As the greater football world descends on Indianapolis for the 2026 edition of the NFL Draft Combine, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback-turned-NBC Analyst Chris Simms posited a question on his Unbuttoned podcast: Is the NFL Combine dying?
On paper, the idea is far-fetched, or even worse, as the event is a key date on the NFL calendar that provides fans, teams, and pundits alike with key measurables that will make or break would-be prospects. So how could it be dying? Well, if the top players in each year's class simply stop showing up to work out as many are in 2026, the NFL may ultimately move away from the current format in favor of something else.
“It does feel like we’re getting to a point here where, like, none of the top players are ever going to work out anymore. Like that’s just not going to happen. And with the combine too, it’s just like, man, coaches and GMs, are they going to even show up anymore? It’s like were kind of getting to that point,” Simms said.
“It’s going to kill the combine. The combine’s definitely not going to be as valuable or as exciting. And maybe that’s where they’ve got to figure, I know at one point they were talking about making it a traveling road show. It’s not going to be that big of a show if only third and fourth rounders are out there running around all the time. Also, without your big-time coaches and GMs being there and seeing them on TV and all that, too. So, it is a little bit of a weird thing going on right now with the NFL combine.”
As things presently stand, the vast majority of the top GMs, coaches, and executives around the NFL do still show up at the combine, with the interview phase of the process just as important as watching players hit long jumps or run imaginary routes in their underwear. But if the day does eventually come when it becomes a showcase for mid-round players only, who knows, maybe it will become like the Senior Bowl or Shrine Bowl, where some opt to send smaller convoys to the event due to the talent attached to attend.
