The NFL Combine is a useful tool for measuring incoming rookies, but it isn’t the only tool.

Just as you wouldn’t build a house using only a hammer, you’d be foolish to only read into a player’s measureables at the Combine. History has provided us with several examples of guys who didn’t impress in Indianapolis only to flourish once they hit the field for actual games.

After all, there is a reason Tom Brady slipped all the way to the sixth round in 2000. His showing at the combine seemed to provide every reason not to draft him – he ran a 5.28-second 40-yard dash, and he didn’t wow anyone with his size or arm strength.

Counterpart Drew Brees, another of this generation’s best quarterbacks, was also hurt by his combine results. Despite leading Purdue to the Rose Bowl – a feat that becomes more remarkable with each passing year – scouts were turned off when he measured under 6-feet, and some doubted his ability to throw downfield.

When measuring quarterbacks, we use terms like “intangibles” and “leadership” a lot, neither of which can be determined from watching the combine. But it’s not just quarterbacks who have excelled despite a weak showing.

Linebacker Terrell Suggs put up underwhelming numbers in his combine, running a 4.84-second 40 and only mustering 18 reps on the bench press. His career with the Ravens has proven the tape of what he did on the football field at Ball So Hard University, er, Arizona State, was a much more useful way to gauge his ability.

Joe Haden is one of the best cornerbacks in football, but he was one of the worst players at his position in the 2010 combine. Haden ran a 4.57-second 40 and had a 35-inch vertical leap, both of which ranked in the bottom 10 for cornerbacks. The Browns still had enough faith to take him with the seventh pick because, once again, they trusted what they saw on the field more than what they saw in Indy.

That’s all good news for players who had disappointing showings last week. Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon only had the 14th-best 40 time among running backs, though it’s important to note he is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered late in the season. TCU linebacker Paul Dawson was perhaps the biggest disappointment of all, running a 4.93-second 40. Speed is seen as the key to the 230-yard Dawson’s whole game, and it still could be – linebackers are typically playing in chunks of 5-to-10 yards, not 40.

Players typically do better at their pro days than the combine – they are in their home facility under far less scrutiny – so guys like Yeldon and Dawson may improve any damage that has been done to their stock. Or perhaps their draft stock is damaged, but the quality of their play in the NFL will not be.

It wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.