when does the nfl combine start

The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine officially runs from February 22 to March 2, 2026, with the main fan-facing and televised on-field workouts taking place from Thursday, February 26 through Sunday, March 1, 2026.

Key dates at a glance

• Overall combine window: February 22 – March 2, 2026.

• On-field workouts (what most fans care about): February 26 – March 1, 2026.

• Location every day: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Fan perspective: “When does it start for me?”

If you’re asking “when does the NFL Combine start” in the sense of when you can actually watch drills and coverage:

• First televised/live drill coverage begins Thursday, February 26, 2026.

• Coverage runs daily through Sunday, March 1, typically in the afternoon/evening TV windows on NFL Network and streaming on NFL+.

So for most fans, the combine “starts” on February 26, 2026 , when players first hit the field for timed drills and workouts.

Behind-the-scenes start

If you’re thinking about the full event from a league/team standpoint:

• Players begin arriving and going through registration, medicals, interviews, and orientation as early as Sunday–Monday, February 22–23, 2026.

• Those early days are heavy on medical exams, measurements, and team interviews, with no public drills yet.

Mini timeline of the 2026 combine

• Feb 22–25:
  • Player arrivals, registration, medical testing, measurements, team interviews.

• Feb 26–Mar 1:
  • On‑field workouts by position groups at Lucas Oil Stadium (defensive front seven, DBs/TEs, then QBs/WRs/RBs, then OL).

• Mar 2:
  • Final bench work, departures, wrap‑up.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.