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The NFL wants to learn what data gathered about draft-eligible college players at the annual Scouting Combine in Indianapolis best indicates on-field success once those players enter the league.
And it will use its sports analytics competition to attempt to get those answers.
The newest version of the Big Data Bowl by the NFL and Amazon Web Services will challenge competitors to identify which pre-draft metrics most closely correlate with players thriving in the NFL, Front Office Sports has learned.
It’s the first time the crowd-sourcing competition, which uses player tracking data known as Next Gen Stats, will focus on the NFL Scouting Combine. Participants will deal with the wide receiver, tight end, offensive and defensive line, and defensive back position groups.
“Entering our ninth-annual competition, we are continuing to elevate the Big Data Bowl by giving participants the opportunity to evaluate current and former NFL Draft prospects,” Mike Lopez, the NFL’s senior director of football data and analytics, said in a statement provided to FOS. “The competition will uncover new insights into what drives success at the professional level while providing the sports analytics community the opportunity to advance the game of football.”
The combine has been derided as the “underwear Olympics” by some observers, who are skeptical of the predictive power of players’ height, weight, hand size, 40-yard dash time, or strength tests. College players invited to the combine also participate in on-field football drills, undergo medical testing, meet with team representatives, and speak to media members.
Some top players show up but opt not to participate in the drills. Teams put varying amounts of emphasis on combine results. But almost invariably, a few players who fare particularly well or poorly at the combine generate speculation that their draft stocks are rising or falling heading into the NFL Draft.
In this age of analytics, this competition could give teams’ decision-makers some direction about what to prioritize.
Competitors will vie for a $100,000 shared prize and a chance to present to NFL teams at next year’s combine. They will be given selected player data from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 combines and player-tracking data from the same players in the NFL.
The competition will be hosted on Kaggle. Sign-ups begin Wednesday.
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