TMC
04-02-2008, 09:57 AM
How Teams Build a Draft Board
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=reese_floyd&id=3283575
There are roughly two months between the NFL scouting combine and the draft. What will most clubs do to fine-tune and finalize their draft board? Although there is no perfect way to complete your draft preparation, all teams are affected by several events.
• Finalizing the junior database: It is not only possible, but probable, that information on this year's junior draft class is incomplete. More film work, background information, and additional interview time will be needed to have a full understanding of each player. It has taken from August to December to get a good handle on the senior class and there is only about a month to get this same feel for the juniors. Scouts will be working overtime to fill in all the blanks on the junior class résumé.
• Pro days: The pro day is now a yearly event at colleges at all levels. Each school's senior class will select a day or two in which a player will put on a combine-type workout followed by additional drills run by pro coaches that are specific to each position. All pro days have escalated in importance, organization, and atmosphere; some are now even televised.
USC has been one of the leaders in this area, and attending a Pete Carroll pro day is a combination of a track meet, a who's who in college football and a festival. Several hundred scouts, coaches, general managers, fans and announcers -- not to mention high school recruits -- spend a day watching the draft-eligible Trojans work out.
From a scouting standpoint, some -- if not all -- of these pro days are a concern.
At the combine, each drill and measurable is subject to extreme scrutiny, which is not often seen at a pro day. At every school, you have a different 40-yard dash starter and timer and different running surfaces, weather issues and footwear. Each event and its result need to be adjusted to closer resemble what we get from combine measurements.
When a top-notch prospect runs a disappointing 4.6 40-yard dash at the combine and then runs a 4.4 on his pro day, something is amiss. Many potential top draft choices will choose not to work out at the combine for a more favorable atmosphere on their home campus.
However, the prospect who puts all of his eggs in one basket is risking a lot.
He might have a lights-out performance on campus, or he just as easily could perform poorly or even pull a muscle. He will try to reschedule his workout, but most scouts' schedules are so full they often cannot return. Either way, it will definitely hurt the player's draft status.
• Final combine results: At some point, test results, medical information and interview tapes from the combine will be available.
Oddly enough, test results will affect a draft choice's position less than the medical grades or interview results. All teams will have most information on a player's measurables and will have a feel for the player's personality through interviews, all-star games and contact at the combine, but often will have little reliable information on the player's health.
The single quickest way to be eliminated from several teams' draft boards is to fail the physical or drug tests. Either failure is not a debatable subject. More film or retesting will not change the grade.
During this time of year, daily tweaking of the board is possible, but no one will jump from free agent to first-round draft choice, or vice versa. Depending on the combine and pro day info, it is not unusual for a player to fluctuate from the middle of a specific round to the top or bottom of that same round. Only a physical or background check will dramatically change the draft board.
• Final tests: The final weeks before the draft are dedicated to a few final decision-making processes.
Scheduled visits for top prospects, or prospects of interest, will take place in the team's city. A group of players will be invited to visit with the coaches, owners, trainers, scouts and established players. During the visit, any questions involving character, injuries or background will be finalized.
It is not unusual for a player to have a lengthy session with a sports psychologist or a behavioral expert. Any specialized test on specific questionable health issues also will be administered. At this point, all questions on the player's mental, emotional or physical health will be finalized.
• Pre-draft meetings: All of the information accumulated on each player is put on the table and compared to other players.
As I have said, even though the vast majority of a team's draft board is now in place, the stacking of each player, in each round, becomes important. For the final board to be complete, teams must now enter an endless process of comparing a cornerback at Penn State with a linebacker at UCLA or a quarterback at Alabama with a defensive tackle at Texas A&M.
What is his leaguewide value, when will he be taken, and what is his value to your club? The closer a team is to leaguewide standards, the better chance it has to prevent a draft day mistake.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=reese_floyd&id=3283575
There are roughly two months between the NFL scouting combine and the draft. What will most clubs do to fine-tune and finalize their draft board? Although there is no perfect way to complete your draft preparation, all teams are affected by several events.
• Finalizing the junior database: It is not only possible, but probable, that information on this year's junior draft class is incomplete. More film work, background information, and additional interview time will be needed to have a full understanding of each player. It has taken from August to December to get a good handle on the senior class and there is only about a month to get this same feel for the juniors. Scouts will be working overtime to fill in all the blanks on the junior class résumé.
• Pro days: The pro day is now a yearly event at colleges at all levels. Each school's senior class will select a day or two in which a player will put on a combine-type workout followed by additional drills run by pro coaches that are specific to each position. All pro days have escalated in importance, organization, and atmosphere; some are now even televised.
USC has been one of the leaders in this area, and attending a Pete Carroll pro day is a combination of a track meet, a who's who in college football and a festival. Several hundred scouts, coaches, general managers, fans and announcers -- not to mention high school recruits -- spend a day watching the draft-eligible Trojans work out.
From a scouting standpoint, some -- if not all -- of these pro days are a concern.
At the combine, each drill and measurable is subject to extreme scrutiny, which is not often seen at a pro day. At every school, you have a different 40-yard dash starter and timer and different running surfaces, weather issues and footwear. Each event and its result need to be adjusted to closer resemble what we get from combine measurements.
When a top-notch prospect runs a disappointing 4.6 40-yard dash at the combine and then runs a 4.4 on his pro day, something is amiss. Many potential top draft choices will choose not to work out at the combine for a more favorable atmosphere on their home campus.
However, the prospect who puts all of his eggs in one basket is risking a lot.
He might have a lights-out performance on campus, or he just as easily could perform poorly or even pull a muscle. He will try to reschedule his workout, but most scouts' schedules are so full they often cannot return. Either way, it will definitely hurt the player's draft status.
• Final combine results: At some point, test results, medical information and interview tapes from the combine will be available.
Oddly enough, test results will affect a draft choice's position less than the medical grades or interview results. All teams will have most information on a player's measurables and will have a feel for the player's personality through interviews, all-star games and contact at the combine, but often will have little reliable information on the player's health.
The single quickest way to be eliminated from several teams' draft boards is to fail the physical or drug tests. Either failure is not a debatable subject. More film or retesting will not change the grade.
During this time of year, daily tweaking of the board is possible, but no one will jump from free agent to first-round draft choice, or vice versa. Depending on the combine and pro day info, it is not unusual for a player to fluctuate from the middle of a specific round to the top or bottom of that same round. Only a physical or background check will dramatically change the draft board.
• Final tests: The final weeks before the draft are dedicated to a few final decision-making processes.
Scheduled visits for top prospects, or prospects of interest, will take place in the team's city. A group of players will be invited to visit with the coaches, owners, trainers, scouts and established players. During the visit, any questions involving character, injuries or background will be finalized.
It is not unusual for a player to have a lengthy session with a sports psychologist or a behavioral expert. Any specialized test on specific questionable health issues also will be administered. At this point, all questions on the player's mental, emotional or physical health will be finalized.
• Pre-draft meetings: All of the information accumulated on each player is put on the table and compared to other players.
As I have said, even though the vast majority of a team's draft board is now in place, the stacking of each player, in each round, becomes important. For the final board to be complete, teams must now enter an endless process of comparing a cornerback at Penn State with a linebacker at UCLA or a quarterback at Alabama with a defensive tackle at Texas A&M.
What is his leaguewide value, when will he be taken, and what is his value to your club? The closer a team is to leaguewide standards, the better chance it has to prevent a draft day mistake.