The Utility of Collegiate and Combine Statistics For Identifying Potential in NFL Quarterbacks

Predicting potential is crucial for building a successful sports franchise. In the National Football League (NFL), the annual draft is a process in which franchises select athletes that will presumably improve their teams chances of winning. Considerable resources are used to determine suitable candidates and to test those athletes in a controlled environment. The current study examined the relationship between pre-draft variables and their impact on draft selection of quarterbacks into the National Football League. Associations between measures of collegiate statistics and combine test scores with draft position were considered in order to determine their impact and significance to becoming a professional football player. The analysis showed low correlations between both collegiate and combine statistics to draft position, indicating that the measures used to predict talent are of low validity. Findings are discussed within the context of previous literature on the accuracy of pre-draft measures to draft selection.