INDIANAPOLIS - One of the narratives attached to the NFL Scouting Combine this offseason involves how many of the prospects aren't participating on the field.
On Saturday, for example, 11 of the 21 running backs in attendance didn't run a 40-yard dash for one reason or another. And the running backs position is not an outlier in that regard.
Fernando Mendoza, the presumptive QB1 and No. 1-overall pick in the draft, didn't throw. And only seven of the 16 quarterbacks in attendance ran 40s.
But the biggest reason teams annually gather in Indy is to conduct medical testing and glean as much medical information on the prospects as possible. A close second, according to Jeff Legwold of ESPN Denver, is the getting-to-know-you component the Combine affords.
"Some people pooh-pooh the interviews but a lot of teams still like sitting down face to face, they consider that a big part of the process," Legwold said.
Legwold has attended every Combine, beginning in 1987, and is, perhaps, the only media member who has covered every Combine since.
"There weren't many here at the first one and I don't see anybody else around," he noted.
Legwold has also been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Board of Selectors since 1999.
"Everybody films the interviews, they have whatever experts they have on staff, 'What's his demeanor like?'" he continued. "They have all kinds of people now who are breaking all that stuff down, even little things like that.
"Teams don't make football mistakes, they make co-worker mistakes. Who doesn't show up on time? Who doesn't work very hard? Who doesn't make the most of his abilities? That's the information they're looking for. People don't make football mistakes. When you really look at it, they're not surprised by the football player they get. They've watched every game the guy has played, ever. You could say, 'Oh, there's a bust here or a bust there.' But a lot of that is the other part, the co-worker mistakes.
"How are you in the locker room if you add them to the team? I think a lot of us undervalue the pushback a team, a general manager, a head coach, the pushback they get from the locker room when they bring the wrong guy in. Players don't like it, and I don't care what team you're talking about. You bring the wrong guy in the locker room, they're not gonna like that. And that's not what you want as a head coach, to have to deal with all that."
MORE STEELERS TALK: USC wide receiver Makai Lemon and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson were among the players who were either asked about or referenced the Steelers in media interviews.
Here's Lemon on what three quarterbacks he'd fantasize about catching a pass from in the NFL: "I'd probably say Caleb Williams would be cool, former teammate. Probably go … Aaron Rodgers would be cool. He's a G.O.A.T., a legend. One more, I would go Jayden Daniels."
And here's Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson on meeting with the Steelers: "Yeah, it was great. Coach (Mike) McCarthy's the guy, man. It was funny, we'd go in there, ask a couple questions, and we were just talking ball, going back and forth, talking about pass concepts, talking about protection, talking about situations.
"And it was cool to see all the quarterbacks he's worked with, with Dak (Prescott) and Aaron Rodgers, and then situations that have come up in his career that he asked me about what I thought about it. And it was really cool because we were just going back and forth. And by the time that we were finished, it felt like five minutes just because of how much fun we had.
"So I love Coach McCarthy, love the Steelers. I love those guys and I'm super excited to get to know them."
NO SLOWING DOWN: The running backs' average 40 time of 4.45 was the fastest at a Combine since 2003, as was the wide receivers' average 40 time of 4.44 (tied with the 2024 wide receivers group).
Three running backs ran sub-4.4 40s, Mike Washington, Jr. of Arkansas (4.33), Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame (4.36) and Demond Claiborne of Wake Forest (4.37).
And two wide receivers ran sub-4.3 40s, Brenen Thompson of Mississippi State (4.26) and Zavion Thomas of LSU (4.28). Nine additional wide receivers checked in between 4.39 and 4.30 in the 40.
Even the quarterback group was heard from thanks to Taylen Green of Arkansas, who ran a 4.36, the fastest40 by a QB at a Combine since 2003.
