As the NFL Combine has begun, the discussion, as always, revolves around the quarterbacks, specifically if Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota will throw the football in Indianapolis this weekend.   Driving around Tampa this morning, this particular topic was driving morning radio, since the first pick in the draft takes precedence over all other sports.

ESPN Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. said that Jameis Winston should not throw at the combine, since throwing to unknown receivers is a big risk.

The latest reports indicate that both guys will throw.  As unpopular as it might be, I agree with Kiper on this topic.  In fact, I don’t think top prospects should ever throw at the comine.  There is really nothing at all to be gained, but questions could be raised. The combine is simply a tool for the NFL to gather a large group of players in one place and get a close-up look in a short period of time.  Most players are trying to improve their draft status and need to perform whenever and wherever they are asked.  But those being considered at the very top of the draft can only hurt themselves with lackluster performance and that is a lot easier to achieve than any kind of a stand-out one.

These top prospects all have carefully scripted throwing sessions on their own college campus with their own receivers.  Any team that is considering a quarterback at the top of the draft will have personal workouts with those players and private meetings as well.  When I went to the NFL Combine in 1989, I roomed with Troy Aikman.  He stayed for the first day of physicals and was gone the next before the on-field competition began.  Not throwing at the combine didn’t hurt his draft status, going first to the Dallas Cowboys.

It didn’t hurt Drew Bledsoe, Andrew Luck or even Cam Newton, who’s throwing ability is questioned to this day.  I’m not sure how many teams went out to UCLA to have a personal throwing session before the draft, but as a middle-round prospect I had more than 5, including on my campus and in Los Angeles with the Rams and Raiders.  I had the Houston Oilers general manager come up to Ogden, Utah to work me out, as well as the 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren and Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Sam Wyche.  So, even after I made all the throws at the combine, I still had to perform plenty of “auditions” before the Rams took me in the fourth round.  Winston and Mariota will have plenty of opportunities to throw this spring and no matter how well they throw in February, it won’t improve their stock.

Blake Bortles was the first QB taken in last year’s draft and he did throw at the combine.  Bortles was coming out of the University of Central Florida and still had plenty to prove and also proved that he wasn’t afraid to compete. He didn’t lay an egg, but I don’t think he overly impressed and I don’t think throwing at the combine affected his draft position at all.  There is nothing to gain for Winston or Mariota throwing this weekend and truth be told, probably not much to lose either.  Even if they decided to throw and laid the biggest egg of their lives, it wouldn’t mean much in the long run.  Football coaches, general managers and scouts aren’t going to let a throwing session in shorts with unfamiliar targets overshadow what they see in the game film and subsequent private workouts and interviews.

So, if you see Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota throwing at the combine this weekend, know that their agents are giving them poor advice, as there is nothing to gain at the “underwear Olympics.”  A bigger question is will Winston unveil a better looking body than the one in the photo making the rounds on the internet the last few days when he actually does strip down to his underwear for the world to see?  That photo may have dropped Tom Brady to the sixth round, certainly not his throwing prowess at the combine.