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The offseason is only a little more than three weeks old and the first highlight of the post-Super Bowl league calendar is already coming up: the 2019 NFL scouting combine. As has been the case for more than 30 years, the league’s underwear olympics will take place in Indianapolis as the Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium will once again host the event which begins today and will end next Monday on March 4.
Let’s take a look at what awaits us the next days:
Day 1: Tuesday, February 26
Group 1 (PK, ST, OL), Group 2 (OL), Group 3 (RB): Arrival, Registration, Hospital Pre-Exams & X-Rays, Overflow Testing, Orientation, Interviews
Day 2: Wednesday, February 27
Group 1 (PK, ST, OL), Group 2 (OL), Group 3 (RB): Measurements, Medical Examination, Overflow Testing, Interviews
Group 4 (TE), Group 5 (QB, WR), Group 6 (QB, WR): Arrival, Registration, Hospital Pre-Exams & X-Rays, Overflow Testing, Orientation, Interviews
Day 3: Thursday, February 28
Group 1 (PK, ST, OL), Group 2 (OL), Group 3 (RB): NFLPA Meeting, Psychological Testing, PK/ST Workout, Media, Bench-Press, Interviews
Group 4 (QB, WR), Group 5 (QB, WR), Group 6 (TE): Measurements, Medical Examination, Overflow Testing, Interviews
Group 7 (DL), Group 8 (DL), Group 9 (LB): Arrival, Registration, Hospital Pre-Exams & X-Rays, Overflow Testing, Orientation, Interviews
Day 4: Friday, March 1
Group 1 (PK, ST, OL), Group 2 (OL), Group 3 (RB): On-Field Workout (timing, station, skill drills), Departure
Group 4 (QB, WR), Group 5 (QB, WR), Group 6 (TE): NFLPA Meeting, Psychological Testing, Media, Bench-Press, Interviews
Group 7 (DL), Group 8 (DL), Group 9 (LB): Measurements, Medical Examination, Overflow Testing, Interviews
Group 10 (DB), Group 11 (DB): Arrival, Registration, Hospital Pre-Exams & X-Rays, Orientation, Interviews
Day 5: Saturday, March 2
Group 4 (QB, WR), Group 5 (QB, WR), Group 6 (TE): On-Field Workout (timing, station, skill drills), Departure
Group 7 (DL), Group 8 (DL), Group 9 (LB): NFLPA Meeting, Psychological Testing, Media, Bench-Press, Interviews
Group 10 (DB), Group 11 (DB): Measurements, Medical Examination, Media, Interviews
Day 6: Sunday, March 3
Group 7 (DL), Group 8 (DL), Group 9 (LB): On-Field Workout (timing, station, skill drills), Departure
Group 10 (DB), Group 11 (DB): NFLPA Meeting, Psychological Testing, Media, Bench-Press, Interviews
Day 7: Monday, March 4
Group 10 (DB), Group 11 (DB): On-Field Workout (timing, station, skill drills), Departure
Overall, 338 players have been invited to participate in this year’s scouting combine, with eight of them coming from New England schools:
WR Andy Isabella (UMass)
TE Tommy Sweeney (Boston College)
OG Chris Lindstrom (Boston College)
DE Zach Allen (Boston College)
DE Wyatt Ray (Boston College)
CB Hamp Cheevers (Boston College)
S Lukas Denis (Boston College)
S Will Harris (Boston College)
Furthermore, head coaches and executives will hold press conferences during the combine. They will take place on Wednesday and Thursday and members of 29 of the league’s 32 teams have so far been announced by the NFL. The three teams who are not scheduled to appear are the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins. The three clubs were also not part of last year’s media availability.
The press conferences, just like the on-field drills, will be broadcast live on NFL Network. The league’s network will broadcast workouts and press conferences live throughout the entire week:
The 2019 NFL Scouting Combine features the most coverage of any Combine ever, with NFL Network and NFL.com providing live coverage of on-field drills Friday, March 1 – Monday, March 4, and ABC broadcasting two hours of live coverage of quarterback and wide receiver drills on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 PM ET.
NFL Network’s coverage will kick off on Friday, March 1 with on-field drills by the running backs, offensive linemen and special teamers. The next day, Saturday, March 2, the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends will be broadcast, followed by the defensive linemen and linebackers on Sunday March 3. On Monday, March 4, the defensive backs will conclude the action.
Coverage of the drills and other combine-related action begins at 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday, Sunday and Monday, and 10:00 a.m. ET on Saturday on NFL Network, nfl.com and the NFL’s mobile app.
While the combine is the most famous, it is not the only pre-draft scouting event taking place and is only one piece of the complex puzzle that is college player evaluation. The Senior Bowl is already a month behind us, the combine kicks off today and college pro days will start next week — all this means one thing: draft season is fully upon us.