by Matt Waldman

More film analysis forthcoming at Futures, especially on the Big Uglies, the island inhabitants on the perimeter, and the rovers and enforcers of the defense. In the meantime, indulge me one more week on offensive skill players. After all, I finished a 220-page skill position draft guide yesterday afternoon that, including the supplementary evaluations and play-by-play notes, totals 1,414 pages.

It sounds insane. It looks insane, too. Trust me, I printed 2014’s edition in December for a panel, and a brief moment of clarity washed over me as I stared at the four binders: There’s something kooky about all this.

It reminded me of visiting folk artist Howard Fenster’s Paradise Garden. As I experienced the four acres of this man’s spiritual/religious vision, I was knocked off-kilter with awe and underlying terror.

The more I watch film for a large-scale project like the 2015 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, the more two body parts come heavily into play: the hips and the feet. The hips generate power, explosiveness, agility, and flexibility at every position. Most key techniques require something from the players’ hips.

However, for quarterbacks, the feet are the window to the mind. If it weren’t for Bill Walsh and his insistence that a quarterback’s footwork is one of the most telling aspects of his overall game, this segment would seem like I was doing a podiatry variation of palmistry for quarterbacks.

Admittedly, I’m taking these thoughts further in that direction that Walsh might have. However, the connections are there to make — just as they were last year with Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, and Johnny Manziel.

Read the rest at Football Outsiders