What's in store at the NFL Combine

INDIANAPOLIS - Five things teams and prospects do every year at the NFL Scouting Combine and are sure to happen again this year. The combine officially opened Tuesday and continues through next Monday. On-field workouts begin Friday.

1. Get acquainted - With few exceptions, the combine marks the first time coaches have any face-to-face interaction with draft prospects. And unless the player played in a postseason all-star game, even scouts tasked with getting basic information on a prospect probably haven't actually met him, either. The combine provides team both formal and informal interview opportunities, and even coaches or staffers not tasked with asking tough questions can decide which prospects pass the eye test. Not only are teams actually laying eyes upon Player X they've probably previously only seen on tape, they're sizing him up against Prospect Y and Z, too, before going back to the scouting reports and game film.

2. Get (mostly) naked - On their first day at the combine, players get checked medically. They start the second day by trotting across the stage -- often just in spandex -- for the official weigh-in and measurement. By the time the full medical check is done, there's no hiding anything. Guys who were listed at 6'6 in college often show up at 6'3, 15 extra pounds from the banquet circuit get highlighted on every scout's notepad and millions of dollars can be at stake in further medical exams.

3. Run - By the end of the week, NFL personnel are looking for a little caffeine. Or even more than a little. The players come in four groups and stay four days; on their third day they undergo psychological testing and the bench press, and on the fourth day most of them compete in the actual on-field workout. The 40-yard dash makes the headline, and now the full workout is televised, but in many cases scouts know which players are going to run really fast -- just as they know which ones are likely to show up closer to 6'3 than 6'6. The combine is about teams putting all the information together and deciding which way to proceed and which prospects to really pursue going forward.

4. Ask for a second date - Teams won't narrow their draft boards until after the combine, and though players obviously don't have a choice in the matter they'll sometimes get a feel from the combine interview process who's really interested. The pro day circuit is still two weeks from starting, but teams can choose only 30 prospects to bring to their facilities for formal visits in late March and early April. An especially good impression made here -- or even an especially awkward one -- can leave teams wanting more face time. Too, some teams could come away thinking they should prioritize a certain receiver or cornerback above others in the group based upon something they learn or see in Indianapolis. For example, the Browns will never share how they rank, say, Amari Cooper, Kevin White, DeVante Parker and Dorial Green-Beckham atop this year's receiver group. But they could come out of the combine thinking one has passed the others.

5. Talk shop - Almost every coach in the league will be here at some point this week. Every general manager and personnel exec will be here. The agents are here, too. With the start of the league's player movement period around three weeks away, there are important conversations to be had. The NFL developed a three-day period of negotiation before the start of free agency to cut down on the kind of tampering that used to go on at the combine, but there's still talking and posturing -- publicly and privately -- to be done. Teams can talk trades anytime. Agents can go to dinner with whomever they please. Guys who handle the salary cap and run every draft room in the league are here, and big dollars are at stake when business officially opens on March 10.