Category Archives: Scouts

Taking a Look at the Modern NFL Director of College Scouting

25 Friday Sep 2026

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Earning the title of Director of College Scouting for an NFL team is undeniable proof that you’ve “arrived” as a member of pro football’s intelligence community. But what else does it mean? Does it have the resonance that it once had?

We looked at all 27 today at Inside the League (the Bears, Bengals, Cardinals, Chargers, Rams and Saints don’t have one, while the Chiefs have two) and it was interesting to see the sweep of backgrounds, ages and terms of service. Here are a few observations.

  • In previous eras when becoming a GM was a more ordered process, it was probably more commonplace that being a college director was a prerequisite to running the front office, but that’s not true anymore. Would you believe that 22 of the 32 NFL GMs were never Directors of College Scouting? That really surprised me, but it’s a reminder that a growing number of GMs have pro scouting backgrounds (like Minnesota’s Nolan Teasley), come from more of a business side (Buffalo’s Brandon Beane and Pittsburgh’s Omar Khan), or just hopped the line altogether (San Francisco’s John Lynch, for example).
  • It’s become an amazingly volatile job, or maybe “transient” would be the right word. Would you believe that the longest-tenured college director is Minnesota’s Mike Sholiton, who’s been on the job since 2021? Eight of the 27 are in their first year in the role. For a job that includes coordinating and sorting out the information coming in from all over the country, that’s a pretty steep learning curve when you’re not gonna be in the job more than 3-4 years.
  • No “big school” experience is necessary in your background. Matter of fact, it might be a disadvantage to have come from a football power, looking at the current lineup. The only current college directors who got their respective undergrad degrees at P4 schools are Dallas’ Mitch LaPoint (Kansas), Carolina’s Jared Kirksey (UCF), Houston’s Mozique McCurtis (USC), San Francisco’s Dom DeCicco (Pitt), Denver’s Bryan Chesin (Arizona), Tampa Bay’s Tony Hardie (Notre Dame), New England’s Tony Kinkela (Washington State), Washington’s Ryan Kessenich (Wisconsin), Atlanta’s Shawn Heinlen (Florida) and the Giants’ Jon Ritcher (NC State).
  • In fact, if you aspire to being a college director, you might want to transfer to a MAC school. Buffalo (Kansas City’s David Hinson, UMass (KC’s Pat Sperduto), Miami (Ohio) Pittsburgh’s Dan Colbert), Ball State (Seattle’s Jason Barnes) and Ohio (Tennessee’s Mike Boni) are all represented.
  • As with most jobs in scouting today, more college directors have been “imported” than have those who rose through the ranks. Only nine of 27 have only worked for the team that employs them now.
  • There’s a pretty vast age range, from 30 to 59. More (12) are in their 40s than any other age. Also, there are more in their 30s (eight) than in their 50s (seven).
  • Though you don’t have to be any certain age to do the job, you do have to be seasoned. Of the 27 college directors, 17 have been working in the league at least since the 2009 season. You’re looking at almost two decades of service before you’re considered for the job. That makes sense.

For someone like me, it’s a little sobering that so many dues-paying executives — like the people who make up the college director community — aren’t seeing a direct path to the GM seat, but I suppose that’s just part of the times we live in. The profile now, mostly, is a scout in his 40s who’s got 15-17 years working in the league and, more often than not, arrived with the current GM.

I hoped — I wished — the results were more of an affirmation of the value of experience in NFL front offices, especially as it relates to who gets the GM jobs. Unfortunately, I just don’t see that in the numbers.

Ben Standig’s Survey on NFL Front Offices: A Few Thoughts

18 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by in Agents, Media, NFL draft, Scouts

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This week, the Scouting the League Podcast guest is Ben Standig, who has his own Substack covering the Commanders (Last Man Standig, which is an awesome title). We spent most of our time on his recently posted 2026 Agent Survey, and as often happens, when we were done, there was a lot more I wanted to cover. Here are a few thoughts on his recent post.

  • One of the questions Ben asks is, who is the league’s best talent evaluator? Because he only polls a select number of NFL agents, no one gets a groundswell of support. Seahawks GM John Schneider (four votes) and Rams GM Les Snead (two votes) lead the way, but 18 others get votes. Both have the respect of their peers (as well as a Best Draft Award for each), so no arguments there. However, I found the remaining 18 interesting. Of the 18, nine are GMs or de facto GMs (Dallas’ Will McClay and New England’s Eliot Wolf), plus one other former GM. However, there are also a few up-and-comers that caught my eye.
  • His question, ‘who is a future GM to watch?,’ yielded six executives who got two votes each. Again, there were a whole lot more (11) who got at least one mention. For what it’s worth, two of those who got two votes are former BART List winners (James Liipfert of the Texans and Terrance Gray of the Bills). It’s no surprise that of the 11, nine are from perennial playoff teams, and two (Jeff King of the Bears and Lance Newmark of the Commanders) are with teams who made the postseason at least once in the last two years. You can be the best in the biz, but if your team doesn’t win, don’t expect other teams to come looking to hire you.
  • Schneider and Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman tied for top GM (seven votes each). Once again, no surprises on either one, though I get the sense from the comments that Schneider would be a lot more popular at happy hour than Roseman. If there’s a surprise, among the ones with multiple votes (there were only four), Denver’s George Paton finished fourth. There was a lot of speculation that he might get moved out when Sean Payton got to town, but I am glad he is getting his due among people who know. He’s another one whose team has won a Best Draft Award, and like Schneider, he gets high marks for likability, as well. Obviously, you don’t have to be likable to win, but it’s also not prohibitive if you are.

If you love the “inside” of the game and track what’s going on in NFL front offices, I highly recommend Ben’s recent piece. It really gives you a sense of what’s going on in the buildings. and I’m always up for hearing informed opinions.

Here’s Why You Can’t Always Trust What ‘Scouts Say’

11 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by in Agents, NFL draft, Scouts

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We’re getting geared up for our Agent Basics Zoom series later this month, so it’s got me thinking about what brand new contract advisors need to know. The feedback I keep getting from them is that they’re worried about not having scouting contacts, and I get that. Still, it’s important to keep scouting feedback in perspective.

In fact, when you hear the media or someone else tell you what “scouts say,” there are a few things to remember:

Is it even a scout?: The title of “scout” is thrown around a lot these days. In my estimation, unless you have real skin in the game (in the form of a place on an NFL staff), you’re not a “scout.” Lots of times, when you read a media report that refers to what “scouts are saying,” there’s a good chance that they’re really referring to what they see online, often from some draftnik or other self-appointed expert. Those aren’t scouts.

Time of year matters: If you had asked scouts in September 2021 if Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler would be the No. 1 pick in the spring of 2022 if he chose to leave early, most would say yes. By the end of that season, Rattler was no longer even the Sooners starter. This is just one example. The fact is, a player’s draft status depends on a lot of things, not the least of which is his performance on the field. The guy that looks good in Week 3 may look very different by bowl time.

Level of scout matters (as well as area): If you’re a newly minted Area Scout, roaming the Northeast for an NFL team, your opinion matters and the team is counting on you. At the same time, you’re still figuring things out in an area that’s far less dense in NFL prospects than the Southeast or Midwest are. The point is, just because a scout says something doesn’t mean he’s right.

Scouts are not perfect: Let me give you an illustration. I ran the 2008 Hula Bowl. Among the running backs I invited were Lance Ball (Maryland), Marcus Thomas (UTEP), Jalen Parmele (Toledo) and Danny Woodhead (Chadron State). I took the first three because they were direct recommendations of my scouting contacts, and indeed, Thomas and Parmele were among our draft picks. However, the only reason I took Woodhead — the only reason — is because New Balance was trying to work its way into college football, and it sponsored Chadron State. The game’s owner invited Woodhead (going over my head to do it) because it would lock in New Balance as a merchandise/apparel sponsor. Everyone got new shoes because we brought in Woodhead, but I seethed. Well, guess which running back had the most successful career? By the way, he’s not the only one I dismissed as a pro prospect that year. For the story on another couple of my running back mistakes — I promise you I ran everyone by scouts first — check out this post from September 2014.

Look, you won’t find anyone who has more respect for NFL scouts than I do. My whole business model is practically based on it. Still, it’s important to keep things in perspective.

Tips for Agents Seeking Sleepers in the 2027 Draft Class

20 Thursday Aug 2026

Posted by in Agents, Getting started, NFL draft, Scouts

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We’re still 10 days away from the deadline for roster cuts, so NFL teams are still swollen with players they won’t carry into the regular season. Still, I think it’s interesting to dive into the players who make up 90-man rosters to see where they came from and what NFL teams look for these days.

Here are a few fun facts about players making up the 32 90-man rosters as of now.

  • Which states have the best high school football? I think it’s pretty generally accepted that the three top states are Texas, Florida and California. What’s interesting to me is, for the 2026 draft class, Texas (75 players on NFL rosters) is head and shoulders above the other two (Florida 50, California 48). Incidentally, the next three are Georgia (46), Illinois (30) and Maryland (25).
  • With respect to all players (veterans and rookies), Texas still reigns supreme with 335 players. After that it’s Florida (276) and California (247), followed by Georgia (214), North Carolina (110) and Illinois (108). Two things are interesting — the dramatic drop-off from Georgia to North Carolina, and the fact that neither Alabama (86) or Mississippi (59) are higher on the list.
  • The growth at cornerback and wide receiver intrigues me. More and more, NFL teams expect corners to be at least six-feet tall. At present, 198 of the 327 cornerbacks on NFL rosters are 6-0 or taller (yes, I’m aware that listed heights aren’t always precise, but it’s all we have). That’s 60.5 percent. Of those that are shorter than six feet, almost half (62 of 129) are 5-11. However, among corners in the 2026 draft, the number of corners at least 6-0 is only 63.2 percent (43 of 68). I’m sure teams would love to get even taller at that position, but there are just so many players that size who can sprint, twist and move with today’s slot receivers and outside burners. That’s why big corners are doubly valuable.
  • It’s interesting that the cornerback height average (60.5 percent are 6-0 or higher) is pretty much right in line with wide receivers in the league. Of the 387 receivers now on rosters, 262 (67.7 percent) are 6-0 or taller. That holds up for the 2026 draft class, as well, as 66 percent (70 of 106) of receivers in camps are 6-0-plus.
  • It’s probably not a surprise that 90.6 percent of the league is made up of players from FBS schools. However, not all sub-FBS schools are the same. When it comes to FCS schools, there’s only one that registers on the NFL radar, and that’s North Dakota State, which has 16 alumni in NFL camps this summer. What’s interesting is that when it comes to schools a rung below FBS, pretty much all the top teams are in the Pacific Northwest. After NDSU, South Dakota St. is second with 9; South Dakota, Montana and Weber St. (not necessarily Pacific Northwest, but close) among teams tied for third with 5; and Eastern Washington and Montana State among eight teams tied for fourth with 4. Granted, many of these players won’t make NFL rosters, and even more, many of them got to the league before the era of the transfer portal. It’s worth noting that those schools still seem to be attracting NFL eyes.

So, if you’re agent — especially a younger one — trying to find a client who can beat the odds:

  • Recruit players who prepped in Texas, California or Florida (no matter where they went to college)
  • Don’t recruit wide receivers and corners unless they are at least 6-0
  • Look to the Pacific Northwest for hidden gems at small schools.

What Does the 2025 Freaks List Say About Draft Trends?

14 Friday Aug 2026

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I had lunch with a friend who’s a National Scout swinging through Houston this week and the topic of traits came up. Are teams drafting on tools more than film these days, I asked? He agreed that it definitely seems that way, and also contended that “traits-only” players that might have been seventh-round fliers now seem to go in the fourth and fifth round.

There are others who agree (like this person, whose opinion is relevant — check out the 22:50 mark), but proving that is hard. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the NFL Draft.

Still, with the 2026 Freaks List published this week, it gave me an idea. How many of the 101 players considered most gifted athletically last year in college football do in the 2026 draft? Again, this is far from a perfect gauge of draft trends, but it’s still worth looking at. So I dove in, and here’s what I found.

  • First off, 46 of the 101 were not draft-eligible and are still playing, so the pool is only 55 players.
  • Of the 55, 10 (or 18 percent) not only went undrafted, but they even went unsigned. In other words, they didn’t get anywhere near an NFL camp, even on a tryout basis. This group includes some real college achievers like Cincinnati’s Dontay Corleone and Texas Tech’s Davion Carter. So, once again, simply being gifted athletically is no guarantee of anything.
  • Thirty of the 55 got drafted. Seven were first round, 16 were Day 1 or Day 2 (so less than a third).
  • Ten were signed as UDFAs.
  • Another six got tryouts only (none of the six converted to UDFAs).
  • Bottom line, 40 of the 55 got contracts (drafted or UDFA) and 46 made it at least as far as an NFL camp.

If I’m being honest, this doesn’t really support my theory. In fact, it may be more of an endorsement of the “film is still king” belief.

I look forward to repeating this exercise next year. This year’s list has several repeat performers, such as South Carolina’s Nyck Harbor, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, Oregon’s A’Mauri Washington (the top three on this year’s list) plus many more. Maybe half are back from last year. We’ll see how the players on this year’s list correlate to next year’s draft in a year.

Here’s Your Summer Guide for Getting Ahead in Football

17 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, NFL draft, NIL, Scouts

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If you’re truly interested in finding a job in football, and you haven’t yet, you can’t use the summer to lay on the beach. June, July and August have become primetime for meetups and conferences that give you a chance to find opportunities. The key is finding the ones that are well-attended and reasonably priced.

Here are three I’ll be attending this summer. I’ve only been to one of them previously, but I’m pretty confident all three are going to be outstanding events.

ADs for Christ Summer Gathering (Birmingham) — Next weekend — Obviously, this one comes with a faith component, so if you’re not a committed Christian, it’s probably not the place for you. On the other hand, as long as you keep the main thing the main thing, it’s a golden opportunity. The speaker lineup includes SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Missouri AD Laird Veatch, Ole Miss Senior Deputy AD Eric Wood and more. Jessica Lopez, a key member of the Miami (Fla.) personnel office, runs this, and she’s incredibly organized — she just thinks of everything. This will be my first time attending, but it’s been going on for 10 years. Can’t wait to be there. And cost is just $100. That’s amazing. But again, this is for people who take their faith seriously.

OL Masterminds Summit (Dallas) — July 10-11 — This one is probably more by invitation only, but if you are around offensive linemen much at all, you know who Duke Manyweather is. His annual summit is a big deal, and draws some of the most established names in the game when it comes to centers, guards and tackles (and the people who work with them). Duke has dedicated himself to offensive linemen, whether they’re prospective draft picks or veterans, and has built an incredible reputation for making them better.

Personnel & Recruiting Symposium (Nashville) — Aug. 3-5 — This one is a little pricey but still may sell out. Last year, I think they almost ran out of room at the Renaissance Nashville and I kinda expected them to move it this year. Anyway, it’s really well-run and just overrun with college personnel staffers, NIL and NFL agents, NFL scouts and executives and others associated with the game. The class sessions are great but making and renewing acquaintances is the main reason to be there, especially if you’re still on the new side and trying to build a network.

Which Teams Value RAS the Most?

11 Thursday Jun 2026

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On our podcast, Rodrik David and I sometimes debate the value of traits when it comes to making draft picks. I think it’s fair to say Rodrik is a big believer in traits, while I wonder if they’re being increasingly overvalued these days. It seems to me that, as I study the draft, teams are looking more than ever at triangle numbers (and other analytics) over film. In some cases, I think traits might far exceed film. But is there any way to really measure this?

One way, I think, is to look at the players teams pick in the seventh round. Many teams use seventh-rounders as dart throws, knowing no teams are going to lose their jobs if a draftee in the last round fails. Of course, all teams say they chose the best player available, but did they really just take the best athlete available?

Obviously, we can’t say anything conclusively. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. However, we can look at the numbers over the past three drafts and see which teams seem to put a higher emphasis on athleticism, at least as measured by Relative Athletic Score. If you’re new to RAS, spend some time on this website. Basically, RAS gives you a more complete measure of a player’s testing scores. Not long ago, draftniks marveled at a player’s 40 time, but as popular analysis has matured, it’s become clear that a 170-pound guy running a 4.4 is not the same as when a 230-pound guy does it. OK, let’s look at the teams that value RAS most on Day 3, specifically, in Round 7.

Before we get started, 10.0 is a perfect RAS. Any score between 8.0 and 10.0 is considered in the green zone, i.e., exceptional athleticism. The next tier measures athleticism between 7.99 and 5.0, which is still better than average (that’s the orange zone). Anything below 5.0 is in the red zone and substandard for an NFL prospect.

  • Colts: Indy has picked four times in the seventh round the last three years. Every single one of them has had a 9+ RAS. As you (may) know, the Colts won a Best Draft Award for their picks in 2018.
  • Broncos: While some teams use their seventh-rounders as throw-ins, the Broncos are the opposite, having drafted in the seventh round seven times in the last three years (tied with the Broncos for the most in the league). How did they use those picks? Four of the seven are “green” (two were 9+) and all seven were 6.35 or higher. No “red” picks. By the way, like the Colts, the Broncos are a past Best Draft winner (for the 2021 draft).
  • Giants, Jets: Both teams have chosen just twice in the last three years, but each picked a 9+ and an 8+ RAS player when they did pick. Obviously, it’s a very limited sample, but still interesting.
  • Steelers: For a team with an old-school reputation, Pittsburgh sure seems attentive to workout numbers. Four picks, three greens, one orange.

On the other hand, which teams seem to spend their seventh-rounders based on other factors besides pure athleticism? Let’s take a look.

  • Cowboys: Dallas was tied for second in most seventh-rounders since 2024 with six, but is nowhere near as beholden to RAS as other teams. I think this is especially interesting given that the Cowboys are one of the teams that have most completely embraced analytics. Two of their picks didn’t even have RAS scores, which is usually an indication that the player was hurt and couldn’t test pre-draft. Another had a terrible RAS, though he’s more of a two-gap defensive tackle and those guys rarely have gleaming triangle numbers. Just one of the six had a 9+ score. Clearly, Dallas isn’t looking for freaks in Round 7.
  • Texans: Houston profiles very closely with its Lone Star cousin. One green, three orange (two of which had really blah numbers), one red, plus one no-RAS.
  • Seahawks: Seattle, which won a Best Draft Award for its work in the 2022 draft, doesn’t rely on lazy parameters to decide who to draft. Of their six seventh-rounders over the past three years, one was a no-RAS, one was a red, two were green, and two orange.

Also of note:

  • Of the top 10 RAS scores among seventh-rounders since 2024, the Colts have selected two of them (Oklahoma DE Jonah Laulu in 2024, who had a 9.62, and Kentucky OH Seth McGowan in April, who had a 9.47).
  • The Broncos drafted two in the top 15 highest RAS scores in the seventh round since 2024: South Carolina OC Nick Gargiulo in 2024 (9.45 RAS) and Utah TE Dallen Bentley this year (9.4).
  • The Jags and Ravens joined the Cowboys in drafting two players each with no RAS score.
  • The Patriots are the only team that picked two players with bottom 11 RAS scores among seventh-rounders over the last three years.

Some Fun Facts About This Week’s Podcast Guest, Alonzo Highsmith

22 Friday May 2026

Posted by in College personnel, NFL draft, Scouts

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I guess when you’re around football as long as Alonzo Highsmith has, you wind up being associated with an awful lot of big names. That’s one thing that really struck me during this week’s episode of the Scouting the League podcast, which features the Senior Personnel Executive of the Patriots.

This week’s show was a lot of fun not just because I got to talk football with one of the top scouting minds in the game for an hour, but for all the interesting facets of Zo’s life that I learned during the pre-interview research phase as well as during the podcast itself. Here are a few things that I found especially interesting.

  • Alonzo was the No. 1 prospect in his class at his high school position — linebacker. Not fullback, where he was eventually a first-round pick by the Houston Oilers in the 1987 draft. He said he cried when head coach Howard Schnellenberger asked him to switch positions, but a desire to help the team drove him to make the change.
  • None other than Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall, who went on to stardom with the Bears, basically knocked Zo out of the 1983 season. He barely got healthy in time to return late in the season and even score a touchdown in the Orange Bowl win over Nebraska.
  • Zo was basically drafted by the Oilers to be the successor to Earl Campbell, who had been traded prior to the 1985 season.
  • His head coach in Houston was Jerry Glanville, which is funny because, ideally, Zo would have given Houston a power rushing attack. When I think of Glanville, I think of the guy who brought the Run and Shoot offense to the NFL as head coach of the Falcons.
  • After his playing career, during his four years as a heavyweight boxer, Zo actually signed to fight George Foreman. However, the fight was cancelled because promoters didn’t want to risk Foreman losing before he could fight Larry Holmes, who was scheduled to be his next opponent after Zo.
  • Zo and his son, AJ, actually room together in Foxboro. Presumably, that will change soon, as AJ, the Patriots’ pro director, is getting married next month.
  • Until we talked, I never thought about how so many super-talented people who came out of Green Bay’s front office have almost no ego. It starts with Executive VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf; I could give you a half-dozen examples of Eliot going out of his way to make me, a nobody who has never worked in the league, feel important. However, it’s also true of Seahawks GM John Schneider and Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan in addition to Zo. Each of them have every reason to think they are hot stuff, but they are all just regular guys.
  • Maybe one reason Zo has had so much success helping draft QBs (Aaron Rodgers, Baker Mayfield and Drake Maye have all been selected on his watch) is because of the QBs he’s played with. His QBs at Miami (Fla.) were Bernie Kosar and Vinny Testaverde. His QB in Houston? Warren Moon. In Dallas? Troy Aikman. Even Steve Deberg, who shared the QB position with Testaverde during Alonzo’s time with the Bucs, was not half-bad. Wow.

So there you go. Eight fun facts about Alonzo Highsmith that are part of this week’s podcast and I haven’t spoiled one bit of Zo’s thoughts and philosphy on scouting and player evaluation, which he discusses at length. If you haven’t listen in yet, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Why No Transition in NFL Scouting So Far?

15 Friday May 2026

Posted by in College personnel, Getting started, NFL draft, Scouts

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The question I’m getting non-stop right now is, ‘why has it been so slow?’

The “it” in this case is the normal transition that takes place on NFL scouting staffs this time of year. The young people trying to break into the league, as well as unemployed scouts trying to get back in, are constantly lamenting the lack of openings. Here’s why they say things are running behind.

  • It’s highly anecdotal, I know, but by this time last year, we had tweeted 42 times on scouting moves. This year, 30 tweets.
  • So far, there have been only five newly hired/promoted Area Scouts. Last year, there were 36, though that number reflects the entire offseason. There’s still time, but we’re way off pace.
  • On the pro side, we saw 13 scouts earn designation as an in-house evaluator. So far this season? Five.
  • Last year, there were 11 new National Scouts. This year? Two.

Rookie mini-camps (for the teams that still have them) are over across the league (one reason why I had expected this to be a busy week for scouting changes). Most staffs have been sent home. That means, for a team to even let an evaluator go, it will have to be over the phone (to say nothing of giving them a head start on job-seeking).

As someone who’s a big advocate for scouts and someone who hates to see people lose their jobs, I hope there aren’t any more job losses all summer. Still, it’s inevitable that there’s some level of transition. So why has there been so little change so far? I’m not sure, but here are my theories.

  • Many of the people who’d normally be seeking a job in the NFL are now making decent money on the college side, leaving fewer hotshot prospects ready to move up. For this reason, front offices are going status quo.
  • Teams are focused on getting their respective analytics staffs right first. There has been a decent amount of movement on the numbers side. Maybe teams are just being methodical.
  • The two teams that went to the Super Bowl have leadership off the Packers tree (John Schneider in Seattle, Eliot Wolf in New England). Green Bay is old-school, leaning much more on their Area and National Scouts than is popular in most front offices these days. Maybe teams want to emulate their success.
  • Dozens of Scouting Assistants are completing their second years, respectively, with NFL teams, as we’ve noted previously. Maybe changes are coming, but teams want to make sure they know which Scouting Assistants are deserving of promotions and, more importantly, they’re still devising a plan for replacing those Scouting Assistants.
  • It’s still early. We’ll see changes. They just haven’t hit yet.

It could all change at any moment, but so far, it’s looking like this offseason could be an anomaly. We discuss this and other facets of scouting and job-hunting in our weekly newsletter, the Friday Wrap. If you aren’t already registered for it, do that here.

What Does an ‘Expendable’ National Scout Look Like?

10 Friday Apr 2026

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There was a time when NFL teams would keep their most trustworthy and steadfast scouts around, basically, until they wanted to retire. Venerable NFL evaluator C.O. Brocato stayed on with the Titans well into his 80s, finishing up as a “scouting consultant.” Some teams still do this, handing out titles like “executive scout” or “senior scout” or something along those lines.

With a few exceptions, that stopped in 2018. That’s when two seasoned, experience National Scouts were let go. We didn’t see it happen in 2019, but since then, every year except one (2023), we’ve seen at least one National Scout with 10+ years in the league — in other words, a person with years of experience and a deep network of sources — let go. Last year, it happened to four National Scouts (Robert Haines, Panthers; Mike Derice, Giants; Jim Abrams, Dolphins; and Dujuan Daniels, Raiders). Two others — Michael Pierce (Rams) and Antwon Murray (Bucs) — left voluntarily, mostly due to reduced opportunities.

We can be almost certain that it will happen again this summer. Owners are looking for non-human sources of football intel (like analytics) while stocking their staffs with young (and cheaper) upstarts. Meanwhile, higher-salaried executives are being stockpiled as decisions are made at the highest levels. That means national scouts (who are usually making in the $200K-$300K range) are getting squeezed out.

So who are the best (?) candidates for seeing their scouting days come to an end this summer? We looked at 11 national scouts who were cut since 2018 to develop a profile. Here’s what we came up with.

They have lots of experience. On average, National Scouts let go over the last eight offseasons had 22 years in the business. So, basically, they were a little long in the tooth for national scout, the team decided they weren’t college director material, and they cut the cord. The least experienced had 13 years in. I’d say any National Scout with 15-plus years is vulnerable.

On average, they had been with their respective teams for a decade. I guess that’s plenty long enough for a team to know what it has. Actually, for most teams, it took a lot less than a decade. Of the 11, six had seven years or less with the team. So, lots of experience in scouting and 5-10 years with the team is pretty much the profile.

Most had been with at least one other team. On average, the 11 had been with at least one other team. Only two of the 11 were let go by the only team they had ever worked for. Again, that makes sense. These are veteran scouts that teams see, probably, as spare parts, hired guns, not people the team has developed. Eminently replaceable.

So who fits the profile? We counted 43 national (or regional) scouts in the league right now. Of the 43, we counted 15 with at least 22 years in the league. About a third of them have been with multiple teams.

Will the trend hold this year? We certainly hope not, and we’re not going to name them . . . it just doesn’t feel right. But we’ll be watching to see, and if any of those who profiled as job loss candidates do indeed get dismissed, we’ll let you know in this space. And if you’re one of those who fit the profile, we wish you the best of luck in the coming weeks.