Potential No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Baker Mayfield knocked a new version of the Wonderlic intelligence test way out of the park, according to The MMQB’s Robert Klemko.
Baker Mayfield reportedly aced a modernized version of the Wonderlic
The test’s designers say it correlates with eventual performance.
Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
At the league’s scouting combine, most prospects now take a test called the Athletic Intelligence Quotient, an exam created in 2012. A pair of doctors have spent 15 years working on it, with the goal of improving upon the Wonderlic test’s method, Klemko writes.
Of the 63 quarterbacks tested since 2012, Mayfield’s AIQ score was second-highest. Player data isn’t public, but Klemko confirmed Mayfield’s results with league sources.
Does this matter? Well, maybe. It’s helpful to be really intelligent.
Here’s some background on the test, via The MMQB:
“Years ago, we discovered the Wonderlic was the only test that was used to measure intelligence at the combine, and that was based off a theory from 1934,” [Dr. Scott] Goldman says. “It’s language-dependent, and it has socioeconomic and cultural biases. So we spent years looking at all the forms of intelligence and cognitive abilities that impact unsolvable puzzles.”
They debuted the test with the NFL in 2012, testing on a limited basis at the combine, and for the last two years they’ve tested each prospect invited to the combine. Now that they’ve tested thousands of future pros, they’re beginning to see results.
“I’m proud of this,” Goldman says. “We’ve found a statistically-significant correlation between our test and on-field performance, and this is the first test I’m aware of that has found that in the NFL. Players with a high AIQ tend to get on the field sooner and stay on the field longer.”
The Wonderlic, which teams have used to evaluate players at the combine for years, is really hard and may or may not be predictive of future success, just like the AIQ. If you take the Wonderlic, there’s an excellent chance you’ll find yourself struggling.
It’s not smart to take prospects completely off a draft board because of a result on a test like the Wonderlic or even the purportedly improved AIQ. It’s also not smart to draft on that result alone, and no team would. But that Mayfield did well on it can’t be a bad thing.
Mayfield goes No. 3 overall to the Jets in the most recent mock draft by SB Nation’s Dan Kadar. The Heisman Trophy winner is certain to be a high first-rounder.
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