The NFL combine has produced some… interesting comments this week from some of its attendees. 

Texas Tech defensive back Tyler Owens and tight end Tip Reiman from Illinois may take the cake, with both players espousing some unique beliefs with enough ambiguity that they have some people taking them seriously. 

Owens, during an interview with reporters, said that he didn’t believe in space and “other planets,” as seen in a video posted by Brent Sobleski from the combine in Indianapolis. 

Owens also added that he had looked into flat earth conspiracy theories and felt there were some “valid points.” 

Owens’ comments certainly made their rounds on social media but may have paled in comparison to the remarks that Reiman made.

Reiman said was a member of the “birds aren’t real” movement.

“Have you ever seen a baby pigeon?” Reiman said Thursday. “How do we know that power lines aren’t pigeon recharging stations?”

The “birds aren’t real” movement is a satirical conspiracy that was started by Peter McIndoe and was created on a whim in 2017.

The basis of it is that birds are actually government-planted drones spying on us all, but the joke is that no one in the movement actually believes that, and it is all part of a bit. 

In a 2021 interview with the New York Times, McIndoe said the movement was meant to be “preposterous” to fight lunacy with lunacy. 

It’s more than likely that Reiman was in on the joke, despite some online taking the comments a little more seriously. 

At the very least, both Owens and Reiman have brought some added attention to themselves while the whole football world is in Indy trying to get a better feel for the potential future pros that will be selected in April at the draft.