The Eagles use interviews to probe any questions about a player's character, intelligence, and ability to learn, general manager Howie Roseman said.
The combine also gives the team a chance to have its doctors examine prospects before it invests millions of dollars and a sizable stake in the Eagles' future.
"The most important part of the combine is the medical part of it," Roseman said. "If you have guys that you rate very highly and your doctors tell you they have longevity issues, that's going to affect where you take them."
The biggest combine workout stars can improve their standing by rounds, earning millions in the process as they move up draft charts. But many teams have learned to be cautious about combine results, preferring to focus on players' on-field production rather than their performance in track-and-field style tests.
"We'll try to stick to where our board is now," Roseman said last week in advance of the combine.
"What we really try to do is, as much as we can, keep it based on the play from August to December," and the previous season, Roseman said. "This is the time of year where it could play mind games on you, because you get into the all-star games, and you get into the combine and you meet with these guys, and you have to be in a position where you have to stick to your beliefs on how they play, the background they come from, as opposed to guys who flash."
The Eagles infamously made Mike Mamula the seventh overall pick in 1995 based on his stellar workouts, and he never lived up to that lofty choice.
Teams should use the combine to make sure players' athletic ability matches what they have seen in games, said NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock.
