Why Do Some Top NFL Draft Prospects Skip the Scouting Combine?

Despite getting invited, not all NFL Draft prospects participate in the Combine, which is held every February. But why is this? Why, after working so hard to become an NFL Draft prospect, do some players skip the event that can potentially differentiate them from the rest of the pack?

For starters, many star players have opted out of Combine drills in recent years. Caleb Williams did it a few years back when he was a top prospect. He said he felt throwing was unnecessary and referenced his college tape for scouts to evaluate. It raised a lot of concerns among some analysts at the time. 

Regardless, the Chicago Bears still selected Williams first overall. Two years later, he has led them to their best regular-season record since 2018 and their deepest playoff run since 2010. So, not throwing at the Combine ultimately didn’t matter.

This is why some of the top NFL Draft prospects skip the Combine: it doesn’t matter too much. Especially for the elite guys at the top of the draft, their stock is usually solidified, and participating may only hurt their outlook. In Williams’ case, what was the point of throwing if he was already being touted as the No. 1 pick?

But there are other factors at play that deter players from attending, such as unfavorable conditions when it comes to location and who QBs get to throw to. A lot of guys prefer to throw to their own receivers from college in controlled environments. We saw this with Shedeur Sanders last year.

Perhaps the biggest factor at play, though, is injury risk. The top prospects simply don’t want to risk getting hurt during the Combine. This could lead to the loss of millions in signing bonuses just by falling a few rounds in the Draft.

Of course, there are other reasons to skip the Combine if you’re a top prospect. Some want to focus on their strategy for team interviews, another massive part of the pre-draft process.

At the end of the day, the NFL Combine isn’t really for the top prospects in the Draft anymore. It used to be. Over the years, players started to realize that it could hurt their draft stock instead of raising it. That’s why it’s rare to see them participate nowadays.

Instead, the Combine is now more for fringe first-rounders or second- and third-round picks. It’s a way for those prospects to raise their stock and propel themselves into a higher selection, which could earn them a bigger signing bonus. So don’t expect to see many of the biggest college names there on February 23 when the event gets underway.