Top Menu

Drafting for Dummies – Part II

The Rest of the Team

There is much more occurring behind the scenes at NFL team’s headquarters to prepare for the NFL Draft, beyond just the work of the College Scouting department (as outlined in Part I). A team’s General Manager and Player Personnel executives have integral involvement as well.

They will often travel to see some of the nation’s top prospects during the season when and if their schedules allow. After a Saturday morning walk-through, these individuals may choose to take a flight to see an evening college football game, only to catch the first flight out to the city of their team’s game on the following day.

They also directly contribute during a team’s Draft meetings and help to manage the final Draft board. A few select executives will settle differences of ranking and establish if more information is needed.

Stand on the Table

There were often instances in which two or more scouting reports conflicted on the value of a player, and a good General Manager knows how to glean an appropriate final value.  There were times when it was necessary to stop a scouting meeting and watch game tape from numerous games just to make sure we had the grade correct on a player. There was one particular occurrence in which each scout was asked if the top two players at a position in that year’s Draft had much difference in value. Just about everyone had spoken stating that if also offered additional Draft picks to move down in the Draft order, they would prefer to take a trade and select the second best player.

When it came time for one particular scout to state his opinion, he confidently said that he respectfully disagreed. He said no amount of Draft picks was worth trading down, and if the number one player at the position wasn’t taken by our team, we would regret moving down for years to come! Talk about putting your job on the line. I respect scouts for that. I respected this scout for that. Scouts must RELY on what they SEE, trusting their eyes and experience. They cannot be swayed by other viewpoints or a majority opinion… I am happy to say that looking back years later, that scout was right on the money.

Not Just a Coach

Similar to Player Personnel executives, coaches also play a significant role with Draft preparations. Just because there are not games, practices, training camps or mini-camps occurring does not mean that coaches are on vacation or away from the office. Quite the contrary; they too want to get to know the Draft prospects coming out. Position coaches will receive a list of college players worthy of reviewing at the respective positions from the College Scouting department. Coaches will begin watching game tape as early as January, and they will travel along with scouts and executives to the Senior Bowl, NFL Combine and college workouts. They will interview players at the position they coach at each of these places, and they may even get an opportunity to spend an additional day with a player if a team chooses to bring a college player within that coach’s position group in for one of 30 official visits.

To Visit or Not to Visit

Each team is allowed to fly in no more than 30 college players for official visits. These visits take place in March and April, after the NFL Combine and before the NFL Draft. Teams may chose to not use all 30 visits, but most teams wish they had more. Teams could choose to use these visits for any of a number of reasons, some of which include:

  • Having incomplete medical information
  • Player having attended a smaller school which results in less exposure to the player’s game tape
  • Questionable character
  • Establishing if a player has matured from earlier in the scouting process
  • Wanting to know a player on a more personal level
  • Qualifying a player’s passion for the game
  • Determining a player’s ability to learn in the classroom
  • Solidifying the analysis of a top prospect

With such a limited number of visits to use, teams must be prudent in deciding which players to fly in. Front Office members can travel to school campuses to visit with players during the off-season (within NFL rules), but sometimes it makes more sense to fly the player in. Teams can get these players out of their comfort zone. They can see if a player is responsible enough to follow the travel directions. Doctors cannot travel off-site for medical exams, so bringing a player in allows for medical review. An entire team’s staff wouldn’t travel to meet a player, so bringing him in also allows the whole staff to meet him and spend time with him. Most importantly, the timeline for these visits is within the same time period as the team’s Draft meetings, so team staff doesn’t have very much time for traveling.

But it is not just as easy as saying, “Hey, we need to bring this guy in.” A team will have to compete with the other 31 NFL teams for a player’s free time, and some of these college players are still taking classes! If a team is smart, they will reach out to the prospects they know they want to visit with early in the process to guarantee that the player makes it in. If a team waits until the last minute, there is a good chance the player’s schedule will already be booked. The remaining visits are then scheduled as the scouting meetings progress and it is discovered that a visit is necessary to solidify any piece(s) of information about a player.

All visits must be reported to the League Office, and while they are not disclosed to the other teams, the media often intercepts information about players visiting. These reports offer other teams an indication about players their competition is interested in. Let the chess match begin! The other 31 teams may try to track these reports to help their cause with building their own Draft Day strategies. Or it has been suggested that a team will bring in a player to fool other teams about an apparent interest. While I have no doubt that this does happen, my educated opinion is that it only happens minimally and only with the top players with first round talent. Teams really have no reason to bluff about lower round talent, because preference and ranking becomes more diversified as the Draft progresses. (I will speak to this more later in this series.) Conversely, the talent of the top prospects is universally known, so a visit with these players will not alert other teams of unknown talent: These visits would primarily indicate greater interest, but they also present a greater opportunity to bluff.

Prove It

As the NFL playoffs are wrapping up, college prospects get one final chance in late January to shine in a game environment. The East/West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl offer NFL scouts, coaches and executives one final look at the top prospects that have been invited to play in these all-star games. NFL staff will travel to the site of these games to watch the practices and games of these top athletes. It is a chance to see these players perform against top competition, and it is one more piece of information to gather to determine a team’s interest in drafting the player.

Poked and Prodded

Every February, 340 of the top college football players in the nation are invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. This is the ultimate competition for the prospects as they go up against the top players at their position. They are measured, tested, interviewed, and sent through a series of drills. They are even given a Wonderlic test to determine their mental capacity. The only thing they don’t do is actually play a game, so these results need to be taken with a grain of salt. These players run around in shorts and t-shirts, not full pads.

There is minimal contact, so toughness cannot be accurately gauged. Strength is measured by a bench press, not functional strength on a football field. Speed is emphasized by a 40-yard dash in a straight line, not the burst and change-of-direction we see on Sundays. Granted, there are some simulated drills taking place which allow teams to see a player’s skill-set, but scouts know that going to games and watching game tape is still the most reliable information when grading a player. Teams can make mistakes when they put too much weight into a drill time. They also need to be careful to not favor a player simply because of his personality or the system he played in at college. While the 40-yard dash times get the most attention, I got the most out of the interviews and on-field agility drills. One could really gauge a player’s passion from the interviews, and the on-field drills were much more comparable to game tape than the timing drills.

All of these events and activities are a part of the process of deciding which players to select in the NFL Draft. Hopefully you are discovering that teams truly are educated, calculated and focused when the NFL Draft actually arrives. Check back next Friday as I go deeper into Draft preparations.

As always, you can contact me directly. I welcome your feedback.

, , , , , ,

20 Responses to Drafting for Dummies – Part II

  1. movers Denver April 24, 2013 at 1:22 am #

    Thanks , I’ve recently been searching for information approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have found out so far. However, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you positive concerning the supply?

  2. Wilburn June 2, 2013 at 5:18 am #

    This is the perfect site for anyone who hopes to understand this
    topic. You realize a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I actually will need to…HaHa).
    You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic that’s been written about for years. Wonderful stuff, just wonderful!

  3. resorts in Thailand June 2, 2013 at 7:39 am #

    Aw, this was an exceptionally good post. Finding the time and
    actual effort to generate a really good article… but what can I say… I hesitate a whole lot and don’t seem to get nearly anything done.

  4. Amari Hotel Samui Island June 29, 2013 at 3:51 pm #

    What’s up Dear, are you genuinely visiting this web page regularly, if so afterward you will definitely get fastidious know-how.

  5. resorts in Thailand November 29, 2013 at 7:22 am #

    You can definitely see your expertise inn the work you write.
    The arena hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who
    aren’t afraid to say how they believe. All the
    time go after your heart.

  6. bali surfing School January 28, 2014 at 10:01 am #

    WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for Cheapest Resorts Bali

  7. what garcinia cambogia extract do April 27, 2014 at 7:00 pm #

    Oh mƴ goodness! Amazing article dude! Thank you sso much, However I am encountering issues
    with your RSS. Ι don’t know wɦy I cannot subscribe to it.
    Is there ɑnyone else hɑving similar RSS problems?

    Anyone tjat kոows the solutiօn can you kindly
    respoոd? Thankѕ!!

  8. velve skin eye wrinkle care June 7, 2014 at 1:07 pm #

    It’s very trouble-free to find out any topic on net as compared to textbooks,
    as I found thhis paragraph at this site.

  9. Michelle July 3, 2014 at 8:55 am #

    Ӏ’m truly enjοying the desig and layout of yur website.

    It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it
    much more enjoyable for me to come herde and visit more
    often. Did you ɦire oսt a developer to create your theme?

    Fantastic work!

  10. Professional skin Bleaching July 9, 2014 at 11:15 am #

    Terrific work! This is the type of info that are meant to bee shared around the net.

    Disgrace on Googlle ffor now not positioning this submit upper!
    Come on over and visit my web site . Thankss =)

  11. บัวหิมะ August 9, 2014 at 12:41 pm #

    reeling  reemits  reenact  reendow  reenjoy  reenter  reentry  reequip.
    For a girl, whether she is a trendy person, a forward one, or even a white-collar beauty, they all wear a pair
    of UGG (UGG is especially used to refer to the Australian round headed sheepskin boots) Australia snow boots.

    gremial  gremlin  gremmie  grenade  greyest  greyhen  greying  greyish.

  12. Brigette August 13, 2014 at 10:57 pm #

    I don’t know whether it’s just me or if everyone else experiencing
    problems with your site. It appears like some of the text on your posts are running
    off the screen. Can someone else please provide feedback
    and let me know if this is happening to them as well?
    This might be a problem with my browser because
    I’ve had this happen previously. Cheers

  13. True Green Coffee Bean Dr Oz August 24, 2014 at 1:05 pm #

    Hello there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading your blog posts.

    Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics?
    Appreciate it!

  14. get beautiful skin August 28, 2014 at 5:38 am #

    Hi, I do believe your site could possibly be having web browser compatibility
    issues. Whenever I take a look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however, if opening in IE, it’s got some
    overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up!
    Apart from that, wonderful blog!

  15. care sensitive September 14, 2014 at 8:15 am #

    You ought to take part in a contest for one of the greatest sites on the internet.
    I most certainly will recommend this blog!

  16. trainer September 26, 2014 at 10:26 pm #

    This is a great tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere.
    Simple but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one.

    A must read post!

  17. tv advertising September 27, 2014 at 6:17 am #

    Touche. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the good work.

  18. iphone unlock code November 16, 2014 at 4:03 pm #

    Can I simply say what a relief to find someone who
    actually understands what they’re talking about over the internet.
    You actually realize how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
    More and more people need to check this out and understand this side
    of the story. I can’t believe you aren’t more
    popular because you surely have the gift.

  19. 2012 movie plot November 27, 2014 at 12:52 am #

    Thank you a lot for sharing this with all folks you
    actually recognize what you’re speaking about! Bookmarked.
    Kindly also seek advice from my web site =). We could have a link exchange agreement among
    us

  20. https://odadingbandung.web.id/ August 5, 2021 at 6:44 am #

    Beras merupakan makanan pokok dalam diet orang Indonesia. Dewi beras, Dewi Sri, sangat dihormati di Jawa juga Bali juga karena inspirasi ilahi ini, hampir semuanya datang dengan nasi – bahkan makanan yg mengandung karbohidrat seperti mie atau kentang!

    Bagi banyak orang, makanan seperti roti, sereal, atau bahkan pizza hanya dianggap sebagai camilan, karena tidak dikonsumsi dengan seporsi nasi. Orang Indonesia juga menggunakan nasi untuk membuat berbagai makanan penutup, seperti puding nasi yg enak. Selain nasi, beberapa budaya di Indonesia memiliki makanan pokok lain seperti singkong, ubi jalar, juga jagung.

Leave a Reply