Why Rams’ Sean McVay, some other NFL coaches skip the combine

Eric Williams

NFC West Writer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Los Angeles Rams COO Kevin Demoff explained this week the origin of coach Sean McVay’s annually skipping the NFL Scouting Combine.

After reaching the Super Bowl in February 2019 and losing to the New England Patriots, the Rams had little time to prepare for the annual pre-draft event later that month. The following year, McVay decided to hang back to work with new members of his coaching staff, and he has not looked back since.

“Like everything else, most inventions come out of necessity, or you’re questioning norms and challenging assumptions,” Demoff said. “So in 2020, I think the answer was no when Sean had just hired [former Rams defensive coordinator] Brandon Staley.

“He felt it was really important to kind of sit back with the defense, work with the new coaches and go through that week. And I think he found value and didn’t really miss going. And we wound up adapting that formula.”

The 2021 combine was canceled due to COVID-19, but McVay was one of the first head coaches to start skipping the event. Others have followed suit, including Mike McCarthy, Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh. This year, new Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald and new Patriots coach Jerod Mayo are among those not attending.

McVay joked that not being at the combine means missing out on late nights at popular coach hangouts like Prime 47 steakhouse in Indianapolis.

“That’s why we don’t go to the combine — too much time spent at Prime, not enough time spent in the film room,” he quipped. “Because we’ve had so much turnover, so much of this last handful of weeks have been spent making sure that you’re not rushing the process of getting the right coaches on board.

“And then you say, OK, part of it is location, traveling to Indy and back. We have such trust in our scouting staff with the vetting and the background they’ve done. There’s value in it, so I don’t want it to be misunderstood that there’s not. But if you said we’re able to stay back, stay at home, really dive into the film and the tape — which ends up being the best indicator for how we evaluate these players — we just felt like it was more efficiently utilized in terms of our time staying back.”

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McVay went on to say that because most of the events and testing at the combine are filmed, coaches and scouts can better watch what’s happening from the home office.

“A lot of us came to realize that you’d be in the building at Indy and be like, ‘What did that guy run?'” Demoff said. “And then you’d look up at NFL Network and they’d tell you. And you’re like, ‘Why did I fly here to watch the NFL Network when I could have done that back at home?'”

Demoff also pointed to the change in the new league year, which provides a two-week gap before the start of free agency, along with draft prospects being so well-rehearsed for team interviews that the process has become more formulaic.

Bottom line for the Rams is that coaches can get their first impression of players from game film instead of on-field combine testing.

“The tape is the best guide,” McVay said. “I do think that those other things are good metrics, but we’re asking guys to play football not run track and field.”

The approach has been successful for the Rams, who had a league-high 14 picks last year. Their selections included Offensive Rookie of the Year finalist Puka Nacua (fifth round), Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist Kobie Turner, (third round), offensive lineman Steve Avila (second round) and rookie edge rusher Byron Young (third round).

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That group helped Los Angeles finish with a surprising 10-7 record and reach the postseason after a 5-12 finish in 2022.

Nacua has followed Cooper Kupp in becoming a star receiver for the Rams. Both were mid-round selections who ran so-so 40-yard times at the combine but popped on tape with good game speed.

In 2017, the Rams were intrigued enough with Kupp to fly McVay and GM Les Snead on a private jet to watch him work out at his Eastern Washington pro day. Liking what they saw, they selected him in the third round of that year’s draft.

Last year, the Rams had intel on Nacua from assistant coach Jimmy Lake, who had coached him at Washington. In the ultra-competitive business of the NFL Draft, teams work hard to gain a competitive advantage, hiding which players they may be interested in selecting.

Staying home from the combine may be the latest attempt by NFL teams to do things on the down-low during the pre-draft process. The Rams have a first-round selection this year and 11 picks overall. The team hasn’t made a pick in the first round since trading up to take Jared Goff at No. 1 overall in 2016.

“I have no idea how this offseason will turn out,” Demoff said. “But I know we have the ability to do anything we want, and that’s a position we haven’t been in for a while.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.