The NFL Combine is where American football meets speed dating. It is part track meet and part job interview as the 32 NFL teams learn more about the top 330+ college football players from across the United States who will enter April’s NFL Draft.

Players are measured, weighed, put through a series of physical tests and interviewed many times over by NFL clubs. And that’s all before they carry out drills and practice reps that relate to their specific position on the field.

It is an intense period from Thursday February 27 until Sunday, March 1, but it’s a time when players can seriously improve their stock in the eyes of NFL decision-makers ahead of the all-important NFL Draft. And that can result in millions of additional dollars in the bank.

Where is the NFL Combine held?

The Combine is traditionally held each year in Indianapolis, Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium – home of the Indianapolis Colts.

What kind of tests will the players undergo?

It is the ultimate physical exam, with players weighed and measured for their wingspan, the size of their hands, calves, wrists, arms, legs and torso. Players are also checked for blood pressure, heart and organ function, undergo a series of x-rays and are tested for their flexibility.

In additional to the on-field drills and medical tests, what other tests are players asked to take?

Players are asked to complete a 12-minute, 50-question exam called the Wonderlic test that has been used to assess cognitive ability across multiple industries for many years.The test measure’s a personss capacity to think, learn, solve problems and follow instructions.

So what kind of questions are on the Wonderlic test?

A quick Google search produced these example questions. We’ll post the answers at the end of this article.

– Paper sells for 21 cents per pad. What will four pads cost?
– A train travels 20 feet in 1/5 of a second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?
– A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years of age, what will be the age of his sister?
– The hours of daylight and darkness in September are nearest equal to the hours of daylight and darkness in?

Are the players psychologically tested by the teams?

Yes. And this is an area that the 32 NFL teams put a lot of time and effort in. They want to get right down to the very heart of the player they are considering investing millions of dollars in.

So, what happens when a player survives all of that and finally gets on the field?

Players will go through a series of drills that relate to their positions. Quarterbacks will throw passes, receivers will catch footballs and cornerbacks will showcase their ability to cover downfield and make plays on the ball. And so on.

Then players will be tested in the 40-yard dash, the bench press (how many reps they can do at 225 pounds), the vertical leap, the broad jump, the three-cone drill and the 20- and 60-yard shuttle runs.

The most high-profile of those tests is the 40-yard dash and players can literally make or break their status for the NFL Draft in the course of just over four seconds.