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Vikings GM: Formal interviews at combine are 'kind of like speed dating'

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Potential draftees spend hours preparing for on-field drills at the scouting combine, but with the NFL's revamped personal conduct policy, formal interviews are becoming increasingly more important for teams evaluating prospects.

"These kids have to realize, and I can't speak for every team, but some teams may have been more lenient and now will not be as lenient with specific issues these players may be coming in with," Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said, according to Andrew Krammer of 1500ESPN.com. "Just because of the environment we're in right now." 

Teams are given 15 minutes for formal interviews with prospects of their choosing, with questions ranging from the straightforward to the bizarre, like former Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland asking Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. 

"It's kind of like speed dating," Spielman said. 

The bizarre questions are designed to throw prospects off guard, hopefully garnering a more genuine response.

"Rick does a pretty good job of that," Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said. "He throws some of them out there from left field. Just something we might know about them that they don't know (we know). Something like that." 

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