DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Psychological tests for draft picks

I realize that all NFL teams probably do some sort of Psychological testing on potential draft picks and I remember DR Harry Edwards in an NFL films episode (I think about Bill Walsh and the 49ers)speaking on analyzing players.

I wonder how effective the Browns "tests" are or if they pay much credence to them.

It just seems to me in the recent past this regime (not sure why but I hate the word regime, just can't think of another to use)has picked quite a few players that have exhibited traits that you would not want in players on your team.

Not to pick on them but the most obviously that come to mind are Gilbert (apparently not a hard worker), JFF with his major issues last year & Terrance West and maybe even FA like Bowe.

Not really looking to bash any players even though I mentioned a few, or even the scouts & GM, just wondered what some of your thoughts are on the value of personality tests.

We use them in my work place and I am amazed how accurate mine was.

Again not out to rip people, just wondering if it might help to reevaluate our process.

Interesting thoughts.

Problem is, when there are question marks, they dismiss any test finding saying something like: Their talent is so great. Or we can change/fix it once they get into our system ...

Men come by that line of thinking naturally.

"That one is high maintenance, but damn is she hot"!

I found this older article while searching "NFL psych testing" ...


Teams want to know it all: NFL prospects take psychological, personality tests before draft

By Jenny Vrentas/The Star-Ledger
April 19, 2010


Will Beatty remembers sitting at a desk last spring, with a pencil and hundreds of true/false questions to answer, trying not to get overwhelmed.

Before the Giants selected the offensive tackle in the second round of last year’s Draft, he was a hopeful prospect navigating his way through tricky personality tests.

“You’re reading a question,” Beatty recalled, “and you’re thinking, ‘I read this same question four minutes ago, and one word changed.’ ”

As pro teams sort their draft boards each year, they factor in 40-yard dash times, injury histories — and these kinds of psychological evaluations.

From clinical interviews and personality tests, psychologists create for teams a profile of a prospect, and also grade the risk of drafting him. The aim is to bring in players who not just improve the team on the field, but who also fit in smoothly in the locker room.

“The psychological and character piece is probably 10 percent of the whole process for a team,” said sports psychology consultant Robert Price, who conducted pre-draft evaluations for the Giants for a decade. “You don’t make it because you do well in an interview. But if you don’t have a good grade, you will drop off someone’s draft board pretty quickly.”

In the months leading up to the draft, teams screen as many players as possible at the NFL Combine, senior all-star games and pre-draft visits.

Players are classified as one of 16 personality types through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and scored on traits like dominance, independence and leadership via the California Psychological Inventory. In interviews, they’re asked simple questions like “Where did you grow up?” and tougher ones about family tragedies or legal trouble. Over the last three years, Price said players have also been asked about gun and animal ownership.

Each team has its own grading scale, but a common rubric is: A (no problems), B (moderate risk), D (major risk) and F (severe risk). There is no C, so that evaluators are forced to polarize players.

“We have a profile that we like,” Giants general manager Jerry Reese said of how his team uses the evaluations. “You can never get all of the same guys. Everybody has different personalities, so it is hard to fit it. But we do look for certain qualities in players.”

Teams may have different priorities as they compare players. One heavy on leaders may be looking for good followers, Price said. Or, a team with a poor track record at one position may look to bring in players at that position with different personality profiles than in the past, he explained.

And sometimes, a team is willing to take a chance on a guy who slipped down other teams’ boards due to character concerns — like the Giants did with running back Ahmad Bradshaw in 2007. With two arrests in college, he fell to the seventh round, where the Giants took a gamble that has, so far, been worth it.

“With me, I just fed it straightforward,” Bradshaw said. “I think they could see which way my life was going. I told them I had kids; that I had to move forward in life. It was a good thing the Giants gave me this chance.”

Teams keep every psychological evaluation they run, compiling a sizeable archive that can come in handy a few years down the road, when the same players are available in free agency.

After 10 years of helping to stock the Giants’ database — and also doing similar work for the Bears and Nets — Price focused on the other side this year. He worked with pro prospects at TEST Sports Club in Martinsville and Perfect Competition near Miami, preparing them for the questions teams ask and helping them communicate more clearly.

On both sides, the stakes are high.

“It is their largest and biggest job interview,” Price said.


http://www.nj.com/sports/nfldraft/index.ssf/2010/04/nfl_prospects_must_perform_wel.html

I have taken those tests before. You can manipulate the questions in your favor. I read every single question before answering even one of them. I look for trends in the questions. You can tell what the employer likes and doesn't like. You then answer accordingly and not really about your real beliefs.

Yeah, I had to take a test once - I think it was called the Edwards Personal Preference Test - that made you pick one of two statements that was more true for you. Some of the choices were ridiculous, like:

A. I'm frightened by rooms with hairy walls.
B. I am aroused at the thought of Buddy Hackett.

Alrighty then, hairy walls it is.

I would like to see a strategy of drafting players that graduate college.

If a player can graduate in 2 years it shows they are highly intelligent. To play football at a high level and take on a class load that would allow them to graduate in 3 years is impressive.

Seniors that stick it out and graduate college show the ability to stay the course. They don't quit. Are mature. And don't just take enough classes to keep them eligible. They have a plan and complete.

This team needs players that have fortitude. Bill Belicheck and the Pats have used the graduate players as a standard for a while now.

Interesting comments. I guess the traits I assumed a few NFL teams would be looking for are honesty, perseverance, loyalty, humility, respect for authority etc.

I disagree w/a few of your points strongly, but you sure as heck make a ton of very strong points.

I'm impressed..........not that that would mean anything to you. LOL

I may be wrong on this, but I think the NFL gives those tests and the results are made available to all the teams

Its not like each team individually gives their own tests.

They should give them to head coaches and GM's.

You can't test for heart and desire.