Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

A comment in another thread got me to wondering about the Wonderlic Test...

So I did some quick Wiki-research (accompanied by a grain of salt) and found (pardon the long copy-and-paste):

Though used in a variety of settings, the Wonderlic test has become best known for its use in the NFL's Scouting Combine. According to Paul Zimmerman's The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football, the average score of a NFL player according to position is the following:

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
An average football player usually scores around 20 points. Most teams want at least 21 for a quarterback.

Some notable players who scored well below the average include:

Darren Davis - 4 (Undrafted, later played Canadian Football)
Morris Claiborne – 4 (first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, lowest score ever known by an NFL player)
Mario Manningham – 6 (third-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft)
Frank Gore – 6 (third-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft)
Vince Young - 6 (third overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft, Young was re-administered the test the following day and scored a 16)
Tavon Austin – 7 (first-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft)
Terrelle Pryor – 7 (third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft)
Carlos Hyde – 9 (second round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft)
Travis Henry – 9 (second-round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft)
Sebastian Janikowski - 9 (first round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft)
Charles Rogers – 10 (second overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft)
Jeff George – 10 (first overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft)
Darrelle Revis - 10 (first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft)
Keyshawn Johnson - 11 (first overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft])
Cordarrelle Patterson – 11 (first-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft)
Ray Lewis – 13 (first-round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, Hall of Fame inductee)
Simeon Rice - 13 (third overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft)
Lamar Jackson - 13 (first-round pick of the 2018 NFL Draft)
Jim Kelly - 15 (first round pick in the 1983 NFL Draft, Hall of Fame inductee)
Donavan McNabb - 15 (second overall pick of the 1999 NFL Draft)

Some notable players who scored well above the average include:

Tom Brady - 33 (sixth round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft)
Steve Young - 33 (first round pick of the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft)
Luke Kuechly – 34 (first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft)
Aaron Rodgers – 35 (first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft)
Jonathan Ogden - 35 (Fourth overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft)
Sam Bradford – 36 (first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft)
Colin Kaepernick – 37 (second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft)
Andrew Luck – 37 (first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft)
Tony Romo – 37 (undrafted in 2003)
Josh Allen - 37 (first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft)
Matthew Stafford – 38 (first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft)
Eli Manning – 39 (first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft)
Alex Smith – 40 (first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft)
Carson Wentz – 40 (first-round, second overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft)
Calvin Johnson – 41 (first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft)
Ryan Nassib – 41 (fourth-round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft)
Blaine Gabbert – 42 (first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft)
Eric Decker – 43 (third-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft)
Greg McElroy – 43 (seventh-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft)
John Urschel – 43 (fifth-round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft); began working on a PhD in math at MIT in 2016
Matt Birk – 46 (sixth-round pick in the 1998 NFL Draft)
Ryan Fitzpatrick – 48 (seventh-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft; finished test in a record nine minutes)
Ben Watson – 48 (first-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft)
Mike Mamula – 49 (first-round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft; second highest score ever reported)
Pat McInally – 50 (fifth-round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft; only player known to have gotten a perfect score)

What do you think of the test?
Some decent players scored fairly low and high scores (obviously) don't guarantee success...
...any big surprises for you?

Ryan Fitzpatrick – 48 (seventh-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft; finished test in a record nine minutes)

That surprised me.
I don't think I've ever hear the man speak but obviously he has something going on upstairs...

JuggernautJ wrote:Ryan Fitzpatrick – 48 (seventh-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft; finished test in a record nine minutes)

That surprised me.
I don't think I've ever hear the man speak but obviously he has something going on upstairs...

Well he did go to Harvard. He was just blessed genetically with brilliant cognitive ability and had that bolstered with a good family life, positive upbringing, good nutrition etc.

Physically, he doesn't have a strong or particularly accurate arm. Maybe he knows where to go with it most times, but his arm just can't get it there. Pennington was similar. Incredibly intelligent, competitive, and a leader, but about as athletic as a dump truck with a poor arm.

fwiw Morris Claiborne admits to blowing the test off. And I wonder if guys like Marino and Kelly also sort of did it halfheartedly considering there was ample evidence before they even took the test that they were plenty smart enough to QB in the NFL. I think teams probably know which guys sat there and tried and which guys just didn't care.

When it comes to the QB position, yes it is concerning when you have a guy sit for it, try hard, and get a low number. Then you start wondering how he'll handle playbooks and the media and the responsibilities of the position. It's not very often you see low Wonderlic QB's succeed long term. Usually they need some incredible physical talents to overcome a lack of smarts.

If you're interested in taking the test:

https://footballiqscore.com/quiz/full-quiz

sheajets wrote:

JuggernautJ wrote:Ryan Fitzpatrick – 48 (seventh-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft; finished test in a record nine minutes)

That surprised me.
I don't think I've ever hear the man speak but obviously he has something going on upstairs...

Well he did go to Harvard. He was just blessed genetically with brilliant cognitive ability and had that bolstered with a good family life, positive upbringing, good nutrition etc.

It runs in his family:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OYK_NlZ7n4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61pXebT25yQ

As for Benjamin Watson, it just amazes me how he's still active at 38 and producing. I bet many "experts" felt his career was over about 6 or 7 years ago, yet he is still a starter in the NFL.

Three Harvard guys in the top 5. Just saying ...

sheajets wrote:And I wonder if guys like Marino and Kelly also sort of did it halfheartedly considering there was ample evidence before they even took the test that they were plenty smart enough to QB in the NFL.

I've always wondered if the drug/cocaine rumors surrounding Marino just prior to the draft had any connection to his low wonderlic score...like the scouts saw his score and thought "How can Marino's score be so low? He has to be on drugs or something."

Bryan wrote:

sheajets wrote:And I wonder if guys like Marino and Kelly also sort of did it halfheartedly considering there was ample evidence before they even took the test that they were plenty smart enough to QB in the NFL.

I've always wondered if the drug/cocaine rumors surrounding Marino just prior to the draft had any connection to his low wonderlic score...like the scouts saw his score and thought "How can Marino's score be so low? He has to be on drugs or something."

His disappointing final season at Pitt also didn't help. I usually adhere to the old adage of where there's smoke, there's fire. It was the 80's, he was a superstar college QB, this was an epidemic all over America. I mean it was known that he did like to party and it certainly wouldn't be surprising if others at these parties confirmed to scouts the presence of certain substances there.

Could also have been a rumor started by other teams hoping he'd fall to them