03/25/2018
From Sports Illustrated:
His score on a new intelligence test designed to replace the Wonderlic was eye-opening. His performance throwing under pressure raised some eyebrows. His rating on ‘NFL throws’ might surprise. A look at how Baker Mayfield measures up in advanced analyticsWhen I was young, Sports Illustrated would run literary essays about marlin fishing with gentleman adventurers, but now they just run nine-part series on the NFL draft prospects of Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback from Oklahoma.By ROBERT KLEMKO March 22, 2018
Part 9 of our draft season series on Baker Mayfield, the 2018 draft’s most fascinating prospect on and off the field
At some point during the NFL combine, between the MRIs and the 15-minute team interviews and the early-morning drug tests, almost every prospect takes a little-known test known as the AIQ, or Athletic Intelligence Quotient. Dr. Scott Goldman and Dr. Jim Bowman have spent the last 15 years developing the exam, administered on a touchscreen and intended to improve upon the methodology of the Wonderlic test, the longtime benchmark for intelligence testing at the combine still in use today.Of course, that didn’t keep Mayfield from getting into a couple of Johnny Manziel-type jams over the last couple of years.You’ve probably never heard of the AIQ, and that’s by design; two teams are under contract with Bowman and Goldman’s company — Athletic Intelligence Measures — and purchase the rookie data in full. (The company does not disclose the names of its clients.) About a half dozen additional teams each year buy portions of the data (typically, the test scores for the Top 100 prospects on their boards). The company has administered more than 4,000 tests across each of the major American sports leagues, and started administering the test at the combine in 2012.
“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,” 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.” …
Goldman declined to confirm the performance of specific players, but did acknowledge a QB prospect this year scored in the Top 100 on the AIQ all-time — out of more than 4,000 tests — and is the second-highest scoring quarterback out of 63 who have taken the test since 2012. Two league sources, who asked for anonymity to discuss the testing results of a prospect, confirmed it was Mayfield.
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