Over the weekend NFL General Managers, Coaches, Scouts, and 300 of the top College Football Players in America gathered in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. A showcase where college football players are measured physically and mentally in preparation for the NFL Draft on April 28th. Not only is the Combine a showcase for the players’ athleticism, but it is a showcase for new technology as well.
This year was no exception as new and exciting tech was highlighted throughout the weekend. Everything from wearables to native apps were available to help measure and quantify the data being collected on each individual. This is also in addition to all the technology utilized by players in their training programs leading up to the weekend.
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On the field, Adidas unveiled new cleats designed specifically for running the 40 yard dash. The Uncaged Demon 40 Cleats are the lightest ever produced, weighing in at just 4.9 ounces. When one-tenth of a second can make a difference in where a player is drafted and potentially cost them money if their stock falls, they are looking for every possible advantage they can gain.
In addition to equipment for players, a team of doctors led by the Cleveland Browns’ Dr. James Voos used wearable technology to monitor and collect data on players’ vital signs throughout the workouts. The goal of the program is to collect as much clinical and scientific data as possible in order to “enhance player performance, injury prevention and overall health and fitness.”
Combine medical staff were also utilizing new equipment that allowed them to more accurately measure the health of a player’s heart. The new were machines provided by the Indiana University Health’s sports cardiology performance lab. These machines provide more data than the standard electrocardiograms and allow for more in-depth measurements under stress. They also have access to a new X-Ray imaging system provided by Carestream. The new machine provides real-time, detailed, results in a non-invasive fashion. It allows for a better understanding of a player’s composition and injury history; very valuable insights for a team potentially investing a draft pick and millions of dollars into players.
Of the field, Explore Consulting joined forces with Microsoft to design and build the NFL Combine Dashboard for the Surface Pro Tablets. This dashboard created real-time test results to coaches and scouts. It also acted as a data library where player information was available at the swipe of a finger. The idea behind the app is to free scouts from having to record and manage all the data being collected. This app is the latest in a line of products that have come out of the $400 million dollar deal Microsoft inked with the NFL in 2013.
Virtual reality was also making its mark on the Combine, and not from just a fan’s perspective. STRIVR Labs created a VR program to test how quarterbacks read defenses. In the game, quarterbacks have to be able absorb a lot of information and make decisions in an insanely small amount of time. This, historically, has been extremely hard to test. For every Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees, there are countless physical freaks and workout warriors who have seen their stock spike but failed in the NFL. Players like Kyle Boller and Aikili Smith, who had all the physical tools but lacked the instincts to successfully navigate the quarterback position could have potentially been scouted smarter by teams with help from a system like STRIVR’s.
On the surface, many of the tests seem arbitrary and do not provide a realistic snapshot of a player’s on-field ability. For example, having offensive linemen run a 40 yard dash, or the entire bench press test in general. These kind of tests skew heavily towards workout warriors and are not accurate representations of a player’s abilities. Technology is helping the NFL take the next step to correcting this. As much as people love seeing 40 yard dash times, the trend is changing and the weight of data is changing. More credence is being placed on what is uncovered in the lab rather than on the field at the Combine. Technology’s place is to give scouts, coaches, trainers, doctors, and the players themselves more information to use when making important decisions.
This CB group is SPEEDY!
TJ Green (@ClemsonFB) is the latest to show off, clocking a 4.32u 40! #NFLCombine https://t.co/GGFpYWAg62
— NFL (@NFL) February 29, 2016
Lets not forget that results at the Combine have real world financial implications for everyone involved. With the technology being utilized here, and in the future, it takes some of the guesswork out of rating prospects and their health. It puts more power in the hands of decision makers and even players who can use the data to improve their off-season training regimens. The emphasis on new tech has grown over the years and continued to trend upwards in 2016 at the NFL Combine.