NFL Draft Combine doesn’t matter for Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr. Why would they work out?

NFL Draft’s top prospects skipping the combine is no big deal

The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine — or the world’s oddest job fair as some like to describe it — is about to get underway in Indianapolis.

But three of the biggest names in the upcoming draft might be taking a very different approach to the festivities.

With the Combine set to get underway, the week began with the news that quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels, both of whom are likely to come off the draft board within the first few selections, are going to skip throwing in Indianapolis and instead work out for teams at their respective Pro Days.

Then there is the news that wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., perhaps the best non-quarterback in the draft, might skip everything. According to Albert Breer, Harrison might skip both the Combine and a Pro Day and prepare for playing football in the fall, not testing in the spring.

Will this matter?

Regarding Williams and Daniels, probably not. While the history of the NFL Scouting Combine has seen quarterbacks boost their stock during workouts in Indianapolis — last season you could almost feel Anthony Richardson’s stock rise during an electric performance at Lucas Oil Stadium — many other quarterbacks chose not to throw in Indianapolis, and still came off early in the draft.

Last year alone Bryce Young chose not to throw in Indianapolis, and still came off the board first overall. He is not alone. During 2020 both Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, who was recovering from his hip injury, did not throw in Indianapolis.

Burrow went first overall, while Tagovailoa came off the board with the fifth-overall selection.

There are risks throwing in Indianapolis, after all. Quarterbacks are tasked with throwing to unfamiliar receivers, on a massive stage in front of a live crowd. Fans do attend the Combine, and the Saturday throwing session is certainly one of the more popular attractions in Indianapolis during Combine Week. There is certainly the chance that a throwing session can help, but for quarterbacks already expected to be at the top of the draft, the risks might outweigh the potential benefits.

In addition, skipping the workouts allows players like Williams and Daniels to focus on the team meetings and the other parts of Combine Week that matter for players, the things that happen behind the scenes.

And do not forget, if teams want to see these players throw, they have hours of game film to study, and will see them at their Pro Days soon enough.

The more fascinating story to watch is Harrison, who is apparently not just skipping the Combine workouts, but a Pro Day as well. According to Breer’s piece published Monday:

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s pre-draft plan is one to pay attention to. Ohio State’s reigning Biletnikoff Award–winning receiver hasn’t hired an agent. He also didn’t engage in the pre-combine training that most other players do ahead of Indianapolis. And all signs show Harrison’s plan is to continue working out in Columbus, Ohio with Buckeye strength and conditioning tycoon Mickey Marotti, among others, to prepare not to run a 40-yard dash, but play football in the fall.

...

He can simply tell NFL teams to turn on the tape—how he runs a 40, or a three-cone drill, or routes on air probably won’t change how high he’s going to go. His sterling reputation as a worker and a person also give Harrison even more flexibility here. That allows everyone to view Harrison’s plan as strictly a business decision, made with an eye towards having a great rookie year, rather than as some reflection on his character.

The question will be: Could this approach work?

For a player of Harrison’s caliber, it certainly might. He is the consensus top WR in the draft, and viewed by the majority of the draft community as a top-five player overall. All he has done during his time on campus is produce at an elite level, while displaying elite traits. As a sophomore in 2022 Harrison caught 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns. That season put him at the top of the things opposing defensive coordinators needed to worry about when playing Ohio State in 2023.

So when opposing coaches turned their attention to him this season, all he did was match those numbers from 2022, catching 67 passes for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns.

And if teams are worried about a lack of testing data, those fears may be misplaced. Thanks to technological advances teams already have the data they might want to make an informed decision on Harrison, and if they wanted more confirmation on the numbers, they could just turn on the film:

If anything, Harrison’s approach is refreshing. Preparing to test, and preparing to play football in the fall, are two different things. Harrison does not need a blazing 40-yard dash in Indianapolis to improve his stock, as his stock cannot get much higher.

His goal is to be a WR1 for an NFL team next fall, and in his mind his time is better spent getting ready to achieve that goal.

The NFL Draft is changing, and how the players prepare for the draft — and their first NFL season — is changing as well. The NFL Draft process is, as alluded to above, the longest and strangest job interview process in the world. Like all young people leaving college, NFL Draft prospects are trying to do everything they can to ace their interviews, land their first job, and be as successful as possible.

Over two year at Ohio State, Harrison nailed his job interview.

Now it’s time for him to get ready to complete that third task: Crushing it at his first job.