Potential draft picks to be through strict testing, screening at NHL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis – NFL News
A strict screening system is in place at the National Football League (NFL)’s annual scouting event in the Indianapolis to ensure a thorough checkup of prospective players before they get a chance to showcase their football talent and skills in front of
their potential suitors from the professional league.
NFL Scouting Combine is an annual show-off that brings all the draft picks at one marketplace. It features football games and other displays to provide the prospective professional players to display their game skills, health, fitness and readiness to play
on the NFL.
It provides managers, heads of personnel departments, coaches, owners and former and current professional players to assess the abilities and skills of each individual draft. This contributes to the process of decision making, which involves analysis of
all aspects of a player’s football career.
All games and events of the programme are governed strictly within the rules of the NFL, and the professional league office oversees and regulates it through out the week.
To ensure prevention of any lapse, the league office enforces all the procedures and regulations of a normal football games to avoid any untoward incident such as drug abuse and on-ground use of unfair means that a draft can opt to benefit in his performance.
In this perspective, the league has introduced a number of layers of medical checkups and testing this year.
The players are subjected to a number of medical tests, reviews, Xrays and MRI scans. Each player has to go through and pass these tests.
Those who have history of an illness and injuries are made to go through rigorous reviews, including tests and physicians checkups.
Further, the prospects are continually monitored during their stay on the field and plays.
So far, no player has been reported to be found positive in any test or involved in violation of any of the league’s rules.
Actual draft season starts in April each year. Prior to this, a mock draft exercise beings in November, when the NFL regular season is almost halfway through.
The scouting Combine is almost the peak of the mock draft season, when positions of all draft players become clear on the scouts rating table. For example, this year, Stanford College’s quarterback, Andrew Luck, tops the drafts list, and the Indianapolis
Colts most likely to be his potential team.
It is pertinent to mention that the drug abuse has recently become a priority talk of the league office. The office has reached an agreement with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) in July on introduction of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) testing in the league.
The matter is still in pending due to some reservations from the players union. Yet, it remains a possibility with the start of new regular season in September this year.
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