On December 30, 2011 ERod got an early New Year's present when an official email inviting him to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine arrived in his email inbox. For the first time in a month, since first discussions were held for paring down the list of invitees, he was able to breathe easier. He now is certain he will get an opportunity to impress the entire NFL community, in person, in Indianapolis during the week of February 22-28, 2012.
While inclusion in this week-long event does not assure being selected in the April 2012 NFL Draft, it is a very positive precursor to the annual selecion of college players by NFL teams.
Check out some numbers from this 2010 ESPN.com article by Len Pasquarelli, titled: "Combine invite not essential":
According to the NFL, 42 of the 256 players drafted in 2009 were not at the combine, the most since 2003, when 43 non-combine players were selected. It's believed that the 51 non-combine players chosen in 2000 is the most since the NFL adopted a seven-round draft in 1994.
Using league figures, the 42 non-combine selections last year represented slightly more than the average of 39.3 for the 10-year period of 1999-2008, and was slightly higher percentage-wise (16.4) than the quota for the previous decade (15.4 percent). Four non-combine players were chosen in the first three rounds in '09, also the most since 2003, and two of those four were second-rounders."
