NFL Draft: Wondering About the Wonderlic

The Wonderlic test has become best known for its use in NFL pre-draft assessments of prospective football players. The average Wonderlic score for each position is 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

(From Paul Zimmerman's The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football)

NFL teams expect most rookie prospects will score well because they can prepare for the tests. When a rookie has an unusually low score though, it raises a huge red flag. Vince Young was rumored to have only scored a 6 on his Wonderlic test, but was still the top QB taken in 2006 (he scored a 16 the second time around). Matt Lienart scored a 35 on the Wonderlic test. NFL teams like to see quarterbacks, offensive linemen, middle linebackers and safeties score higher than that because those positions can be mentally demanding. A person of average intelligence should score around 20.

So how does the 2008 rookie class match up?

The top four QBs in this years draft faired well, with both Ryan (Boston College) and Brohm (Louisville) scoring 32, Flacco (Delaware) scored a 28, and Henne (Michigan) scored a 22.

Most of the top offensive linemen also tested well. Jake Long (Michigan) scored a 26, Jeff Otah (Pittsburgh) scored a 28, Sam Baker (South California) scored a 27, Chris Williams (Vanderbilt) scored a 32, Godser Cherilus (Boston College) scored a 25 and Brandon Albert (Virginia) scored a 23.

Can a bad score on the Wonderlic hurt you in the draft? Keep an eye on Boise State offensive tackle Ryan Clady. Clady has been projected as a top ten player, but had the only disappointing score from the top group of blockers, scoring a 13.

A few others that might have hurt themselves with below average Wonderlic scores include Linebacker Keith Rivers (USC) and Safety Kenny Philips (Miami) both only scoring a 16.

In the history of the NFL, Pat McInally, a graduate of Harvard University, is the only football player to record a confirmed perfect score of 50.

NFL teams say the Wonderlic is just one piece of the overall puzzle though. Good thing for Vince Young!