Once again, the RCA Dome this week will be a zoo of draft-eligible players, agents, NFL people and ... pre-teen cheerleaders. Seriously. The convention center, which is a massive place, will hold several events simultaneously, including some kind of cheerleading thing.

It's a sight, for sure. But the meat and potatoes of what is gleaned there goes on behind the scenes, in the weight room, on the playing surface, in the doctors' examining rooms and in the interview sessions the teams hold.

In fact, more so than 40-times and three-cone drills, you can argue that the most important tests are the ones run by the medical people and the player interviews conducted by the teams. You either canplay or you can't; teams pretty much know that based on the hours of tape they have already and will continue to pore over up through April. But they don't often know exactly what is in the heads, and bodies, of players they plan to invest a lot of money in.

So here are a few players whose medical conditions and characters will be most highly scrutinized in Indy:

Medical:

Wisconsin CB Jack Ikegwuono's offseason knee injury will cost him a lot of money. In a CB class that's devoid of a knock-down, sure-thing No. 1 prospect, he could have slipped into the first-round range. Now hurt, he'll be lucky to be a first-day pick with much of his rookie season possibly wiped out. Can agent Drew Rosenhaus pull another Willis McGahee act?

Texas WR Limas Sweed has everything you want in a receiver, but his wrist injury cost him seven games this season and caused him to pull out of the Senior Bowl mid-week. Again, receiver is a position without a clear-cut leader, but one likely will emerge by this time next week. Sweed could do well by showing up and putting teams' doctors at ease with a sound physical.

TCU DE Tommy Blake isn't as much an injury concern as he is a stamina worry. After standout seasons as a sophomore and junior in the rush-end/linebacker mold of DeMarcus Ware, Blake missed most of the season with personal issues, ballooned up and was out of shape at the East-West Shrine game, though he played better than expected. So Blake will need to show he's in top form as well as answer teams' tough questions about his bipolar disorder.

Which leads us to the interview list:

Arkansas RB Darren McFadden has a big week coming up. Not only must he fend off doubters who say he's not timed-speed fast -- he is reportedly waffling over whether to run a 40 in Indy or at his Pro Day -- and that he has as many character questions as any top-10 prospect. With other high-character guys atop the draft such as Matt Ryan, Vernon Gholston, Chris Long and Glenn Dorsey, the decision to draft McFadden will be tough. Do you think the character-addled Falcons, who surely could use a running back, want a guy like this without thoroughly convincing themselves that he is not a bad dude?

Indiana WR James Hardy has freakish tools and size and could help himself by interviewing well. People around the school say he has become a better, more responsible person, but others are not convinced. Hardy has the potential to be drafted very high, and some team will fall in love with his measurables, but he'll have to convince teams that he's not a knucklehead.

Auburn DE Quentin Groves likely will end up on a lot of media lists for "players that helped themselves" with what should be a blazing 40-yard dash and some impressive workouts. The guy is a completely ridiculous athlete and exactly the kind of physical specimen that teams seek in a defensive end. But he's said to not be very mature or very hard-working and could need a drill-sergeant coach to kick his butt every day in practice to motivate him. Teams will find that out this week. Groves' stock probably won'tbe hurt based on his workouts, but his character questions could scare at least one potential employer away.