After yesterday’s playoff games, there are now 21 NFL teams whose seasons are over and are moving on to offseason business. One of the first big dates on any offseason calendar is the annual NFL Scouting Combine, but ongoing and rising issues of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 have put the Combine in jeopardy of being significantly modified or even canceled completely.
Last year’s Combine was accomplished in late February and early March as the pandemic was still in its infancy, and issues such as travel and group gatherings were not being regulated or discouraged like they are now.
We’re in a far different reality this year. Response to COVID-19 will almost certainly still be going strong for the next several months.
In his report, Adam Schefter notes a variety of alternatives to the typical Combine process. Smaller, regional versions could be held, or the event may just be pushed back.
We could see a ripple effect of a delay with other annual events such as the mid-March start of free agency and the late-April NFL Draft being postponed as well.
Schefter also notes that the NFL Combine simply being canceled is also on the table.
This would be a big blow to some 2021 draft prospects. We’ve seen many examples of how a strong showing in Indianapolis has helped players soar up the draft board.
Then again, having no Combine would put a premium on the way players performed on the field for their college teams. And for those that perceive the Combine as the “Underwear Olympics” and hold that data in lower esteem, this might just add to the intrigue of the 2021 NFL Draft.
After managing to get through its entire regular season in the face of the pandemic, it’s hard to imagine the NFL not finding some way to hold these pre-draft evaluations.
Unless the health crisis explodes over the next month or so, I would expect the Scouting Combine to still happen, even if it’s carried out in some adjusted format.
As with most things in this COVID-19 reality, however, only time will tell.
