When it comes to the NFL Scouting Combine, you never know when some crazy story will come out about the questions asked behind the scenes in prospect interviews. It's not nearly as wild as the times when former Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland asked Dez Bryant if his mother used drugs or other teams asked players about their sexual orientation, but there can be some quirks that arise coming out of the interview process in Indianapolis.
One of the more fun stories to pop up this year happened to come with Washington quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., who described his visit with the Denver Broncos in his media availability on Friday morning.
“Man, it was an interesting meeting,” Penix said. “It was different than the others. But I felt good. I felt confident going into it. Going out of it, I felt confident as well. Playing for coach Sean Payton would be special. Obviously, he's a great coach. One of the best in the game, you know. To be able to learn from him; it would be special."
“They were tough, man. They were tough. They pulled up a lot of bad plays. But it's good because, at the next level, it's hard. It's hard to win, and I understand that. And I feel like, in a way, they were probably trying to see how I reacted to those bad plays. To see if I could take accountability and stuff like that. I'm always going to do that. I'm always going to put others before me, and I'm going to be honest about everything.”
Typically, in private interviews at the combine, which get abbreviated due to time constraints, teams will draw up plays on the whiteboard and have players walk through what they see to obtain better insight into their football acumen. They'll ask questions specifically to get memory recall, or ask them to recite play calls on the fly to see if they can process information rapidly.
Having a prospect go through their game film and describe their flaws is a common approach, but highlighting a handful of bad plays and asking them to be accountable for those mistakes is a bit out of the ordinary. The Broncos have met with several different quarterbacks in Indianapolis, so it's likely they have had this approach to those interviews as well.
That should be viewed as an encouraging sign for a fanbase of a team looking for a true franchise quarterback: going outside of the box to find a guy who can handle the adversity of the position in a high-pressure situation.
Whether it’s Penix or any of the other guys in the class, the Broncos are leaving no stone unturned.
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