spent time with national radio and television shows. Robinson and Vrabel were peppered with questions about everything from the draft to some of the team’s pending free agents, from quarterback Ryan Tannehill to running back Derrick Henry.

Long Days and Nights

Stand in the hallways at the Indianapolis Convention Center and you’ll see non-stop movement, with coaches, GMs, and scouts going from place to place. Everyone is interested in the drills – the 40-yard dash, the bench press, the vertical jump, the broad jump, the 3-cone drill and the shuttle run. But the interviews with the prospects are very important as well and it seems like everyone is headed to see somebody.

Even in the quiet moments, you will find the Titans staff working. Calls, Texts, Emails, one-on-one conversations. They all are a part of shaping the future of a franchinse.

The 40-yard dash gets the most attention, especially for the skill position players. Everyone loves to see a running back, receiver or defensive back post a blazing fast time. The scouts, with stopwatches in hand, sit in their seats for hours at a time watching the prospects compete.

Eyes on the Future

Individual workouts

The competitiveness really comes out during the bench press, and the on-field drills, where strength coaches and position coaches push them to be their best on their biggest job interview to date.

The NFL Combine is where dreams get closer to reality, and all the hard work is on display in front of coaches and scouts. A fast time and an impressive drill can sway NFL personnel, but the NFL Combine is just a part of the process. There’s game tape to watch, and pro days to attend. But the conversations really get ramped up in Indianapolis. If only we could hear the whispers…

Behind Closed Doors

Not everything gathered at the NFL Combine takes place on the turf and in front of cameras. The Titans staff also spend a lot of their time in Indianapolis interviewing prospects, either in formal or informal settings. Players are quizzed on the game, and coaches and scouts also gain further knowledge of what a player might be like off the field, away from the game. Vrabel likened the coach-to-prospect interactions to speed-dating. “You’ve got about eight minutes to make me want to call you back,” he said.

The Senior Bowl and NFL Combine now in the books, next up for NFL teams will be pro days, and visits. There’s still a lot of work to be done before the NFL Draft, scheduled for April 23-25 in Las Vegas.