Depending on whom you ask, Central Michigan quarterback prospect Dan LeFevour is anywhere from a third round pick to a late round selection. And due to scouts’ concern about his lack of arm strength, the latter is probably more realistic.

After a lackluster week of practice leading up to the game, LeFevour threw for 97 yards and a touchdown on ten attempts in last month’s Senior Bowl. In effort to ride that success, he has decided not to throw at the NFL scouting combine, which kicks off Wednesday, February 24 and runs through March 2.

After racking up 12,905 passing yards, 2,948 rushing yards, 149 total touchdowns and a completion percentage of 66.4, his collegiate numbers speak for themselves. But is he taking a major risk by not throwing at the combine? Does he need to prove to scouts that he can make all the throws?

To gain a better perspective on the topic from someone who watched LeFevour play in college, I asked Central Michigan beat writer Drew Ellis of the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun about the benefits and risks of LeFevour not throwing at the combine.

“The strategy behind not throwing at the combine could simply be to try and give LeFevour the best chance to impress scouts when he finally does throw in front of them,” said Ellis. “LeFevour has chemistry with Bryan Anderson and Antonio Brown and if threw at the combine, he could be throwing to some guy he has never met or worked with.”

While LeFevour opted out of throwing at the combine, he confirmed that he would throw at CMU’s Pro Day in March.

“The key to LeFevour’s draft status will clearly depend on his throwing performance, so I think he and his agent want to make sure he has the best situation possible for throwing in front of scouts,” said Ellis. “Also, at CMU’s Pro Day, he will be the lone quarterback on display. At the combine, he could get lost in the shuffle. Again, this is just maximizing his potential to move up in the draft.”

Of course, LeFevour is taking a risk by not throwing at the combine.

“The only setback to his choice could be in upsetting some teams, but for those that have covered LeFevour, you know he is not a diva or looking to big-time anyone. He is simply trying to give himself the best future possible, and you can’t fault him for that.”

Financially, the only thing that matters is being selected as high as possible come April. That’s why it’s vital for prospects to maximize their strengths and cover up their weaknesses until they get into their first camp.

For LeFevour, his strengths are his size, athleticism, accuracy, leadership, intelligence and work ethic. He can show most of those skills off at the scouting combine without worrying about picking up a ball until his pro day. Thus, it makes sense that he would skip the throwing portion at the combine and risk upsetting scouts in the process. It’s a risk that could wind up paying dividends for the CMU product in the end.

Photo from fOTOGLIF