Recently we were asked how likely it would be for a "non-Combine invite" to be drafted in the first 3 rounds?

The answer is, the chances are not very good at all, regardless how well a prospect performs at his Pro Day. While we didn't break down the exact numbers over the long haul, we can say that over the last decade, or so, you can almost count the number of non-Combine invites that were drafted on the first day (top 3 rounds) on one hand!

We crunched the numbers from the 2006 N.F.L. Draft and found that only 30 of the 251 non-kickers drafted were "Combine Snubs". The first non invite off the board in 2006 was wide receiver Domenik Hixon, drafted #130 overall by the Denver Broncos. He was soon followed by guard Willie Colon, drafted #131 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers....Things, however, did get a little better for non-Combine invites in 2007 -- 39 were selected, including 1 third rounder, 5 forth rounders and eight 5th rounders.

Total number of non-kickers Drafted in 2006 by Position: 251

QB's: 11

RB's: 19

WR's: 31

TE's: 15

OL's: 50

DL's: 45

LB's: 32

DB's: 49

Total number of non-kickers Drafted in 2006 that did "not" receive a Combine invite: 30 (players & rounds drafted)

QB's: 0

RB's: 1 (J.D. Runnels-6)

WR's: 4 (Domenik Hixon-4; Brandon Brazell-7; Ethan Kilmer-7; Kevin McMahan-7)

TE's: 0

OL's: 10 (Willie Colon-4; Tony Moll-5; Tyler Reed-6; Tre' Stallings-6, Charlie Johnson-6; Tony Palmer-7; K. Lefotu-7; Pat McQuistan-7; C. Morris-7; Aaron Merz-7}

DL's: 6 (Brent Hawkins-5; Anthony Montgomery-5; LaJuan Ramsey-6; Dave Tollefson-7; Chase Page-7; Fred Evans-7)

LB's: 2 (Spencer Toone-7; Anthony Cannon-7)

DB's: 7 ( Tyrone Culver-6; Drew Coleman-6; T.J. Rushing-7; Justin Phinisee-7; Courtland Finnegan-7;; Vickiel Vaughn-7; Justin Hamilton-7;)

In 2006, 30 prospects not invited to the N.F.L. Combine were drafted. Two were selected at the end of 4th round (D.Hixson; W.Colon) and two more were selected in round 5 (T.Moll; B.Hawkins). The other 26 were drafted in rounds 6 or 7.

Pecentage of Non-Combine invites Drafted

2004: 13%

2005: 13%

2006: 15%

2007: 15%

Jermon Bushrod, Towson State

Non-kickers Drafted in 2007 by order they were selected:

CB Usama Young, Kent State (New Orleans/Round 3)

CB John Bowie, Cincinnati (Oakland/Round 4)

LB Brian Smith, Purdue (Jacksonville/Round 4)

OT Jermon Bushrod, Towson (New Orleans/Round 4)

S Brannon Condren, Troy State (Indianapolis/Round 4)

LB Clint Session, Pittsburgh (Indianapolis/Round 4)

DE Greg Peterson, North Carolina Central (Tampa Bay/Round 5)

CB David Jones, Wingate (New Orleans/Round 5)

LB Johnny Baldwin, Alabama A&M (Detroit/Round 5)

LB Will Herring, Auburn (Seattle/Round 5)

TE Brent Celek, Cincinnati (Philadelphia/Round 5)

WR Roy Hall, Ohio State (Indianapolis/Round 5)

CB William Gay, Louisville (Pittsburgh/Round 5)

OT Clint Oldenburg, Colorado State (N.E. Patriots/Round 5)

FB Oren O'Neal, Arkansas State (Oakland/Round 6)

OT Jacob Bender, Nicholls State (N.Y. Jets/Round 6)

LB Justin Rogers, Southern Methodist (N.E. Patriots/Round 6)

FB Regan Mauia, Hawaii (Miami/Round 6)

LB Adam Hayward, Portland State (Tampa Bay/Round 6)

DT Trey Lewis, Washburn (Atlanta/Round 6)

LB Korey Hall, Boise State (Green Bay/Round 6)

DE Melila Purcell, Hawaii (Cleveland/Round 6)

CB Rashad Barksdale, Albany (Philadelphia/Round 6)

CB Mike Richardson, Notre Dame (N.E. Patriots/Round 6)

RB Justise Hairston, Rutgers (N.E. Patriots/Round 6)

LB Oscar Lua, Southern California (N.E. Patriots/Round 7)

CB Courtney Brown, Cal-Poly (Dallas/Round 7)

TE Tyler Ecker, Michigan (Washington/Round 7)

QB Tyler Thigpen Coastal Carolina (Minnesota/Round 7)

LB Zach Diles, Kansas State (Houston/Round 7)

WR John Broussard, San Jose State (Jacksonville/Round 7)

OG Steve Vallos, W.Forest (Seattle/Round 7)

CB Allan Ball Illinois (Dallas/Round 7)

OT Aaron Brant, Iowa State (Chicago/Round 7)

LB Keyunta Dawson, Texas Tech (Indianapolis/Round 7)

CB Marcus Hamilton, Virginia (Tampa Bay/Round 7)

OT Mike Elgin, Iowa (N.E. Patriots/Round 7)

WR Derek Stanley, Wisconsin-Whitewater (St. Louis/Round 7)

CB Ramzee Robinson, Alabama (Detroit/Round 7)

DD.comment: The players above are listed in the order they were selected. Young was the first off the board at #66 overall and Robinson was the last player selected at #255.