The 2021 NFL scouting combine will have a very different look to it as the country continues to operate under the restrictions of COVID-19. In fact, the league’s annual week-long pre-draft player evaluation event will not even take place at a central location.
In a memo issued to teams on Monday, the NFL informed them that Indianapolis will not host the combine. Since 1987, team officials, talent evaluators, coaches and medical personnel have convened in Indianapolis to test, interview and grade the top football players entering the draft.
This year, the entire evaluation process will take place remotely.
There will be no in-person workouts. Instead, all workouts will take place on individual pro days on college campuses. The NFL will work with colleges to ensure uniformity of those workouts. The league also is still working to determine if team representatives will be permitted to attend those workouts, or if they will simply have to rely on video distributed by the schools.
NFL MOCK DRAFT:Justin Fields, Zach Wilson among five QBs in first-round projection
EARLY ENTRIES:College football underclassmen who intend to enter 2021 NFL draft
At the combine, teams are allowed to hold 15-minute interviews with draft prospects of interest. But those interviews will now take place virtually.
NFL officials are working to develop a plan for how medical evaluations will take place. A select number of prospects will be permitted to have in-person examinations at one or more designated locations some time in April, the memo said. Most likely, each club will be permitted to send one physician and one trainer to those in-person exams.
Normally, the draft prospects meet with local and national reporters as well during the combine. But media availability for those interviews also will take place virtually.
