How will Jameis Winston respond to tough questions? Will we get any indication if he or Marcus Mariota is the pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 1? Whose draft stock will change? We'll hopefully get some of those answers in Indianapolis this week.
The 2015 NFL Scouting Combine is here, so let's get ready to follow 323 college football players in their underpants as they audition for the biggest job of their lives.
These are the biggest storylines to follow as players get measured, work out and meet with the media starting on Wednesday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Jameis Winston in the spotlight
In the previous two combines there have been obvious marquee players during media sessions. That's not to say the best players, but the ones who got the most attention from reporters. Last year it was Johnny Manziel and Michael Sam. The year before it was Manti Te'o. This year the most anticipated media session will be Winston. He'll probably get asked as many questions about crab legs as his 18 interceptions last season. He'll also get prodded about an alleged sexual assault which he was never charged with. Now, apparently, fat Jameis Winston is a thing, too.
Considerably more important than how he addresses those issues at the combine is how he answers them to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and New York Jets. Those are the teams expected to be in the running for Winston. They'll want to weigh his maturity and determine if he's worth investing that high of a pick in the draft.
The return of Dorial Green-Beckham
Dismissed from Washington, cornerback Marcus Peters was smart to get out in front of his story by speaking to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. No one has really heard from Green-Beckham since the Cotton Bowl in January 2014. His story is known. He was a top recruit for Missouri, but was dismissed after being arrested for drugs and allegedly involved in an assault.
How will Green-Beckham respond to questions about his off-field issues? Will he show contrition or will he be indifferent? And how will Green-Beckham look in drills? As a 6'6, 220-pound wide receiver, Green-Beckham could be the star of the combine. But if his character flaws are still an issue, he could be crossed off some teams' draft boards.
Will any Philadelphia trade talks spark up?
Perhaps the most interesting media sessions from coaches and team executives will belong to the Philadelphia Eagles. Head coach Chip Kelly will be heavily questioned about Marcus Mariota, his former quarterback at Oregon. Before jumping to the Eagles, Kelly recruited Mariota and coached him for a season with the Ducks. Will Kelly show interest in his former quarterback? If he does, will he hint at a blockbuster trade to move up to draft Mariota?
Trade talks of a different sort will be lobbed at executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman, if he speaks to the media. Roseman has potentially a valuable trade asset in quarterback Nick Foles. There is value in Foles because so many teams could need a quarterback and that could raise the asking price for the 26-year-old.
General managers don't always lie
In 2013, Detroit general manager Martin Mayhew said at the combine that the Lions were shutting the door on troubled wide receiver Titus Young, and they did. Last year, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman hinted at trading in the draft to acquire a quarterback. Compared to other GMs, Spielman may as well have been shouting from a rooftop that the Vikings would move back into the first round for a quarterback. They did just that in trading just their second- and fourth-round picks to Seattle to draft Teddy Bridgewater.
This week general managers are going to lay down a lot of nonsense to the media, but some nuggets of truth will be unearthed. Maybe Buccaneers GM Jason Licht will tip his hand on which quarterback he prefers with the No. 1 overall pick.
Wide receiver overload
Following perhaps a historically great wide receiver group in the draft last year, the position is loaded yet again. How will this year's group separate themselves at the combine. At this time last year, almost no draft analysts considered Odell Beckham Jr. a first-round pick. After running the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, and word getting out about teams liking him, he sure was. A lot can change with how wide receivers are slotted by the media.
The apparent top tier at wide receiver is Amari Cooper of Alabama, DeVante Parker of Louisville and Kevin White of West Virginia. Green-Beckham is in there, too, but he's sort of an enigma. But what happens if Cooper or White come in shorter than expected? Or if Parker runs slower in the 40 than expected? We could see a few wide receivers emerge and challenge for the first round. That includes Ohio State's Devin Smith, Michigan's Devin Funchess and, maybe, Mel Kiper favorite Breshad Perriman.
There is opportunity for wide receivers to improve their draft stock at the combine, perhaps much more than any other position.
Where size matters
One of the more scrutinized weigh-ins will be that of Nebraska pass rusher Randy Gregory. Nebraska listed him at 6'6 and 240 pounds. The weight will make people think Dion Jordan, who has floundered with the Dolphins. His height offers intrigue, but what if he's shorter? Gregory is clearly not lacking confidence, but there were stretches in games when he was a non-factor.
Gregory told USA Today he's currently at 242 pounds, but being lean is typical at the combine so players can run faster and move quicker. But if he can convince teams he can add power and get up to the 265-pound range, teams will be more comfortable considering him a top-five pick.
The other big measurement will be Marcus Mariota's hand size. Yes, it matters. It especially matters when you factor in that Mariota had 27 fumbles during his career. If he doesn't break the ever-important nine-inch threshold, teams will wonder about his ability to hold onto the ball and Winston could secure his spot as the No. 1 pick.
Iowa offensive tackle Brandon Scherff's measurement could be the difference in teams viewing him as a tackle or guard. If he has short arms (shorter than 33 inches), more will think he's an inside player.
Free agency rumblings
Although free agency doesn't begin until March 10, talks will intensify as NFL executives and agents flood into Indianapolis. Teams won't be publicly talking about free agents on other teams -- they can't because of silly tampering rules -- but it will happen behind closed doors. At the combine, we could start to get some indication on the future of top free agents like Ndamukong Suh and DeMarco Murray, and many others.
Stock watch
Every year we see a player emerge at the combine and vault up in the draft. Maybe this year it will be one of these players. A good combine from a player can force scouts to go back on a player and see if they missed something. If they did, that player could get bumped up, at best, a round. At least that's what the smart teams do. We know, of course, that teams have a tendency to elevate a player too high after a hot combine.
With a good combine, a player like Oregon's massive defensive end Arik Armstead could be the difference between being taken in the back half of the first round and front half. If defensive end Danielle Hunter measures close to the 6'6 and 240 pounds LSU lists him, and he times well, teams might wonder why exactly there is such a disparity in rankings for he and Gregory. How Utah defensive back Eric Rowe tests could determine if he's a safety or cornerback in the NFL.
In the 2015 NFL Draft, some player is going to get drafted higher than they should, and maybe they'll have the combine to thank for it.
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