As of today, we are exactly two weeks away from the 2024 NFL Draft. That means it’s white-knuckle time for the hundreds of draft prospects hoping to hear their names called over the three days of the draft. 

If you’re one of those players, or you represent one of them, you’re probably foraging for all the information you can find that might be helpful the last weekend in April. If so, I’ve got something for you. 

Tonight, former Panthers GM and Seahawks executive Scott Fitterer will join dozens of members of the ITL family for an hour, answering my questions and, maybe, even a few from the attendees. Here are the questions I’ll pose him tonight. 

• Let’s talk about the month of April for an NFL team. Take us through, week-by-week, on what you’re doing as you finalize things for the draft.
• If you could choose only one characteristic, would you choose traits, total playing experience, or most recent season’s production as the main reason you drafted or signed a player? 
• About how many players each year get “draftable” grades? About how many wind up on your board as UDFAs? About how many does the staff “write,” typically?
• What is your philosophy on Day 3? Are these picks normally players that had exceptional pro days? Are they players that “slipped” that you had rated much higher? Are you looking to fill out special teams in these rounds? 
• Take us through your process for removing a player from your draft board, either for character or medicals. Was he really “removed,” or was he just moved to a much lower position?
• What does Day 3 look like for you? How did you usually determine who got drafted and who got left for the UDFA chase?
• What did your post-draft UDFA process look like? How did you integrate RMC/tryout invitations? 
• Do you prefer rookie mini-camp the weekend after the draft or the second weekend, and why? How often did you take players who had been in a camp on Wkd 1, if you camped Wkd 2?
• Can you ever recall “discovering” a player, or even getting information that led to you drafting/signing a player, from an agent-generated, mass email? 
• For a player drafted in 2023/2024, when was the first time one of your scouts started evaluating him? 

If you’re an ITL client, you’re invited to join us at 9 p.m. ET for an hour-long session. Just contact us and we’ll send you the Zoom link. If you’re not part of the ITL family, it’s not too late to sign up. 

Now, let’s say you’re limited, budget-wise, but still need to get coached up on what scouts do (and agents should do as a result) related to Day 3 and the UDFA process. We got you covered. Wednesday’s edition of the Scouting the League podcast had me asking my podcast co-host, Rodrik David, several questions that are similar in nature to what I’ll be asking Scott tonight. Here’s what Rodrik, former area scout for the Falcons, handled in our podcast, which you can check out here: 

• What is April like for an area scout? Is all the hay in the barn, pretty much?
• Did you feel like you had a pretty good handle on all the players the team rated as draftable? Or did you mostly feel comfortable with guys from your region?
• What were Top 30 visits like? What could players do/not do?
• Do you ever remember a Top 30 visit that took a player off your board?
• How much say did you have in moving players up/down during April?
• When was your board totally “set?”
• What was your role on local pro days? What about during the UDFA process?
• How much power did you have during the UDFA process to really stand on a table for a guy?
• When did you start looking to the following year’s draft class?

Either way, if you’re interested in professional development, you’ll benefit from one or both of these options. Need even more help? Make sure you’re signed up for our weekly newsletter. Do that here.