WHAT IS the NFL SCOUTING COMBINE for, exactly?
The answer to that question might determine whether you endorse the NFL excluding a few prominent prospects from the 2017 event that starts this week in Indianapolis, or whether you see the exclusions as silly and hypocritical.
Teams see the combine as their best chance to interview and examine a wide-range of players well ahead of the entry draft. Excluding Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly and Baylor wide receiver Ishmael Zamora because of off-the-field problems is counterproductive to this mission.
As NFL Network lead draft analyst Mike Mayock noted in an interview with the Daily News last week, "Joe Mixon is going to play in the NFL next year .