INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL Scouting Combine is underway, with the on-field action starting Thursday. Invitations were extended to 329 prospects who hope to solidify their stock ahead of April’s NFL Draft. Or at least, that’s the combine’s intention.

In recent years, the combine’s relevance to on-field success has been debated. An event born to evaluate the NFL’s top eligible prospects through a series of athletic drills, medical evaluations, cognition tests and interviews has the same core focus but has seen changes in approach from athletes and teams.

This week, top prospects like Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty announced they’d forgo on-field drills. Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter, a candidate to go No. 1 overall, will also sit as he recovers from a shoulder injury. Their decisions are in sync with a rising trend of top talent forgoing combine evaluations, often opting to showcase their skills at their colleges’ respective pro days instead.

The combine was canceled in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But even without the traditional evaluation process, players like LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase (who went fifth to Cincinnati) and Oregon’s Penei Sewell (seventh to Detroit) didn’t see their draft stock take major hits. East-West Shrine Bowl director of operations Eric Galko points to 2021 as a turning point in a trend of players thinking more critically about combine participation.

“Every NFL team probably wouldn’t want to say it, but they realized (during the pandemic), ‘Hey, maybe the draft process, especially for top-tier guys, isn’t really that important,’” Galko said. “A lot of the on-field stuff can be a little bit, in my opinion, superfluous for some players who don’t want to show too much.

“That’s why I think players are taking ownership of their process and saying, ‘Hey, I’m not going to open the door for critique.’”

Last year, five of the top six picks in the NFL Draft opted out of combine drills (quarterbacks Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, and wideouts Marvin Harrison Jr. and Malik Nabers). Movement tracking technology clocking players’ speeds in college and at spring all-star events, plus game film that shows a track record of success, could make the combine look more like a risk to a top-tier player’s draft stock than an opportunity.

Teams have also changed their strategies around the combine. The Los Angeles Rams announced a “less traditional footprint” in Indianapolis last year, with many staffers, including head coach Sean McVay, remaining in California to evaluate the combine virtually.

All of this leads NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah — who pairs with Rich Eisen to broadcast all four days of the event’s drills — to think combine participation will continue to decrease, but not necessarily beyond top-tier prospects.

“I don’t think it’s going to spread all the way through,” Jeremiah said. “I think it’s an opportunity for a lot of these guys to compete, and a lot of these guys still really want to do that. If you’re not a lock in terms of your positioning, there still is a belief you can go out there and help yourself.”

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Trainer Matt Gates — co-owner of XPE Sports, which specializes in combine prep and sent 35 athletes to this year’s event — pointed to another factor: the condensed amount of training time for prospects playing in the college postseason. Players from Ohio State and Notre Dame who were in the Jan. 20 College Football Playoff national championship, the first of the expanded 12-team field, had three and a half weeks to train after their seasons ended, half of Gates’ ideal time frame.

“If the NFL wants to see more players participate in this event and not wait until pro day, you have to have more time to train after the national championship, or even after the semifinals,” Gates said. “It’s just not enough time.”

Criticism of the combine’s cognition tests has also risen. In 2023, former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud scored in the 18th percentile on the S2 Cognition test, the lowest of all quarterbacks in the draft class. The score was leaked, causing a public questioning of his on-field intelligence. Stroud went on to become the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Last year, Athletes First, one of the leading agencies representing NFL players, advised prospects not to participate in cognitive testing in the pre-draft evaluation process, seemingly as a result of Stroud’s situation.

“I know there’s a growing trend of not doing some of the psychological testing,” Jeremiah said. “I don’t think that’s going to go back to the way it was. I think you’ll see more and more people that will probably opt out of that in the future.”

Still, the combine can be a telling exercise, especially for certain positions. Galko points to what he calls “creator positions,” like receivers, edge rushers and interior defensive linemen, as position groups that especially benefit from the combine. Jeremiah said cornerbacks have the most opportunity to help themselves at the event.

On-field testing aside, interviews between teams and prospects at the combine are considered the most important part of the week by many, including Galko.

“A player’s first impression with every NFL team in terms of football is going to be on film,” Galko said. “The draft process can add or deduct from a player’s scouting report just based on the margins, but the interviews are really where the player can identify who they are as a person.”

Here’s a look at this year’s combine schedule, plus a breakdown of each drill. Records are per NFL.com. Click here for the full list of players invited.

Schedule

40-yard dash

The 40-yard dash is the combine’s most popular event. Per the NFL, the distance was decided based on the once 40-yard average of a punt, and scouts wanted to ensure players could get from the line of scrimmage to the punt returner in under 4.5 seconds.

The drill assesses a player’s acceleration and top-end speed, prioritized by wide receivers, running backs and cornerbacks. Players get two chances to record their best time.

Gates and XPE’s clients have produced nine of the 13 fastest 40 times in history. Over the years, Gates has seen first-hand how the drill has become an increasingly important focus, particularly for skill position players.

“Nowadays, guys are putting a majority of their time into the 40,” Gates said. “I think it’s the way that Indianapolis as an event has changed and so much focus from the media and honestly from even teams. So much of that focus is being put on the 40-yard dash.”

In the record books: WR Xavier Worthy, 4.21 seconds, 2024 (Round 1, pick 28 to Kansas City)

OFFICIAL: 4.21

XAVIER WORTHY HOLDS THE NEW 40-YARD DASH RECORD pic.twitter.com/IrXf3WyemB

— NFL (@NFL) March 2, 2024

Bench press

A classic measurement of upper-body strength, the bench press is a focus for offensive and defensive linemen. The test measures how many times a player can put up 225 pounds until failure.

Players can take as much time as they need. For a rep to count, the bar has to touch the player’s chest, and the arms must be fully extended and locked out at the top.

In the record books: DT Stephen Paea, 49 reps, 2011 (Round 2, pick 53 to Chicago)

Remember when Stephen Paea set the Combine bench press record with 49 reps? 👀💪 @PAEA_90

📺: 2024 #NFLCombine begins February 29 on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/tvcWCTAOjH

— NFL (@NFL) February 26, 2024

Vertical jump

In this drill, players start flat-footed and jump straight into the air, reaching towards the highest marker on a measuring device.

A good vertical jump could ease concerns around shorter wide receivers and is also a good indicator for tight ends and cornerbacks. And for as much as the vertical jump tests a player’s reach, it also measures lower-body explosiveness, especially for running backs and defensive ends.

In the record books: WR Chris Conley, 45 inches, 2015 (Round 3, pick 76 to Kansas City)

Celebrating #LeapDay with Chris Conley’s NFL Combine record vertical jump in 2015.

📺: #NFLCombine 2/27-3/1 on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/8DogXztSzu

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) February 29, 2020

Standing broad jump

Another test of lower-body explosion, the standing broad jump requires players to leap off two feet and see how far they can go horizontally before landing again. Players must stick the landing.

This is another good drill for linemen, as it hints at a players’ power and flexibility in the trenches.

In the record books: CB Byron Jones, 12 feet 3 inches (a world record that still stands), 2015 (Round 1, pick 27 to Dallas)

Four years ago, @Byron31Jump made history.

A 12’3 broad jump at the #NFLCombine 😳 (This is not a typo.)

📺: 2019 #NFLCombine | March 1-4 on @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/4QGSKEwe4C

— NFL (@NFL) February 23, 2019

Three-cone drill

The most famous part of the three-cone drill? Well, technically, there are four cones.

This test of speed and agility is especially telling for defensive backs and pass rushers. Cones are placed 5 yards apart in the shape of the letter “L,” and the player must sprint around each.

In the record books: WR Jeff Maehl, 6.42 seconds, 2011 (undrafted)

6.57 on the 3 cone is ELITE.@jaxon_smith1 | @OhioStateFB

📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/97E1dbA3cR

— NFL (@NFL) March 5, 2023

Shuttle

The oft-ignored shuttle drill might be one of the combine’s most important. In a test of lateral quickness and acceleration, players begin between two lines 10 yards apart, then sprint 5 yards to the right, 10 to the left and another 5 to the starting point.

Quickness displayed in the shuttle drill is important for wide receivers and running backs, but it also tests reaction time, a telling stat for defensive backs and linebackers.

In the record books: WR Brandin Cooks, 3.81 seconds, 2014 (Round 1, pick 20 to New Orleans)

(Photos of Shedeur Sanders, left, and Ashton Jeanty: Norm Hall, Christian Petersen / Getty Images)