The Wonderlic Test Is Being Dropped At NFL Combine

According to an Associated Press report released Wednesday, the NFL has plans to eliminate the Wonderlic test for prospective draft picks who are typically asked to take the cognitive ability test that measures intelligence.

Removing the Wonderlic from the Combine is just one change that the league will institute in 2022, the AP reports. Combine drills will be updated for wide receivers and tight ends to test crossing route speeds instead of wheel routes. Running backs will be tested on option routes instead of corners and post routes.

But the big news from the NFL’s changes is definitely the Wonderlic hitting the chopping block. And teams have been warned that unprofessional conduct during interviews with prospective draft picks could result in loss of draft picks.

The AP reports teams have been notified that they will forfeit a pick “between the first and fourth round and be fined a minimum of $150,000” if league officials determine “unprofessional” behavior by team representatives.

What specific type of conduct will result in punishment from the NFL? The AP points to an incident in 2010 where Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. Ireland later apologized for that question.

There’s also Dan Quinn asking cornerback Eli Apple about his sexual preference during an interview conducted by the Falcons.

Ben Watson, who scored one of the highest Wonderlic tests in NFL Combine history, says he was interrogated over smoking pot. Watson told the AP how he nearly confessed to a crime he didn’t commit.

The history of the Wonderlic test in the NFL goes back to the 1970s when Tom Landry started using the test. Based on Landry’s use of the test, the NFL started using it at the combine. It didn’t take long before Dan Marino scored a 15 and Ray Lewis scored a 16. Both ended up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Harvard grads Pat McInally (perfect score) and Ryan Fitzpatrick destroyed the Wonderlic. McInally went on to develop the idea for Starting Lineup figures and eventually went to work for the Wonderlic organization. Fitzpatrick has gone on to make a fortune in the NFL while throwing 223 touchdowns and 169 interceptions.

Combine hero Mike Mamula scored a 49 and was out of the NFL after five seasons.

How will NFL executives determine whether a player is the genius they’ve been looking for or a moron who can turn into a Hall of Famer? It won’t be via the Wonderlic.

Tunji Oki, PhD, a People Analyst at Google, wrote in 2015 that NFL teams could use job knowledge tests or situational judgment tests to determine how an individual would respond in a realistic job scenario. “While a knowledge test on a specific position may be overkill, a knowledge test on the rules, requirements, and policies of the NFL could yield significant predictive value,” Oki notes in his 2015 report.

Before you laugh at testing prospective draft picks on NFL rules, consider the fact that Najee Harris didn’t realize ties existed in the NFL.

One thing is certain: NFL executives will find new ways to test these guys. It’s just a matter of how they determine the perfect testing measures without losing draft picks.

Go here if you’d like to test your Wonderlic abilities against NFL draft picks.

Highest Wonderlic Scores in NFL Combine History (via):

50 — Pat McInally (punter)

49 — Mike Mamula (defensive end)

48 — Kevin Curtis (wide receiver)

48 — Ryan Fitzpatrick (quarterback)

48 — Ben Watson (tight end)

Lowest Wonderlic Scores in NFL Combine History:

6 — Vince Young (quarterback)

6 — Frank Gore (running back)

6 — Oscar Davenport (quarterback)

5 — Ed Prather (safety)

4 — Darren Davis (running back)

4* — Morris Claiborne (later diagnosed to have a learning disability

Highest Wonderlic Scores by NFL Combine Wide Receivers (20 & above):

Kevin Curtis	48	WR
Eric Decker	43	WR
Calvin Johnson	41	WR
Cooper Kupp	37	WR
Demaryius Thomas	34	WR
Jared Abbrederis	32	WR
Corey Davis	31	WR
Jordan Matthews	29	WR
Jordy Nelson	28	WR
Mike Evans	25	WR
Jeremy Maclin	25	WR
Robert Woods	23	WR
Santonio Holmes	23	WR
Andre Johnson	23	WR
Malcolm Kelly	22	WR
Jalen Strong	22	WR
Curtis Samuel	22	WR
Amari Cooper	21	WR
Dorial Green-Beckham	20	WR
Ardarius Stewart	20	WR

Highest Wonderlic Scores by NFL Combine Quarterbacks (25 & above):

Ryan Fitzpatrick	48	QB
Greg McElroy	48	QB
Jason Maas	43	QB
Blaine Gabbert	42	QB
Drew Henson	42	QB
Ryan Nassib	41	QB
Bruce Eugene	41	QB
Hugh Millen	41	QB
Carson Wentz	40	QB
Alex Smith	40	QB
Darrell Hackney	40	QB
Jeff Matthews	40	QB
Sean Mannion	40	QB
Nate Stanley	40	QB
Eli Manning	39	QB
Todd Husak	39	QB
Brian Griese	39	QB
Matthew Stafford	38	QB
Colin Kaepernick	38	QB
Matt Flynn	38	QB
Omar Jacobs	38	QB
Charlie Frye	38	QB
Craig Crenzel	38	QB
Scott Frost	38	QB
Kevin Hogan	38	QB
Scott Tolzien	38	QB
Josh Allen	37	QB
Akili Smith	37	QB
Tony Romo	37	QB
Andrew Luck	37	QB
Travis Lulay	37	QB
Marques Hagans	37	QB
Chuck Hartlieb	37	QB
Jared Goff	36	QB
Sam Bradford	36	QB
Justin Holland	36	QB
Drew Bledsoe	36	QB
Jason Garrett	36	QB
Anthony Dilweg	36	QB
Jared Zabransky	36	QB
Aaron Rodgers	35	QB
Matt Leinart	35	QB
Christian Ponder	35	QB
Kellen Clemens	35	QB
Wes Pate	35	QB
Zak Kustok	35	QB
JT O’Sullivan	35	QB
Ryan lindley	35	QB
Travis Brown	35	QB
John Dutton	35	QB
Steve From	35	QB
Drew Stanton	35	QB
Jake Fromm	35	QB
Craig Ochs	34	QB
Sam Keller	34	QB
Cory Pyles	34	QB
Ryan Tannehill	34	QB
Brad Kaaya	34	QB
Joe Burrow	34	QB
Tom Brady	33	QB
Nathan Peterman	33	QB
Charlie Whitehurst	33	QB
Josh Betts	33	QB
Justin Fuente	33	QB
Mike Elkins	33	QB
Steve Young	33	QB
Marcus Mariota	33	QB
Kirk Cousins	33	QB
Johnny Manziel	32	QB
Matt Ryan	32	QB
Girbran Hamdan	32	QB
Joey Jarrington	32	QB
Patrick Ramsey	32	QB
Jesse Palmer	32	QB
Sage Rosenfels	32	QB
Walter Church	32	QB
Giovanni Carmazza	32	QB
Sam Keenan	32	QB
Kevin Daft	32	QB
Brian Brohm	32	QB
Josh Woodrum	32	QB
Matt Schaub	31	QB
Andrew Walton	31	QB
JP Losman	31	QB
Dave Ragone	31	QB
Kliff Kingsbury	31	QB
Greg Noll	31	QB
Justin Coleman	31	QB
Todd Bandhauer	31	QB
Cody Fajardo	31	QB
Rick Mirer	31	QB
Trent Edwards	31	QB
Connor Halliday	31	QB
Bryce Petty	31	QB
Quincy Carter	30	QB
Phillip Rivers	30	QB
Ricky Stanzi	30	QB
Ingle Martin	30	QB
Josh Haldi	30	QB
Stefan Lefors	30	QB
Trevor Knight	30	QB
Gino Guigudli	30	QB
Matt Mauck	30	QB
Scott Rislov	30	QB
Daniel Cobb	30	QB
Josh McCown	30	QB
Darnell Kennedy	30	QB
Matt Barkley	30	QB
Josh Siple	30	QB
Bill Burke	30	QB
David Klingler	30	QB
John Beck	30	QB
Zach Mettenberger	30	QB
Josh Rosen	29	QB
Troy Aikman	29	QB
Brady Quinn	29	QB
John Elway	29	QB
Andy Dalton	29	QB
Rex Grossman	29	QB
Chris Weinke	29	QB
Marc Bulger	29	QB
Jeff Driskel	29	QB
Nick Foles	29	QB
Josh Dobbs	29	QB
Brian Cook Click	29	QB
Matt Hasselbeck	29	QB
Bill Musgrave	29	QB
Dennis Dixon	29	QB
Jimmy Garoppolo	29	QB
Logan Thomas	29	QB
Keith Wenning	29	QB
Tom Savage	29	QB
Aaron Murray	29	QB
Jake Luton	29	QB
Sam Darnold	28	QB
Blake Bortles	28	QB
Mark Sanchez	28	QB
Juston Wood	28	QB
Brooks Bollinger	28	QB
Seth Burford	28	QB
George Godsey	28	QB
Drew Brees	28	QB
Caitlin Down	28	QB
Peyton Manning	28	QB
Kevin Kolb	28	QB
Matt Gutierrez	28	QB
Deshone Kizer	28	QB
EJ Manuel	28	QB
Russell Wilson	28	QB
Nate Sudfeld	28	QB
Landry Jones	28	QB
Josh Freeman	27	QB
Joe Flacco	27	QB
Dustin Long	27	QB
Kyle Boller	27	QB
Brian St. Pierre	27	QB
Kirk Farmer	27	QB
Jason Guesser	27	QB
Brandon Dillman	27	QB
Jameis Winston	27	QB
Jonathan Smith	27	QB
Aaron Smith	27	QB
Mike McMahon	27	QB
David Rivers	27	QB
Josh Booty	27	QB
Tim Mckay	27	QB
Chris Greeson	27	QB
Ryan Leaf	27	QB
Kelly Stouffer	27	QB
Rich Gannon	27	QB
Alex Brink	27	QB
Brandon Weeden	27	QB
Jordan Love	27	QB
Carson Palmer	26	QB
Jay Cutler	26	QB
Kyle Orton	26	QB
C.J. Beathard	26	QB
Ryan Mallett	26	QB
Dan Orlovsky	26	QB
Brett Hundley	26	QB
Adrian Mcpherson	26	QB
Kellen Moore	26	QB
Jason White	26	QB
Timmy Chang	26	QB
Jason Fife	26	QB
Jared Lorenzen	26	QB
Major Applewhite	26	QB
Tim Lester	26	QB
Akili Smith	26	QB
Rodney Peete	26	QB
Mike Glennon	26	QB
Baker Mayfield	25	QB
Ben Roethlisberger	25	QB
Chad Pennington	25	QB
Colt McCoy	25	QB
Cardale Jones	25	QB
Shane Carden	25	QB
Ben Dougherty	25	QB
Casey Bramlett	25	QB
Bradley Van Pelt	25	QB
Byron Leftwich	25	QB
Ken Dorsey	25	QB
Dak Prescott	25	QB
David Neal	25	QB
Randy Fasani	25	QB
Davis Webb	25	QB
Mitchell Trubisky	25	QB
Shaun Hill	25	QB
Connor Cook	25	QB
Brock Osweiler	25	QB
Shane Griggs	25	QB
Josh Harris	25	QB
Spurgeon Wynn	25	QB
Brock Huard	25	QB
Joe Jermaine	25	QB
Shaun King	25	QB
Justin Herbert	39	QB
Anthony Gordon	25	QB
Brian lewerke	25	QB

Highest Wonderlic Scores by NFL Combine Running Backs (20 & above):

Zach Zenner	35	RB
Dare Ogunbowale	35	RB
Ezekiel Elliott	32	RB
Danny Woodhead	29	RB
Charles Scott	26	RB
Giovani Bernard	25	RB
Anthony Dixon	25	RB
Arian Foster	25	RB
Jerick Mckinnon	24	RB
Alvin Kamara	24	RB
Jahvid Best	24	RB
Lawrence Phillips	23	RB
Andre Williams	23	RB
Jeremy Hill	22	RB
Christian McCaffrey	21	RB
Donnel Pumphrey	21	RB
Jonathan Stewart	20	RB
Melvin Gordon	20	RB
Corey Clement	20	RB

Highest Wonderlic Scores by NFL Combine Linebackers (20 & above):

Pete Kendall	41	LB
Luke Kuechly	34	LB
Shayne Skov	34	LB
Chris Borland	32	LB
Max Bullouch	31	LB
Terrell Suggs	31	LB
Keenan Robinson	29	LB
T.J. Watt	29	LB
Anthony Walker	29	LB
Anthony Barr	28	LB
Raekwon McMillan	28	LB
John Mobley	27	LB
Clay Matthews	27	LB
Alex Anzalone	26	LB
Regan Upshaw	24	LB
Kevin Pierre-Louis	24	LB
Terrell Manning	23	LB
Charles Harris	23	LB
Alex Moulden	23	LB
Brian Cushing	23	LB
Vince Biegel	23	LB
Jarrad Davis	23	LB
Reggie Brown	22	LB
Zach Cunningham	22	LB
Kevin Hardy	21	LB
Jarrad Davis	21	LB
Haason Reddick	21	LB
Ryan Shazier	20	LB
Demarcus Lawrence	20	LB