Acing drills can lead to riches but doesn’t forecast greatness
Mike Mamula is both a legend and cautionary tale from the NFL scouting combine.
He was among the first players to train specifically for the tests that prospects undergo, particularly the 40-yard dash that measures speed, the three-cone drill that calculates agility and the 225-pound bench press that gauges strength and stamina.
Mamula’s standout performance at the 1995 combine rocketed him into the first round of the NFL draft two months later when the Eagles traded the 12th overall pick and two second-round selections to Tampa Bay so they could move up five spots and select the Boston College defensive end at No. 7.
Mamula had a solid five-year career with the Eagles but never lived up to the hype he had generated by acing the drills in Indianapolis, which helped turn the annual gettogether
of teams and talent into the televised spectacle it is today.
Although some prospects skip certain components of the combine, choosing instead to show off in more familiar surroundings at their college pro day or during individual team visits, the vast majority target their week in Indianapolis just like Mamula did. They train like Olympians cutting carbs in hopes of shaving milliseconds off their times, jumping just a skosh farther or higher or pumping out one more rep on the weight bench.
Many who ace the drills will also follow Mamula’s path in the pros as more of a workout wonder than gridiron great.
Take Orlando Brown Jr., who tumbled from the first round on everybody’s mock draft into the third round in the actual draft after managing just 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press in Indy and then lumbering through the 40-yard dash in 5.85 seconds.
All Brown’s done in the pros is plodded his way to a Super Bowl title in Kansas City, four Pro Bowl appearances and more than $57 million in career earnings.