What matters and what doesn't at the combine

The Athletic

23 February 2026

The annual NFL Scouting Combine is part NFL convention, part week-long networking event, part exercise in backchannel communication, and part job fair. It's also the legitimate start of that year's NFL Draft season. So what matters and what doesn't at the combine generally, and the 2026 edition specifically? Dave Helman and Dane Brugler dig in on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. Connect with The Athletic Football Show Buy our merch! http://theathletic.lnk.to/tafsmerch YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow Podcasts: https://podfollow.com/the-athletic-football-show/view X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow Call us: 847-448-0701 Email us: athleticfootballshow@gmail.com Host: Dave Helman Co-Host: Dane Brugler Executive Producer: Michael Beller Video Producer: Katy Duffy Audio Producer: Michael Beller Social Producer: Scott Krinch Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_ Follow Dane on X: @dpbrugler Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.