OMG! Ponies!
Footballguy
Really good read. However, I can't seem to locate part I.
http://football.realgm.com/src_twelfthwrit..._scout_part_ii/
http://football.realgm.com/src_twelfthwrit..._scout_part_ii/
The draft is just three weeks away, which means draft boards are being finalized. Individual team visits and pro days are nearing their conclusions, and agents are actively pushing the stock of their clients (note to one particular agent: stop spamming me with press releases!).
I conducted another interview with a current NFL scout, but we got sort of waylaid by interlopers and other responsibilities. This is shorter than I wanted but still provides some valuable insight.
Jeff Risdon: After his strong pro day, it’s a given that Sam Bradford will be taken #1 overall. I’m not sold at all on Bradford and I wonder what your opinion of him going #1 overall might be?
Scout: We’re damn glad it isn’t us picking there. Look, Sam Bradford might wind up being a hell of a quarterback, but I wouldn’t touch him at #1. The last two times he got hit, his shoulder got hurt. He doesn’t do us any good if he can’t stay on the field. That’s why they need a QB in the first place, because Marc Bulger couldn’t take the hits anymore.
JR: How much stock does your team place in health concerns?
Scout: It’s a big deal. ...we look at how the injuries happened. If a kid gets caught in a horse collar and breaks his ankle, that’s one thing. But to go back to Bradford, he got hurt on hits that most guys just shake off. Big Ben (Roethlisberger) gets hit like that 20 times a week. So that’s a real big deal with him.
JR: Keeping on that injury theme, Jahvid Best suffered a nasty concussion last year. Are concussions viewed differently than a shoulder or a knee?
Scout: You know what, we spend so much to make sure these kids with the concussions are clear now. I don’t know for sure but I bet we check out (head injuries) harder than we do anything else these days. We had a doctor come in and give us a little presentation about concussions and how they can come back, stuff like that. We are more comfortable than we used to be there. Best has passed every test so we’re not that worried about him.
JR: Aside from Tim Tebow, the player I get asked more about than any other is Jimmy Clausen. I know you’ve scouted him extensively.
Scout: Yeah I have. I’ve seen every snap he took and a lot of them more than a few times. The thing about him is that kid just loves football and it’s his whole life. All these people talk about him being this or being that, and they sure as hell haven’t ever spent time with him. Because that kid is all about making himself the best NFL quarterback, and he’s got the physical ability to do it.
JR: But will he be successful?
Scout: I really think so. Look, he’s got some warts. That kid was a world class ##### when he got there, but he figured it out and grew up. You could really see it over the last year. They ran an NFL offense and (Clausen) made reads and drops that none of the other guys have even thought about. He just anticipates routes so well. Now would I like to see him gun it a little harder sometimes, yeah, sure. But for my money this kid is the surest bet in this draft (at QB).
JR: We’ve talked about this before, but I’m not nearly as high on the offensive tackle crop this year as most people. How do you feel about it?
Scout: You know, I think some of the kids that people aren’t looking at as high are gonna be real good. That kid from Indiana (Rodger Saffold), that kid can flat out play. If he came from Oklahoma or Florida he’d be a top 10 pick, no question in my mind. I like (Charles) Brown out of USC more the more I see him. A lot of Brick (D’Brickashaw Ferguson) in that kid but he might be a little tougher. ...I know you really like Kyle Calloway. On the right side he’ll be fine but he ain’t no zone guy. Even that kid from Abilene (Christian, Tony Washington), he has everything you can want. Love his feet. He’s got some issues but for my money he’s better than that Bruce Campbell kid.
JR: What about the guys at the top that I find overrated? Bryan Bulaga, Trent Williams, even Russell Okung to some extent.
Scout: Well Jeff, I think you’re wrong about Okung there. He’s a top-five pick and he belongs there. That kid is mentally tough and I think that’s a factor that not enough people consider for tackles. You have to be mentally tough to accept getting beat, because everyone gets beat. That was what was wrong with Tony Ugoh. He couldn’t get past his own mistakes. Look at Jacksonville last year. The Monroe kid (Eugene Monroe) they took first has the same problem and we knew it. The other guy they took later (Eben Britton) is a better player and will be a real good one for a long time because he understands how to handle getting beat. Okung is like that, and he ain’t gonna get beat too much either.
...I do think people overrate Williams but that doesn’t mean I think the kid can’t play. We can start him next year on the right (right tackle) and not worry. He’s a kid you’re going to have to keep pushing though, if that’s what you mean. And I’ll tell you this about Bulaga--he’s got that mental toughness too. That kid competes. I think he might be a right-sider in the long run but he’ll be fine. I think he’s like Chris Samuels, one of those guys that isn’t in the Pro Bowl every year but you never have to worry about him either. You can win a lot with guys like that.
JR: Getting back to the mental toughness concept. What you said there reminds me of down in Mobile (Senior Bowl week) where we stood with (the GM of his team) and watched Vlad Ducasse beg the coaches to move back inside after a couple of bad plays at tackle. Is that more of what you’re talking about?
Scout: You got it. I know we said right then there ain’t no way he’s ever gonna make it. He’s afraid of getting beat and looking bad. That’s the risk you run with the smaller college guys and the kids that everyone calls “projects” (yes, he made the air quotes!). There is a hell of a lot of pressure on those kids to try and hit home runs on every pitch and never look bad. Especially early on. Some of the kids can handle it, some can’t. He can’t, and that ain’t gonna change. Move him to guard, whatever...that’s (how they handle it) hard to see from those kids that come from small schools or kids like him that haven’t played very long.
JR: Same thing with Jason Pierre Paul, right?
Scout: I don’t know him very well. Then again I don’t know how anyone could with how little he played. That kid has what, six starts in college? I’d hate to be the guy responsible for drafting him in the first round, but I’ll bet you someone does. Won’t be us, I can tell you that much.
JR: Tell me why Jermaine Gresham is viewed so highly. I see a player that missed a season to a bad knee injury, runs slower than half the tackles in this draft, and can’t block a lick.
Scout: You know what, we’ve had that exact conversation a couple of times in working out our (draft) board. There are people in our front office who feel the same way you do, and we will not pick him above the 3rd round because of that. But that kid does have his defenders. I think you understate his speed. He’s not fast but he plays faster than he runs. I love how he uses his body to create a target, and if you throw the ball near him he’s gonna catch it. I’ll give you this though--he ain’t no blocker, that’s for sure. When you see a kid his size you think he should be able to line up tight and maul, but he can’t do that at all.
JR: Give me a couple of players that most people like me believe are first round picks that you think will slide.
Scout: Brian Price, the fat kid from UCLA. I’ll tell you what, Terrence Cody is in a lot better shape than that kid and he’s (Cody) comfortable with his size. Price will flash you the ability to get into the backfield, but watch him against good teams and he didn’t do sh**. I know a lot of people that think he’s going to be a big bust. Enough people that I think he’ll get humbled a little come draft day.
JR: What about Taylor Mays?
Scout: You want to talk about physical freaks, that’s your guy right there. There’s too much to like for him to fall, right or wrong. It won’t be us but someone will get him in the first (round).
JR: I’ll give you a few names and you tell me where you think they will be drafted...
JR: Jimmy Clausen?
Scout: Top 10, no doubt in my mind
JR: Tim Tebow?
Scout: (laughs) no later than #33 (overall)
JR: Colt McCoy?
Scout: I bet someone goes up and gets him in the 20s (overall). Could be us, you never know (laughs with a very wry smile)
JR: Corey Wootton?
Scout: First few picks of the second round
JR: Jason Worilds?
Scout: Middle of the 2nd, maybe higher
JR: Myron Rolle?
Scout: Good question. 4th round probably
JR: And your prediction for Mr. Irrelevant?
Scout: Wow, how about...hmmm...who has the pick?
JR: Detroit does. The reason I ask is that I’m in a pool where if we pick it correctly we get free dinner in Mobile next winter.
Scout: Alright then, how about Antonio Brown, the wideout from Central Michigan.
JR: Thanks!
