It?s called the Wonderlic test, a product of Charles Wonderlic, and it?s become a staple of the evaluation of NFL prospects.
The results are supposed to be confidential, but the numbers somehow seem to leak out each year. Maybe by teams looking to justify either taking a player or passing up on another?
The test is 50 questions in which players have 12 minutes to answer. The pace is brisk and there?s not a lot of time to dwell on any particular question.
The average Wonderlic score for a NFL quarterback is 24. The scores are used as part of the evaluation process, but it doesn?t seem to correlate ? by itself ? with success. Some of the lowest scores reported are attributed to some of the best quarterbacks of all time? and some of the highest belong to average players. But it is an indication of intelligence and problem solving.
Click here to take a sample Wonderlic test, developed by Genius Media.NOTE: The test is for entertainment value. There?s no basis to believe the sample Wonderlic test would coincide with the actual test.
Here are some of the reported scores:
48 ? Ryan Fitzpatrick, Greg McElroy
42 ? Blaine Gabbert
40 ? Alex Smith
39 ? Eli Manning
38 ? Colin Kaepernick, Matt Flynn, Matthew Stafford
37 ? Tony Romo, Andrew Luck
35 ? Aaron Rodgers, Matt Leinart, Sam Bradford, Christina Ponder
34 ? Ryan Tannehill
33 ? Tom Brady
33 ? Marcus Mariota
32 ? Johnny Manziel
31 ? Matt Schaub
30 ? Philip Rivers
29 ? Andy Dalton, Nick Foles
28 ? Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, EJ Manuel, Marck Sanchez, Blake Bortles
27 ? Jameis Winston, Joe Flacco, Josh Freeman
26 ? Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer, Ryan Mallet
25 ? Ben Roethlisberger
24 ? Cam Newton, Geno Smith
21 ? Robert Griffin III
20 ? Michael Vick, Jake Locher, Teddy Bridgewater
Just to give you an idea of how the test scores don?t assure success, CBS Sports reports three of the game?s top quarterbacks of all time ? Terry Bradshaw, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino all scored less than 20.
Some other notable QBs:
33 -Steve Young
29 ? John Elway
22 ? Brett Favre
15 ? Dan Marino, Donovan McNabb, Jim Kelly, Terry Bradshaw
Click here to take a sample Wonderlic test, developed by Genius Media.NOTE: The test is for entertainment value. There?s no basis to believe the sample Wonderlic test would coincide with the actual test.
