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Bowen: NFL Scouting Combine's exclusive message for problem players

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.

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 . . . It's not like they're saying you can't play in the league . . . homework (on the character of Mixon, Kelly and Zamora) is going to be done, it's just going to take more time, cost the teams more money . . . The football guys want them there."

Mayock said that "the whole reason for the combine when it started was to deal with these issues - to vet medical and psychological situations."

But the combine is a very different affair in 2017 than it was when the full league began participating in 1984, formalizing a group scouting gaggle that dated back another decade or so. More and more, Indianapolis hosts a spectacle designed to capture the attention of the public, as the NFL embarks on the longest offseason of any of the four major pro sports. This year, the league is debuting what it is calling the "NFL Combine Experience," in which fans can witness the bench press in person, along with prospect media interviews. They can participate in youth football clinics, autograph sessions and other events. Plus the NFL Network will again air 34 hours of coverage.

The NFL could be seen as endorsing these players by making them part of the combine show. And if you don't let them attend, you don't have to worry about stories being written and broadcast from your event about their misdeeds.

In 2016, the league inaugurated a policy banning prospects with misdemeanor or felony convictions involving violence or use of a weapon, domestic violence or sexual misconduct/assault. The memo sent to teams also said: "The NFL also reserves the right to deny participation of any prospect dismissed by their university or the NCAA."

The NFL is sending a message to future combine hopefuls, about what the NFL expects from players, the league having been accused of not taking domestic violence seriously enough in the past.

Mixon's Norman, Okla., confrontation with a woman in July 2014 resulted in a broken jaw and cheekbone for the woman, the incident captured on videotape. Mixon received community service under a plea deal, and sat out the 2014 season.

Kelly, nephew of Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct following a 2014 incident at a Buffalo bar in which he threatened "to go to my car and get my AK-47 and spray this place." He has had other scrapes, having been dismissed from his high school team and from Clemson before finishing his career at Ole Miss. Kelly was invited to the combine, then uninvited. A Yahoo! Sports story last week speculated that the NFL, in investigating the bar incident, had uncovered additional information that made it uncomfortable. One of Kelly's agents has suggested the agency might bring him to Indianapolis anyway, to meet with teams unofficially.

Zamora was charged with a misdemeanor and was suspended for three games last season for beating and kicking his dog, an episode also captured on video.

An AFC personnel executive contacted by the Daily News said he could see both sides of the issue, but "I guess, in the end, I'd support the league there . . . Teams will need to do their own work pertaining to those players."

The executive also said: "When you make poor decisions, you jeopardize all of your privileges. You hope that these cases will help spark awareness and help kids make more responsible decisions. You also hope this helps colleges become more proactive and assertive with their support systems for the kids."

Mayock said he "can see what the league is trying to do" in setting conduct standards for combine participation, but given that the players are still eligible to be drafted and to play, he feels it would be more meaningful to set up programs for such prospects, providing counseling and "letting them know what the NFL expects."

Talent still trumps just about everything. If you're an NFL talent evaluator, the high road might feel like a safe place to be, but if the player you passed on becomes productive with another team, maybe even at the expense of your team, your job could be at stake.

Many analysts believe Mixon is a first-round talent, but he almost certainly won't be drafted in the first. Kelly, who is recovering from knee surgery, and Zamora might not be drafted at all.

Current Mixon estimates go from the third round to the fifth, which was where Kansas City took returner/wide receiver Tyreek Hill last year. Mayock and others see Hill as a strong parallel to Mixon. Lots of teams took Hill off their boards after his 2015 guilty plea to punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend.

Hill did attend last year's combine, by the way, running the fastest 40 time, 4.24. It isn't clear why he wasn't banned under the new policy. Consistency is further strained by the presence this year of Oklahoma star receiver Dede Westbrook, who has seen domestic-violence charges dropped on two occasions.

The Chiefs weathered criticism for drafting Hill, who was dismissed by Oklahoma State, but as the rookie became a key reason Kansas City made the playoffs, scoring 12 touchdowns, the narrative seemed to shift to one of other teams "missing" on him. Mayock said he feels the way Hill's saga has played out might embolden someone to take Mixon earlier than the fifth.

Could that someone be the Eagles? They certainly need a top-flight running back. When Howie Roseman took the personnel reins back from Chip Kelly last year, it became clear that a rebuilding team was going to take more chances on character, though Roseman emphasized that the Eagles would thoroughly vet anyone they drafted or signed.

Corner Jalen Mills, who played a lot as a 2016 rookie and could end up starting this season, slipped from the middle rounds to the seventh over a 2014 guilty plea for striking a woman in the face. Mills' attorney said it was Mills' girlfriend who slapped the woman; Mills has said he took the plea to get the matter resolved. He has spoken out against domestic violence.

The organization's stance toward Mixon is one topic sure to be addressed when reporters speak with Roseman Wednesday in Indianapolis.

bowenl@phillynews.com

@LesBowen

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog