Recently, NCAA players anxiously awaiting the possibility of gaining the chance to become the next superstar in the NFL began preparation for the draft.  The sports media pays special attention to three events designed to showcase players, allow scouts to evaluate athletic ability, discover any ongoing or potential injuries, and analyze mental capacity.  Just like the “Any Given Sunday” cliché often associated with NFL games, the physical prowess exhibited on NFL Combine and “Pro Days” from each player can be slightly misleading but for the most part give a fairly accurate assessment of each potential draft pick’s ability. I mean…if they were not fair representations the league would not condone such events…right?

A widely debated part of the talent assessment involves a common test used by the human resource departments in companies to determine mental fitness.  The test, produced by Wonderlic, Inc., is a test designed to assess aptitude by giving the potential employee 50 learning/problem solving questions to be completed within 12 minutes.  Wonderlic develops test relevant to the occupation.  The most publicized use of Wonderlic testing happens in the month of March when all potential NFL draftees take the test.  Despite their better efforts, the NFL continually fails to thwart “leaks” of individual player scores to the public and the ensuing discussions that prevail upon release can get a bit out of hand.  After reviewing the “100% factually accurate because it’s on the Internet” Wikipedia page for Wonderlic testing, the page displays a list of score ranges associated with individual positions and written by Paul Zimmerman (author of The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football).  The scores out of a possible 50 correct answers are as follows:

Offensive tackle – 26

Center – 25

Quarterback – 24

Guard – 23

Tight end – 22

Safety – 19

Linebacker – 19

Cornerback – 18

Wide receiver – 17

Fullback – 17

Halfback – 16

Immediately after listing NFL scores, the page puts into perspective Joe Schmoe’s average scores based on job title:

Chemist – 31

Programmer – 29

Journalist – 26

Sales – 24

Bank teller – 22

Clerical worker – 21

Security guard – 17

Warehouse – 15

So how does a league full of players that went to college and obviously have varying levels of intelligent determine the value of a player based on an IQ test?  According to an ESPN Page 2 article, the loose bar established is a score of 10 when discussing the “literacy” of individuals; anyone scoring above a 10 is considered to be literate by Wonderlic.

I find the concept of the test to be quite interesting.  Especially considering that the NFL takes pride in trying to maintain the utmost in individual player quality on and off the field, constantly making strides to maintain integrity in the eyes of the general public.  Singling out individuals based on an IQ test that can easily be prepared for is a questionable method of determining value.  Although a level of “Hey Ma! Look! I’m smarter than Andre Smith! I could probably play in the NFL!” comes with the annual Wonderlic score leaks; I still feel that allowing scores to go public can be a detriment.

Suppose you’re a 21 year old potential first round pick that just so happens to score low on the test.  The news, local sports fans of the team that inevitably drafts you and every analyst discussing you during/after the draft is going to completely rake you over the coals by consistently calling you an idiot.  Some players, like Adam “Pac Man” Jones may prove to be so naïve that a continual intelligence bashing does not have much affect.  On the other hand, the nation discovered what can happen when a young professional athlete is forced to cope with outside pressure and allows it to break them down.  Vince Young scored poorly on the test and the score still haunts him because they bring up his low score every time his mental stability and ability to play quarterback comes into question.

In the end, I feel that the league should be more protective of intelligence scoring if they continue to evaluate talent based on an IQ test.  I also feel that implementing an EQ test could prove to be more beneficial than assessing whether or not Percy Harvin can tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile.  I think all team owners and Roger Goodell really need to know is if he can run like the wind, hold onto the football, and that he will not have a propensity to “make it rain”.