Quote:Um, it happens a lot. Most recently I can cite E.J. Manuel. At the end of the season, Manuel was graded in the middle rounds. An MVP performance in the Senior Bowl bumped his stock as did an impressive combine.

 

Honestly though, how ignorant do you have to be to sit there and say Pro-Days and the Combine don't affect draft stock? Why in God's name would NFL teams invest so much time and money into those events if they were meaningless?

 

Another instance, off the top of my head, was Ball State QB Nate Davis. After the college season, Davis was widely considered 2nd or possible 1st round pick. His stock crashed hard at the combine.

 

I can go on and on and on with examples. The NFL wouldn't invest so much if they were as meaningless as you say.

 

Yeah, you don't get it. I'm asking why your opinion of EJ Manuel's future as a football player would change, not an NFL front office's mind when forced to overdraft a quarterback due to positional need and a barren talent pool from which to do so. The combine does matter for stock, of course, but that's clearly not what I'm referring to.

 

EJ Manuel was no better of a player between the Orange Bowl and the NFL Draft, and my opinion on his chances for NFL success -- relatively bleak -- did not falter just because his draft stock rose after passing through a glorified meat inspection; it makes sense that Manuel became a hotter commodity due to size and physical tools, but that was predictable. We knew in December that someone would fall for his 6'4/230+ frame. But how much do you actually care that Cam Newton had an uninspired pro day while Sam Bradford lit the world on fire at his? Would that really change your mind about their futures in the NFL if you already had a researched opinion based on their college experience?

 

Here's a prediction -- Zach Mettenberger makes scouts drool with his arm and size over the next five months when displayed on the meat market. His stock will steadily rise, perhaps to that of a late first-round pick. I don't think that actually makes him a better quarterback than what he currently is, though, and operating under this assumption allows me to adjust my prediction of his future success given that he could eventually be given the reigns of a franchise as their first-round investment.

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