How well future pros sprint, jump and lift weights at the NFL Scouting Combine may tell us only a little bit about their career success.
By Marcus Woo | Inside Science
(Inside Science) -- Despite his superstar status as quarterback of the New England Patriots, Tom Brady's athleticism never turned any heads. At the 2000 NFL Scouting Combine, an annual gathering where players dreaming of playing in the NFL show off their strength, speed and explosiveness in a series of drills, Brady's performance was famously underwhelming. His 40-yard dash time and vertical leap height are mediocre at best, with numbers perhaps more typical for linemen 100 pounds heavier.
In the draft, the New England Patriots picked him in the sixth round, as the 199th player and seventh quarterback chosen.
Yet, nearly 19 years later, on Feb. 3, Brady won his record sixth Super Bowl, prompting many to anoint him the greatest player of all time.
As a new batch of prospects convenes this week in Indianapolis for the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine, teams will once again be scrutinizing every dash, bench press and leap in search of the next Tom Brady -- or, at least, someone who will help them win. But Brady's combine results didn't portend success, and he's far from the only player whose career surpassed his combine performance. At the same time, many other players with standout combine results never succeed in the NFL.
Full Story -- Inside Science
