I think real talent evaluators use the combine to affirm game tape. If a guy runs faster/slower than expected, they go back to the game tape to see if they missed something. I think when a guy like Greg Robinson kills the combine and gets drafted #2, the Kipers of the world are just reacting late, which gives fans the idea that the combine caused him to rise. More likely is that NFL GMs already had Robinson that high and the combine just confirmed what they saw on game tape. Maybe he went up a little bit, but hardly went from 2nd round to #2 pick based on a 40 time. Same can be said of guys like Bridgewater, where the media dropped him after his poor pro day, causing fans to think the pro day is what pushed him down. More likely, is that teams had him there to begin with and the poor pro day just confirmed it.