Category Archives: Scouts

Offseason 2024: Takeaways on NFL Scouting Hires

28 Friday Jun 2024

Posted by in Getting started, Scouts

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Ever since the draft, we’ve been focused on how NFL teams have built and shaped their respective front offices. It’s a critical part of May and June, especially for teams that have new GMs. 

Here are a few observations based on what we’ve seen this year, especially as it relates to how NFL teams are making hires these days.

  • Four teams named new NFS scouts – the Bears, Bucs, Browns and Cardinals. The Bills and Steelers named new BLESTO scouts. The same number of combine scouts (six) were named last year. 
  • The Bears and Browns were the best about promoting scouting assistants, associates or interns. Each team elevated four into various roles. The Jaguars elevated three scouting assistants to college scout.
  • How does this offseason shape up as compared to the last few? Last season, despite a handful of GM changes, saw 200 front office moves. That’s a sharp drop from the previous two offseasons, when 280-290 moves were made. This offseason, we’re at 252 moves, which is more in line with the two years previous to last offseason. 
  • This year, 14 new scouting hires were plucked directly from colleges. That’s less than last year, when 17 came up from the college ranks. 
  • This year, the only school with multiple scouting hires was Nebraska; the Huskers produced three. Last year, Northwestern (4), South Carolina (2) and LSU (2) each sent multiple people into NFL front offices. 
  • The only school to send people “up” to the NFL this year and last year was Wake Forest (one last year, one this year).

We’ll talk a great deal more about how evaluation hires are being made this offseason and last in today’s Friday Wrap; register for it here. We’ve also discussed the topic in each of our Wraps since the end of April. Access them here: May 3, May 10, May 17, May 24 and May 31. For this month, June 7, June 14 and June 21.

Want even more? Track all every move that’s been made in NFL front offices this offseason here (sorry, pay link). 

Scout Hiring Season 2024 Is Over — Here’s Advice for ’25

20 Thursday Jun 2024

Posted by in Getting started, Scouts

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If you follow us on Twitter, read our Friday Wrap or keep up with our Rep Rumblings, you know that most NFL teams have pretty much filled their vacancies at scouting assistant. Meanwhile, the ones that haven’t are pretty far down the road with the candidates they like.

Bottom line, there are a lot of people in the college personnel community who are taking stock and trying to decide if they’ll continue to fight to achieve their dreams. If this is you, I have advice on what to do between now and this time next year.

  • Go to the Personnel Symposium in Nashville in August. You can register here. However — and this is important — if you go, aggressively build your network. Meet people. I would even go so far as to avoid the people from your own school. If you want to grow and improve your chances of advancing, you must grow your figurative rolodex.
  • IF you work for a school’s personnel department, think of something you can provide, information-wise, to a scout that gives him an edge that no one else has. For example, I once heard of a recruiting/personnel specialist who sent a weekly email to the scouts he knows updating them on injury issues with draftable prospects. Or, maybe, you could give tips on which players are entering the draft, or might enter the portal, etc. Of course, you have to decide how much info you want to give out (some teams may not look on this favorably), and you don’t want to look like a butt-kisser, but you have to do something to make yourself stand out. Don’t like that idea? No problem, but remember that information is your currency.
  • If you DO NOT work for a school’s personnel department, you need to contact one of the top five all-star games (Senior Bowl, Shrine Bowl, Hula Bowl, CGS and Tropical Bowl) and strongly make your case for volunteering. Do it ASAP. BTW, if you want to be part of the CGS Scout School, which I assist in running, reach out to CGS co-founder Jose Jefferson (here’s his Twitter). His DMs are open. You MUST get face time with NFL scouts to get a job in the NFL. For now, at least, scouts still attend all-star games.
  • IF you have scouting contacts, think of ways to stay front of mind without being too aggressive. The scout’s team just beat its big rival? Send him a text. His alma mater just got a big win? Send a text. It’s Christmas? Great time to offer season’s greetings. Just something quick. Don’t belabor it, but be regular with it.
  • When it comes to applying for jobs in 2025, early beats late. Every year, people reach out to me in April to ask if it’s too early to start reaching out to teams. Actually, it’s too late. You have to get the ball rolling before the season is over. If it’s too early, a scouting staffer will tell you. If it’s not, maybe you get in before others do. You don’t want to get left behind. Be tactful but aggressive.
  • Do your best to go to the NFL Combine. If you do, try to go mid-week. You will be there (a) before scouts are spending all their days in the stadium or in meetings, and (b) before everyone else trying to get a job in scouting is there (most arrive on the weekend). Also, be aware that NFL scouts mainly stay at the JW Marriott.
  • Work hard and continue to develop your work ethic. If you do get your shot, you don’t want to squander it. Really, the only thing a team looks for in its interns or scouting assistant hires is a bulletproof work ethic. You must be tireless and intense about it. Once you’ve shown you have that, they’ll teach you what you need to know about scouting.

I hope this helps, and I hope it’s inspirational. Just because you didn’t get the job this year doesn’t mean you won’t get it next year. Keep fighting and keep up with what we are doing at ITL. We’re here to help.

 

 

 

I Married Football: A New Book with a Different Perspective

14 Friday Jun 2024

Posted by in Coaches, Scouts

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As I’ve discussed in this space previously, my mentor in football is a man named John Paul Young, who coached with several NFL teams as well as practically every reputable college football team in the Southwest proper in the 70s, 80s and 90s. While I’ve never discussed his wife, Dolores, she’s as much a part of John Paul’s story as anyone in football, and he’d tell you as much.

However, no one’s ever told Dolores’ story before, so she took it upon herself to do just that, sort of. In her new book, I Married Football (for details on ordering it, click here), she recounts her days in the game, but also provides key advice and tips for young women who are in her situation and just getting started in the game.

Though I haven’t had the pleasure of reading it yet, I asked her several questions about her experiences. I’ve included them here, along with her responses.

  • JPY coached at all four levels (HS, college, indoor and NFL). Which one was easiest for you, as his wife? Which one was most enjoyable? “John coached at the junior high in Jacksonville for two periods before he went to the high school. He loved those junior high kids. In those days, they had to cross Hwy 79 to get to the Tomato Bowl (where Jacksonville High School’s football team plays) where they had football or P.E. One boy pulled another boy’s shorts down as they were crossing the highway, so John paddled him. They marched like soldiers after that. John loved coaching football. When asked if he misses football, he answers, ‘every day.’ He really coached for love of the game and the boys or men. . . My favorite game of football is Arena Football, and John had two teams: the Dallas Texans and the Houston Terror. I really liked the Texans because the field was so close we could see everything happening. There was loud music, and you could hear the players bouncing off the walls like hockey players. The fans were in the game. It was just fun and exciting.” 
  • Getting fired is part of football. Did it ever get easy? Are there “stages of grief,” almost like a death in the family? “Getting fired was very difficult for us all, whether it was the whole staff or just John. Just like a divorce or a death. I disliked for other coaches to be fired as well as John. I did not like leaving our home, friends, and church. Sometimes John would get a job right away and leave us to sell the house and move. . . The boys usually were very excited to go to a new team. I was thankful we had boys. The new place is easier for boys than girls . . .  boys are ready for new boys. It is harder for girls, since the girls are not as happy for girls . . . .”
  • Moving is part of life as a coach’s wife. What was the hardest place to leave? What was the toughest move to make? “It was hard leaving Texas A&M since we had lived there eight years, the longest we lived anywhere. I loved our church, house, and friends. The boys had only gone to school in Bryan and had lots of friends. But since we were going to the Oilers, the boys were excited. We had to move without John since he ran off to training camp in San Angelo. I had moving experience (some) but not without a husband.”
  • Let’s say you just met a football wife. What is the thing you two will most likely talk about immediately? “We would talk about children, schools, where to buy a house, where to shop, getting to know the other wives on the staff.” 
  • JPY has thousands of friends in the business, but some are closer than others. Which coaches’ wives did you get closest to, and why? “The first coach’s wife I met was Helen Phillips (wife of Bum), when I was 20, at UTEP. She helped me a lot getting to adjust to being a coach’s wife. Nell Almond’s husband, Kenneth, was a coach, too. We are still in touch now 62 years later. Also Marion Slayton and Jean Harper. Betty Sheffield (wife of Jacksonville head coach Dick Sheffield) was in Jacksonville. She took me under her wing with our seven-week-old baby boy, John Paul, Jr. Euleta Fry at SMU (wife of head coach Hayden Fry) introduced me to Mary Kay makeup. At Texas A&M, Ruthie Stallings (wife of head coach Gene Stallings) was wonderful bringing me all kinds of things. Jeannette Van Zandt (wife of longtime NFL assistant coach Lance Van Zandt) was (also) a good friend.”

Dolores’ book is full of great stories about the business as well as full-color pictures of coaches, players and people from around the game, most of them from the Youngs’ personal collection. If you love stories about the game and a unique perspective on the game, make sure to pick up her book. You won’t be sorry.

Are You On Track to Achieve Your Scouting Goals? Ask Yourself These Questions

31 Friday May 2024

Posted by in Getting started, Scouts

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This time of year, I’m overwhelmed with people looking for (mostly free) advice on how to break into scouting. However, there’s another segment of the personnel community I hear from that is in a completely different mindset, and I had one of those conversations today.

I won’t bore you with the details, but I spoke to a very talented, highly qualified evaluation professional from the college ranks who is at wit’s end on what to do next. He’s in his early 30s and has done his job well for years, but just wonders if he’s making the progress he should be making.

It’s very hard to diagnose someone’s situation and offer them effective advice on what path he should pursue, but since these themes have become common ones (especially these days, with the fury of the spring portal in the rear-view mirror and burnout prevalent), I thought I’d address the questions you should be asking yourself if you fall into this category.

  • How old are you?: I’ve written this before in this space, and I’ve said it before many times, but I feel that 30 is a good milestone for progress. If you are where you want to be, or seriously feel you’re near it, at 30, proceed. If not, it’s probably time to start another path while you still have the time and energy to excel at it. There IS life after football.
  • How much money do you have socked away?: I know many of you are volunteers, or are working for money far below your value, but it’s smart to put money away if you can. As my father once told me, money equals independence. If you don’t have something in savings, for example, there are great football jobs you simply won’t be able to take because they don’t pay well enough. 
  • Do you have legitimate NFL contacts? Or are you just sending emails wildly, hoping to get traction?: If you listen to my podcast, or you read this blog regularly, or you subscribe to my newsletter or my website, you know that I value network over everything else as you climb the scouting ladder. You better have a mentor who believes in you, and you better have some well-placed friends. If you’re relying on a certificate from a third-party service to get you a job, or you’re hoping years of scouting reports and tweets will get you into the league, it gives me no pleasure in telling you this, but you’re wrong. 
  • Can you live without a senior college personnel position/NFL scouting post?: This is probably the toughest question of them all, because so many people I come across have their entire identity invested in football. With that said, I’m not sure I could answer “yes” to this question (though I very nearly had to a couple decades ago). 
  • Are you entrepreneurial?: I was 32 when I decided I’d try an Internet-based information service for people who worked in football and who were willing to pay a monthly subscription fee online. For a lot of reasons, that was a terrible idea, because I didn’t really have a lot of connections and didn’t know quite what I’d write about, but I was willing to give it a shot. Twenty-plus years later, I’m far from a household name, but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. This is what I was born to do. It’s a special feeling to know God had this in store for me.

God has something in store for you, too. Maybe by asking yourself these questions, you can figure out if that thing is football. Good luck and Godspeed on your path. 

 

How Do You Evaluate the Best-Drafting Teams?

23 Thursday May 2024

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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For all of May, we at Inside the League have tracked the comings and goings in NFL front offices. It’s big-time stuff to scouts and front office employees, as well as agents and other members of the football community, but why should fans (like this guy) care?

My feeling has always been that if you know who does best in talent management — both in drafting but also in free agency, as well as player development (i.e., turning raw players into established pros) — then you can pretty much tell the future, at least with regard to who’s gonna be a playoff team consistently. Of course, this begs the question, who does the best in talent and roster management?

I think, when it comes to how well a team drafts, here are five criteria worth considering.

Did the team draft and develop its own QB? I think you have to give Buffalo, Baltimore, Green Bay, Philadelphia, San Francisco and others like them a lot of credit for not having to go through free agency to find the most important position on the field. There are two reasons: you get a cost-controlled QB for five years, and you get system stability, which is a critically important (and highly understated) factor.

Does the team keep its first-rounder for the fifth year at least 80 percent of the time? This isn’t a failsafe, because sometimes a player barely gets the extra season (or gets it by default), but it’s still a good metric, especially when you see how many former first-rounders don’t get renewed.

Are the starters on the offensive and defensive lines team-drafted? It all starts up front, so if a team can build out its offensive and defensive lines — especially at the edges (DE/OT) — that’s good work and clearly gives that team an edge (no pun intended).

Does the team’s draftees hang around the league? Not every player a team drafts will make the roster — especially if the team consistently drafts at a position of strength — but is he good enough, consistently, to make another team’s roster? That’s a great indicator, I think. 

Does the team make the playoffs at least 70 percent of the time? Granted, this might be a high standard, but it’s all about making the playoffs, right? If you’re not succeeding at this basic measure, you need to make changes. If you don’t get to the tournament, you can’t win the title. 

Are there other measures of a team’s ability to draft? Of course there are. But I believe if you analyzed NFL teams and gave each one a point for each one of these items annually over the last five years, I bet you’d find that the leaders were universally considered the best teams on draft day. 

I ran this by several friends in scouting, got a general thumbs-up from them. What am I missing? Let me know on Twitter or DM me. 

A Few Thoughts About Scout Season So Far

03 Friday May 2024

Posted by in Scouts

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The period from after the draft until training camp is when teams rework their front offices. That’s among the busiest times of year for me, because it’s the period after the  GMs and executives have been hired and fired, and the fallout begins at the lower levels.

Here’s a look at the trends so far and a few thoughts on what’s happened and what’s ahead.

  • I’ve had a few people say something along the lines of, boy, it sure has been a slow season for scouting changes so far, and I have no idea what they mean. The Panthers wiped out almost their entire pro scouting department today. The Bears parted ways with two scouts, one of whom has won multiple awards (and who is widely respected in the community). The Cardinals are down two evaluators, one of whom was their college director. The Bucs said goodbye to two more staffers, one of whom won a Super Bowl (with the Colts) and went to the division championship game (with the Jaguars). Oh, by the way, we’re still not a week past the last day of the draft. It’s been an incredibly busy — and surprising — “scout season” so far.
  • So why is this happening? I’ve addressed this on Twitter, but in case you missed it, last summer was a very busy one for hiring and firing in analytics departments. Yes, NFL teams are always looking to get younger and cheaper at the national scout/area scout level, but there’s got to be a reason why so much experience has been thrown overboard so far this year. The only thing I can come up with is that teams are planning to reinvest that money in number-crunchers. 
  • I’ve been asked if colleges will start hiring these experienced scouts, and my guess is, not yet. One reason I think that is because I’ve tried (hard) to get a lot of ex-scouts jobs with schools with no luck. The other reason is that schools don’t need evaluators as much for the transfer portal — they’ve got a coaching staff and dozens of volunteers to help plow through film. But the real reason is that the portal is less like the draft and more like free agency. Actually, there’s a third reason — teams would rather pay coaches than evaluators, and there’s only so much money to go around.
  • So with so many vacancies, where will the new hires come from? My guess is that most come from within. We’ll see scouting assistants and scouting coordinators get promoted into the lion’s share of these jobs. Many of these seasoned, competent evaluators will stay on the street, unfortunately. I know a few scouts will resurface, but historically, those scouts aren’t rehired. I hope I’m wrong.

If you aspire to be an NFL scout and want to hear what’s next on front office openings, try out ITL. You might even be eligible for our Next Wave rate ($75 through the end of November instead of $29.95/mo.). For more information, DM me at @insidetheleague or email ITL here.

 

Former NFL Scouts Weigh in on Four Draft Prop Bets

25 Thursday Apr 2024

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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It’s draft week, so it’s time for some fun. I don’t gamble, but I asked four friends who are former scouts — Blake Beddingfield (Titans); Rodrik David (Titans, Falcons); Greg Gabriel (Giants, Bears); and Mark Gorscak (Steelers) — to give me their opinions on four prop bets for the 2024 draft.

Topics and their answers, with their comments — remember, this is just for fun — are below.

O/U 4.5 QBs selected in the first round
Beddingfield: “(Over). Too many QB-needy teams will push that number to at least five QB selected in the first round, possibility of six.”
David: “(Over). Almost no question we will see four quarterbacks in the first round, maybe in the top 10. Will Nix or Penix make it five or six? I will take the over.”
Gabriel: “Over. It’s a QB league.”
Gorscak: “Over. (Washington QB Michael) Penix will be the fifth.”
O/U 4.5 ACC players selected in the first round
Beddingfield: “This is a tough one; the ACC is down this year in top-level talent. Only (North Carolina QB) Drake Maye and (Florida St. DE) Jared Verse are guaranteed first-rounders. (Clemson DC) Nate Wiggins and (Duke OT) Graham Barton have potential but not guarantees. Even with those two, the number is under 4.5.”
David: “The ACC gets forgotten about with the SEC and Big Ten flexing this offseason. Will Drake Maye and Jared Verse find three more conference allies to get this one to the over? Give me the over.”
Gabriel: “Not sure.”
Gorscak: “Under. Can’t see more than four: North Carolina QB (Maye), Duke OL (Barton), FSU edge (Verse) and Clemson DB (Wiggins). ACC is a weak Power-5.”
O/U Oregon QB Bo Nix draft position 32.5
Beddingfield: “Nix will be taken in the first round, so under 32.5.”
David: “Did Bo Nix do enough at Oregon to lock up a first-round grade? Or is there enough “Auburn Bo Nix” out there to slide him to Day 2? I’ll take the over.”
Gabriel: “Under. Same as above. It’s a QB league. Six might end up going in first.”
Gorscak: “Over. Solid second. (Giants QB) Drew Lock 2.0 perhaps, but better version.”
O/U Georgia TE Brock Bowers draft position 12.5
Beddingfield: “Bowers is a top-five player in the draft, but with multiple QBs in the top 10, it will push him down. But I don’t see him getting past the Broncos at 12. (Under).”
David: “What was once a surefire top-10 pick, even flirting with the top five, is now in question in the top 15. Does the first round fall in a way to slide Brock Bower to the teens? Give me the under.”
Gabriel: “Under. Looks like Jets (at 10) or a team trading up to get in front of Jets.”
Gorscak: “Under.”

Now that you know their thoughts, place your bets!

Enjoy the draft. We certainly will. We’ll have all the breakdowns and interesting angles on Day 1 in our weekly newsletter Friday. Register for it here.

Five Thoughts About the Transfer Portal

19 Friday Apr 2024

Posted by in NIL, Scouts, Transfer portal

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Here are a few thoughts based on conversations I’ve had with people around the industry during the first week of the April transfer portal window.

  • This is the first time in my two decades-plus running ITL that college personnel staffers have approached me about meeting NFL agents. Personnel directors see what’s happening and they’re getting aggressive. I’m happy to oblige. Honestly, what’s taken so long? I played a (small) role in one agency hiring a portal expert just this month. I hope to do that more often. That agency is now recruiting some of the better players who’ve entered during the April window. It just makes sense that more and more firms will do this.
  • The portal is not so much about who’s in, especially this time of year, as who could be in. This week, I’ve personally spoken to a contract advisor who is shopping a highly touted player who’s not in the portal — yet. He’s had several conversations with schools.
  • We’re at the beginning of the end for collectives. Sure, they’ll still be around as a funding arm — at least for a while — but as far as being a central part of the decision-making process for a key transfer, I see that ending. Once the Tennessee and Virginia AGs successfully sued the NCAA, allowing players to negotiate deals to transfer, personnel directors I’ve spoken to are far more aggressive about wanting to go directly to players (and/or their representatives) to talk numbers. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to monetize things on a grander scale to make up for the donor fatigue.
  • The latest rule change means most players should be looked at as being on one-year deals at all times. There are no longer any barriers (outside of academic eligibility) to player movement. 
  • I do not see a mass buildup of personnel departments involving former NFL scouts: The portal chase is not so much a draft as it is a free agent pursuit. The “haves” are full of money to sign players that might help them. For the most part, the only limit on the number of players they sign is their budgets (not usually a major consideration) and their roster openings. On top of this, there have never been more young, aspiring scouts willing to work for free in exchange for a shot at their big break. Maybe populating a scouting staff will be the next arms race in college football, but I think most teams will pump that money into their NIL budgets rather than into splashy former NFL scouts and executives. Time will tell.

There’s plenty more to discuss regarding the transfer portal, and we’ll be chopping it up in the Friday Wrap, which comes out at 7:30 p.m. Register for it here. 

Two Chances to Learn the Finer Points of Day 3

11 Thursday Apr 2024

Posted by in Agents, NFL draft, Scouts

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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.

                    Why It’s So Hard to Measure Scouts’ Performance

                    08 Friday Mar 2024

                    Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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                    Last week, it was my pleasure to hand plaques to 27 NFL scouts who were voted by their peers last fall to the 2023 BART List, our honors system for the best evaluators working in the league these days. It’s the only way I know to recognize the best people in the scouting industry.

                    Some, however, may wish there was a more objective measure. I’m one of those people. I’ve even seen that some teams, apparently, do just that for their own scouts. I really like that teams are working to identify the best members of their staffs. 

                    I’ve often thought of how to measure the effectiveness of scouts across the league. People who believe in analytics feel you can put a number on anything, right? But I keep bumping up to the following reasons that evaluating the evaluators is next to impossible.

                    Each team scouts for its team, not the league: We would have to have complete records of the grades given by each scout to players drafted and signed, every year, to even get a baseline of his effectiveness. Even at that, we could only hope to determine the best scout for each team, not for the league. Until every team runs the same defense and same offense, this is impossible.

                    A player’s success is not solely based on where/when he was drafted: To some degree, a draftee is a lump of clay. That lump gets shaped by the team’s coaching staff once he’s drafted. Some teams develop players better than others, and some teams have more “rope” to develop them for various reasons (usually, prior success). Therefore, just because a player worked out doesn’t necessarily mean the scout did his job.

                    Hungry players play better: If Tom Brady gets drafted in the second round instead of the sixth round, does he still wind up the same player? Maybe. Still, it seems to me unmistakable that players selected lower than they expected tend to play harder, while sometimes, players drafted earlier take the game less seriously. Obviously, this is hard to measure, but seems evident, nonetheless. Either way, it has an effect on a player’s grade. 

                    Obviously, there are other factors. Teams that have great depth at a position might mean a good player never gets a chance to really prove himself. Players drafted higher than expected may nonetheless get multiple chances in the league due to their draft pedigree. I could go on. The point is, the NFL draft is hopelessly subjective. I guess that’s one reason it’s so fun.

                    Do you disagree? Feel like it’s easier than I’m making it look? Give me some ideas on Twitter/X at @insidetheleague. Make sure you’re also reading our newsletter to get more insights on scouting and how teams evaluate players.