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Each year, the National Football League invites around three hundred players who are eligible for the upcoming NFL Draft to spend four days interviewing with and working out for the league's 32 teams. This year is no different; by our count, 322 players have been invited to the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine.
Here are all the details you'll need to get ready for this week.
When is the Scouting Combine?
The Combine covers a seven-day period, starting on Tuesday, February 17th and running through Monday, February 23rd. Players will arrive in four waves and each wave will be on site for four days, performing different tasks and events each day.
Where is the Combine held?
All events take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Which Players will be in attendance?
As mentioned above, the NFL sends formal invites to players, and only those who receive an invite can attend. Here's our complete list of Combine attendees, broken down by position.
How do these waves work?
The first group of players arrives on Tuesday, and each successive group arrives a day later. Therefore, each group can participate in each set of activities one day apart. Here's a look at the schedule for this year.
Activities | Group 1 (OL, TE, ST) | Group 2 (QB, WR, RB) | Group 3 (DL, LB) | Group 4 (CB, S) |
Arrival, Registration, Orientation | Tuesday, 2/17 | Wednesday, 2/18 | Thursday, 2/19 | Friday, 2/20 |
Measurements, Medical Exams, Media Availability | Wednesday, 2/18 | Thursday, 2/19 | Friday, 2/20 | Saturday, 2/21 |
NFLPA Meeting, Psychological Testing, Bench Press | Thursday, 2/19 | Friday, 2/20 | Saturday, 2/21 | Sunday, 2/22 |
On-Field Workouts | Friday, 2/20 | Saturday, 2/21 | Sunday, 2/22 | Monday, 2/23 |
As you can see, the primary days for the media to attend will be Wednesday through Saturday, while fans will likely be most interested to tune in for coverage of the on-field drills Friday through Monday.
Which members of my team's front office will be attending the Combine?
In all likelihood, every head coach and general manager will be in attendance this week. Many will be speaking to the media as well; for example, Packers GM Ted Thompson and head coach Mike McCarthy are both holding press conferences on Thursday - Thompson at 10 AM ET and McCarthy at 3 PM.
Who will be covering the Combine?
We're excited to say that Acme Packing Company will be represented in Indianapolis this year, as Evan "Tex" Western will be in attendance during the Combine media days. He will be joined by three other members of the SB Nation network:
Tex: @TexWestern, @acmepackingco
Danny Kelly (Field Gulls head blogger): @FieldGulls
Ryan Van Bibber (SBNation.com editor): @justRVB
Dan Kadar (SBNation.com draft expert): @MockingTheDraft
Throughout the Combine, we'll have daily update threads during media days featuring the Twitter accounts from all four of us. We'll also be running posts on interviews, press conferences, and other events from media days. During workout days, we'll be posting threads with workout results as well.
NFL Network will also be televising the workouts live from Indy. Those telecasts will start at 9 AM Eastern each day Friday through Monday.
What workouts will the players be performing?
There are a series of general workouts for each player, in addition to position-specific drills. The general drills are these:
- Bench press (number of times player can bench 225 pounds)
- 40-yard dash
- Vertical jump
- Broad jump
- 3-cone drill
- 20-yard shuttle drill
- 60-yard shuttle drill