I was at the College Gridiron Showcase in Fort Worth this week, and one thing I always try to do while I’m there is hold a professional development event for aspiring scouts. We have so many young evaluators who come here to network that I always want to make sure I do all I can to help them. 

In the past, we’ve had former scouts like Danton Barto (Rams) and Bob Morris (49ers, Browns) as well as scouts who are in the league now like Shawn Heinlen (Eagles) and Chris Hall (Cowboys). The point is not to talk about prospects, or even how to evaluate, but how to build a network that can launch your career. Many evaluators that I greatly respect have been willing to give back.

Tuesday evening, Vikings National Scout Mike Sholiton was kind enough to give about an hour of his time to 8-10 scouting hopefuls in one of the smaller ballrooms at the Fort Worth Sheraton. 

Here are a few highlights from Mike’s talk with the guys.

• Like everyone else, Mike is a human being who likes to hear positive things. He encouraged scouting wannabes to get to know people in the industry, learn their backgrounds and preferences (perhaps by using our Know Your Scouts feature?), and use that knowledge to send encouragement. Know a scout’s birthday? Send him best wishes. His alma mater secure a great recruiting class? Great time to send him congratulations. Mike gave one specific example of when he loves to hear from his friends and family, but I’ll leave that to those who listened in on Tuesday evening.
• Mike also cautioned members of his audience not to expect instant gratification. Just because an aspiring scout makes the effort to initiate a conversation or make a new contact, it’s not reasonable to expect it to lead directly to a job opportunity. The goal should be to make a new friend, and to develop and cultivate a meaningful relationship over time. Through those relationships, and the skills honed while developing said relationships, you will be more front-of-mind when job opportunities arise.
• Sometimes effort isn’t enough. Mike told the story of his early days as a Vikings intern when combine interviews were taking place, and Minnesota’s scouts and executives were eager to spend some time with Florida DE Jevon Kearse. At the time, interviews had no time limits, and Mike waited more than an hour as Denver chopped it up with Kearse. Finally, Kearse emerged from the room, and just as Mike stepped forward to seize his opportunity, an older, much bigger scout (a former offensive lineman) stepped forward, grabbed Kearse’s arm, and commanded, “come with me.”

We’ll talk more about the week in Fort Worth in today’s Friday Wrap. You can register for it here.

Also, if you aspire to work in an NFL front office someday, I hope you join us in Fort Worth next year. Get started here.

Last night, we completed our Fourth Quarter series by spending an hour-plus with Raleigh McKenzie. Not only is Raleigh a good friend, he was a key part of the pro days we set up last spring for members of the ’20 draft class. Oh, by the way, he played 16 NFL seasons and won two Super Bowls in addition to spending six seasons as an area scout with the Raiders.

Here are six things I learned during Raleigh’s session last night.

• Raleigh was pretty forthright that if his brother hadn’t become a GM with the Raiders, there’s a good chance he never would have been an NFL scout. I thought that was admirable and transparent of him. Also of interest — he said if he’d had his choice, he probably would have preferred to be a coach. I think a lot of scouts might say that, especially in view of the disparity in salaries between the jobs. 
• As a former offensive linemen, I had lots of questions about the position. Here’s one thing that struck me: When discussing Texans OT Laremy Tunsil, he said Tunsil was aggressive but not always physical. That was a distinction I’ve never heard before. When I asked him about it, Raleigh said Tunsil always came off the ball and got after his opponent while at Ole Miss, but he was more of a finesse player than a mauler. Raleigh liked his athleticism, especially as a pass blocker, but felt he’d have to improve his strength in the running game. I thought that was an interesting insight.
• When asked what advice he could give aspiring scouts, it was that they must trust their eyes. That’s something that’s come up often during our four-week series. It’s clear that scouts wrestle with groupthink, and don’t always win. As in other professions, it’s often safer to go with the crowd, but it’s not always right.
• When asked why players bust, Raleigh gave two reasons: an inability to measure a player’s ability vs. NFL competition — i.e., he couldn’t make the necessary adjustments to play vs. the pros — and the inability for his drafting team to use him right. 
• Though he couldn’t remember exactly who the Raiders’ top 10 prospects were in 2016, Raleigh distinctly remembers how much the team liked Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey. That’s been a real theme as we’ve reviewed 2016 with multiple scouts. Ramsey was a supreme prospect who’s turned out to be a great pro. The team also felt North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz had more tools and upside, Cal’s Jared Goff was a more complete, more ready game for the NFL, and had they chose between the two, they would have taken Goff.
• He said the Raiders took Michigan State’s Connor Cook as the No. 100 pick in the draft — 35 picks before Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott — because coaches felt Cook was a better fit in Oakland’s offense. The Raiders also felt Prescott was lacking in accuracy. 

It was a fabulous four weeks, as you already know if you were among those who joined us. If you didn’t, it’s not too late to study up and learn from some great former scouts and executives. Click here for the four videos plus the transcripts from our first three sessions with Danton Barto (former Rams area scout), Doug Whaley (former Bills GM) and Ahmad Russell (former Colts scout). Just $35. And don’t forget to register for our Friday Wrap here.

Last night, my longtime friend Danton Barto joined more than 50 people on a Zoom call to talk football. We spent more than an hour talking about his experiences in scouting while with the Rams; what makes a good evaluator; what to do (and not do) to get a job in the NFL; the times he was right and wrong on players; and plenty more. We also discussed his recollections of the 2016 NFL Draft, a most unique one, to be sure.

Here are seven things I learned in just the first 20 minutes.

• Danton grew up with Taylor Morton, Senior Personnel Advisor with the Rams. Morton was instrumental in getting Danton a scouting job with the Rams.
• Danton was hired because the Rams needed a linebacker and, as a former college linebacker (at Memphis), Morton and Rams GM Les Snead trusted his ability to evaluate them. 
• Danton estimated he used to write reports on 400 players per year in his five-state mid-South region, and “you better know ’em” if one the team’s officials asked his opinion of them.
• He admits that he’s seen people get a chance in scouting based on reports they’ve written, sometimes with limited formal football experience. “I’ve seen guys get opportunities because they sent in reports, and they were very good,” he said.
• Persistence is important in getting a job, but don’t be irritating. Danton said he remembers a scouting hopeful who became a thorn in the side of members of the Rams staff. His lack of judgement wound up costing him a chance with the team.
• The Rams actually had an analytics system that judged scouts on their reports; I’m not aware if they still do this, but if they do, it’s definitely unique. By the way, Danton came out pretty well on their grading system. 
• I guess it’s no surprise, but the failure of first-round pick Greg Robinson, a tackle out of Auburn who was the second pick in the 2014 draft, led to a lot of soul-searching among the Rams evaluators. I got the sense that Robinson’s struggles made the Rams insecure about moving up to take Ole Miss’ Laremy Tunsil when he slid in the ’16 draft. Of course, they didn’t have a lot of ammo left after trading up to get the No. 1 pick from the Titans.

Danton talked for about an hour and 20 minutes. Want to hear the next hour? Let me know here. DMs open. 

We’ll talk more about Danton’s Zoom session in the Friday Wrap, which comes out this evening (7:30 p.m. EDT). Don’t get it? Register here.

Each year for most of the last decade, we’ve spent the fall months looking at each of the 32 scouting departments at Inside the League. We call it our Know Your Scouts series. Given that not all teams publicize their hiring and firing, our review always turns up changes we didn’t know about.

What’s more, however, we take a snapshot of every team’s scouts and executives, looking at their length of service with the team, how long they’ve been in scouting, etc. We also include a note about each one’s entry into scouting, relationship to others in the department, or anything else of interest. For people seeking to break into the industry, I think this is invaluable information because it provides context for how others have made it to the NFL.

So far, we’ve profiled 10 teams. Already, we’ve passed along some interesting tidbits on the scouts who evaluate talent and how they got their jobs.

• I’d say only a third of the scouts and executives we’ve featured so far have NFL playing experience, and that’s down quite a bit from 10 years ago, when we started. The idea that today’s evaluator needs to be an ex-NFL players — or even played the game at all — is definitely changing.
• Three current or former members of the Chiefs scouting staff (Assistant Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles, Area Scout Trey Koziol and former NFS scout Rob Francois) played together at Boston College.
• Current Chiefs NFS scout Cassidy Kaminski really took the road less traveled to Kansas City, serving as a personnel assistant with the Shrine Bowl while simultaneously writing for Ourlad’s, a draft service, from 2015-18. He even worked for an Australian team in 2016.
• I’d estimate that 20-30 percent of each scouting staff has members who are directly related to someone in the organization. There’s no denying that family is a major consideration when staffing departments.
• Maybe it’s because of analytics’ rise, but there are a handful of scouts who either played baseball at some level or worked for a Major League Baseball team before crossing over. For example, Bears National Scout Chris Prescott got started working in minor league baseball, while Broncos pro personnel director A.J. Durso played in college and Browns V.P. of Player Personnel Glenn Cook was even drafted by the Cubs. 
• It’s interesting how many scouts worked for MLB or NBA teams in some role, while others worked for NFL agencies or were agents themselves. It’s just a reminder that relationships are key to breaking in, and you can find those relationships anywhere.
• There are numerous examples of scouts who started out publishing their own scouting insights. They include Brian Fisher (Bills) as well as Kaminski.
• Scouts with two teams worked in different capacities for Inside the League before being hired by NFL teams.

If you aspire to be an NFL scout someday, I encourage you to see for yourself where scouts came from by checking out our Know Your Scouts series. I guarantee you’ll gain valuable insights.

Also, make sure you check out today’s Friday Wrap, in which we discuss the backgrounds of today’s general managers. It’s valuable information if you’re interested in climbing the NFL evaluation mountain. You can register for it here. 

Tuesday night, a longtime friend, Matt Boockmeier, joined me as we hosted a dozen aspiring NFL scouts on a Zoom call (check it out here). The participants had different backgrounds. Some have college recruiting and personnel jobs; some are from the analytics world; some are mainly putting their takes out on social media. Ultimately, they all have one goal, and that is to become NFL evaluators.

Matt and I tried to dispense our wisdom on how to get a shot, and our main push coalesced around a few main points. However, upon reflection, there are a few more I wish I’d made during the nearly 90-minute session. I decided to share them here.

• Twitter is your instrument. Use it wisely: I can’t tell you how many people I’ve muted whose takes on the 2021 draft class I’d love to be reading regularly. I don’t know if I’ll even vote in a month — it would be the first time I haven’t voted since I was legally able to — but one thing I don’t need is a bunch of condescending Twitter takes, no matter what side you’re on. Still not convinced? Well, believe this: unless your last name is Kraft, Jones, Rooney, etc., how much someone likes you is gonna be a big part of whether or not you get a chance to work in the NFL. The first step in hiring ANYONE these days is reviewing their social media accounts. There’s no reason in the world why you should cut your already-slim chances in half just so you can indulge selfish urges and get a fleeting dopamine shot.
• Look for the win-win: This is a corollary to one of the principles we discussed last night, which is, be willing to volunteer and give your work away, at least for a while.  Having professional rivals makes you better, no doubt, but if you can figure out a way to find detente with your competition, do so. Last night, I spoke to about a dozen aspiring scouts. More than half of them have banded together to assemble a manuscript that they are submitting to NFL teams later this year. I think that’s a fabulous idea, especially given that they share a common background. They all get to be part of something that will be incomparably better due to the shared workload, and now they all get to go out and sell themselves on the strength of a more polished, comprehensive work. If you make this a theme of your work life, you’ll find you give and get more good vibes.
• Look for alternate paths: Like everyone on the call last night, I once wanted to be a scout. However, ultimately, I realized my real goal was to work in football. You may find you hit a continual brick wall in trying to work in the league, but you might find another path. If you do, run, don’t walk, down that road. You might have found a different way in, and you better get through it before the door closes.

We’ll talk about scouting and lots more in our Friday Wrap, which comes out (surprise) on Friday. If scouting intrigues you, you’ll dig it. Register for it here. Also, make sure to check out Up Close in Personnel, the awesome podcast hosted by my friend Alex Brown, the Director of Football Recruiting at Rice University. I guested on the show this week, and it comes out Saturday.

If you are a fan of the draft, the business of football and or NFL scouting, and you weren’t one of the 70-odd people on the guest list for Tuesday’s Zoom call with former Titans executive Blake Beddingfield and ex-49ers scout Bob Morris, I’m so sorry. You missed an unforgettable night, as so many of the participants tweeted immediately after it.

Here are a few quotes and observations from the call.

• Morris on a surprising interview he had: “We had (one of the top-rated wide receivers) off of our board. . . This is one of those stories about what you find out at combine and stuff. I was interviewing (this receiver) at the Senior Bowl, along with another scout, and we’re just sitting there in the ballroom and he just mentions that, yeah, he likes to go home and smoke pot with his buddies on weekends. And we didn’t ask him, we didn’t say anything. People at (his school) told you that he never tested positive. So he just kind of off-the-cuff said that, and plus, I knew his head coach real well at (his school) and he didn’t have a lot of good things to say about him, either. He was a guy that had all the production, and you watch the tape and you could put together a really good highlight tape, but just as a guy on our team, we didn’t want (him) on our team. . .  Being that it was (that school), it (happened) pretty frequently, so it wasn’t surprising at all. That was just the culture around them at the time.”
• Neither Blake or Bob said their teams had any interest in Saints QB Taysom Hill, who looks like he’ll be New Orleans’ starter next year.
• Which player was rated as the top player not the board for the Titans? Florida State DC Jalen Ramsey. For the 49ers? Same player.
• The Titans got back a first-round grade for Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott from their area scout, but had no interest in him with Marcus Mariota already in the fold. As you know, Prescott slid to the fourth round.
• The Titans already had DeMarco Murray at running back when they drafted Alabama’s Derrick Henry in the second round. Blake, who really liked Henry, spent three hours “standing on the table” for Henry until he won GM Jon Robinson over.

There’s WAY more in the 82 minutes Blake and Bob spent with us. If you purchased my latest book, Scout Speak, and you tweet about it, let me know (@InsideTheLeague) and I’ll send you the link.

This week, my second book, Scout Speak: Thinking & Talking About Being an NFL Evaluator, was published on Amazon. Given that it’s only been out a week, you won’t find any reviews yet, but I wanted to give you a fair shot at learning more about it. Though you might be interested, even at $12.95, I don’t want you to buy a proverbial ‘pig in a poke.’

Because a lot of friends of mine have helped me talk about the book, I wanted to turn the spotlight back on them and tout their platforms.

The State of Football Show with Ric Serritella: Monday, I was a guest with Ric along with John Murphy, Toronto Argonauts VP of Player Personnel, and Ralph Ventre, the Assistant Commissioner of the Northeast Conference. If you move to the 52nd minute of the broadcast, I discuss how and why I wrote the book, why I think it’s inspiring to anyone who is considering working in football, and what I hope to accomplish with the book. There are also a lot of great insights on football during lockdowns from John and Ralph. By the way — Ric is giving away the book next week, so make sure to tune in (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. ET) to get your free copy.

The Beer Garden with RebelGrove.com’s Neal McCready: I’ve known Neal since before I launched Inside the League — I actually searched the Internet practically before there was Google to find Neal, who I paid to cover an Ole Miss press conference — so it’s alway a pleasure to get on a podcast with him. The first 10 minutes or so are about how I decided what the book would look like and why, I think, there’s such a fascination with NFL scouting. Added bonus: There is now a recording of my divisional and playoff picks for the 2020 NFL season, so you can easily mock me in January if I brick everything. Spoiler alert: No J.J. Watt hate in this edition.

Twitter love: A number of my friends were kind enough to tweet about their book purchases. My friend Mike Rittelman, who assembles the rosters for the College Gridiron Showcase, was one of the first to read the book (he short-circuited the paperback delay by checking it out on Kindle) and he had some kind things to say. Among others who tweeted their purchases were NYC-based attorney Dan Cassidy, a great friend and a crackerjack NFL contract advisor, and Kyle Morgan, XOS’ southwest regional scout (formerly of Arizona State’s personnel office).

There were also kind words texted from dozens of people across the scouting community which were very much appreciated.

I’ll also be on SiriusXM with Alex Marvez and Zig Fracassi Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET (channel 88). I’ll be on for one segment, and I’d be honored if you’d join us.

If you’d still like to learn more about the book, I go into detail on several topics we cover (along with page numbers for quick reference) in today’s Friday Wrap. If you aren’t already registered for it, do that here.

This summer, we at Inside the League have focused greatly on bringing leading industry voices to online platforms in order to interface with active NFL scouts, agents and executives. We’ve found it to be the best way to connect people in the era of social distancing.

At the same time, there’s nothing like sitting across the table from someone, and we’ve done a little breaking of bread with our friends in the industry, as well. Between Zoom sessions and power lunches, we’ve learned quite a bit about the industry. Here are a few lessons learned this summer, especially as they relate to character evaluation in the draft process.

• If the pro liaison loves a kid, maybe you shouldn’t: The pro liaison tends to be the guy who tells scouts the party line. Normally, he’s the one who’s going to give you the info a head coach would almost say in a press conference setting. In other words, just the facts, presented with a smile and maybe a positive spin. The players whose attitudes are best are the ones who’ll be bragged on in meetings with pro liaisons. To get the unedited version on a player, a scout typically has to speak to a coach on staff that he knows, or the strength coach. Strength coaches are typically less political.
• A kid without a father in the home has to be judged differently from one who doesn’t: A young man who grew up with a father in the home is more likely to understand that a coach screaming at him still loves him. Maybe his father ripped him for not taking out the garbage or for mowing but not edging — he knows his father is still gonna be there at dinnertime asking him about his day, making sure he’s got what he needs, hugging him at bedtime, etc. A young man without a father in the home is more likely to see a coach berating him as someone seeking a confrontation. He’ll either tune out or, in other cases, answer with his fists.
• Houston, Atlanta and Miami are the party cities: You better know what you have with a kid who is drafted by the Falcons, Dolphins and, yes, Texans. These are perceived as the cities where you can really get yourself in trouble with women, alcohol and drugs, or all three. Give a kid money and a lot of free time, and he’s liable to get over his skis, quickly. Or at least that’s the reputation.
• There’s a lot of nuance to a young man’s background aside from his legal history: The example I was given was of a kid who was raised in Mississippi, a state with a low-performing educational system. If he came out of Oxford, he’s more likely to have a stable upbringing and less trouble with schooling and structure. If he is from Jackson, it depends on whether he was in private school or public school. Public school kids saw things that kids in private schools didn’t. The geographical regions of the state are also very telling. This is true of several states, but Mississippi is one place where the hometown can be very indicative of what kind of kid he is.
• Failing a drug test means different things at different schools: For example, at LSU, after your first failure you are given certain terms, and if you meet those, you are given a clean state. In other words, you are back at zero. After failure No. 2, you are given a chance to go to rehab, and if you take that option (which is voluntary), you are treated differently from someone who doesn’t. Because schools like LSU and Texas have traditionally been very patient with those who have a problem with marijuana, kids who are kicked out for their drug problems are valued very differently from those schools who might have a zero tolerance policy.

If we’ve just whet your appetite, we encourage you to register for our Friday Wrap, in which we discuss all manner of industry-related topics each week. This week, we’ll focus on the Zoom sessions with industry professionals that we’ve already hosted as well as what’s to come later this summer. Here’s a peek at last week’s edition.

It took me a lot longer to write my first book than I ever thought it would. Thanks to the quarantine, Book 2 came together a lot more quickly, and I’m ready to get your feedback before I put the finishing touches on it.

It’s going to be called ScoutSpeak, and it’s a compilation of all the content, all the interviews, all the conversations I’ve had with scouts about NFL scouting over the past 18 years. I meet so many young people who want to get into scouting, and they alway ask the same questions. What is the job really like? How do I get a job? How do I keep from getting fired? There’s so much to say. This time, I hope to put it all in one place, and put it in the actual words of dozens of scouts and administrators, active and former.

Here’s a look at the breakdown so far:

• 10 thoughts on the industry (6.6 percent): This is basically what I’ve taken away from closely studying the industry for almost two decades. Regardless of the cliches  you always hear about the draft and scouting, these are my takeaways about how players are really evaluated and really chosen.
• The character question (6.6 percent): We always hear about players who slip due to character. Later, we see how some players conduct themselves and wonder why they didn’t fall in the draft. The way that character really impacts and influences the draft, based on what scouts have told me, is something I just had to include.
• The UDFA process (9.8 percent): The two hours after the draft has always fascinated me, especially when you think about all the players who were passed over by all 32 teams for seven rounds, then went on to stardom.
• Makeup of an NFL scouting department (6.6 percent): This is more of a nuts-and-bolts discussion of the difference between pro and college scouts, how the two combines work, etc.
• Getting the job (21.3 percent): If there’s one question I’ve gotten more than any other, it’s this one. That’s why I devoted a fifth of the book to it.
• Losing the job (6.6 percent): I figured if I focused on how to get the job, I should include this section, as well.
• Doing the job (26.2 percent): I’ve always found people see scouts as incredibly intriguing and mysterious, so we devoted plenty of ink to this.
• Why do players bust? (4.9 percent): This is the eternal question, and everyone has an opinion.
• War stories (11.5 percent): Everyone loves to hear the stories of how picks are and were made, especially when names are named. I gotta tell you, too — some of them are truly hilarious.

So how am I doing? Am I on track? Are there things I should expand on? Are there things I should omit? I’d love to get your opinion. Hit me up at @InsideTheLeague when you can.