Opinion: The dumbest question asked at the NFL Combine

Covering the Combine and being at the player press conferences has been interesting. Most media members ask good, honest questions to each player. There are a couple of wild questions – one media member asked what a certain player’s favorite animal was – but most of them are good questions.

Without question, the dumbest question asked is: “Have you met with the (insert NFL team)?”

Every time I heard this question it made me want to do something completely out of my character: just walk over and wrangle that reporter by the neck. The answer is almost universally yes.

All the players at the Combine – all 300+ of them – are the best players in college football. Most of the players have come through an all-star game, where all 32 teams’ scouts were present. At those games – whether it be the Hula Bowl, the Senior Bowl, or East-West Shrine – these players met with NFL teams who were on-site, which is precisely how they wound up in Indianapolis this week.

I get why the question is asked: the people asking them are likely reporters from a specific city covering a specific team. Nevertheless it’s a very dumb question because this process has been going on for months. The Senior Bowl specifically made changes this year requiring all participants to meet with every NFL team for at least 10 minutes.

So, if a prospect went to the Senior Bowl, he undoubtedly has talked to every team at least once and probably many at least twice before the weekend concludes in Indianapolis.

Please stop wasting our time by asking this question.