Matt Waldman shows how Guice, a top running back prospect for the 2018 NFL Draft, illustrates the value of process over result when scouting football players.

I love big plays. When I was strictly a football fan, I used to spend my Sunday afternoons in Athens, Georgia on the couch with Clay, my college roommate, watching the NFL and using Clay’s synthesizer to create sound effects with replays of game-changing moments.

Marrying the sound of a bomb dropping with James Jett’s 9 routes was a house favorite.

I still love big plays, but I’m not longer strictly a football fan. As my career around the game evolved, the process became more important than the outcome. If there is a single truth about performance evaluation that every aspiring tape watcher must learn, this is it. You’ll know you’re on the right track when your appreciation for

If you’re an aspiring student of the game, you’ll be on the right track when your appreciation for smaller plays is as intense (if not more so) as the highlight reel moments. Smaller plays often involve the opposition posing greater challenges to the player.

This 2.5-yard gain by Derrius Guice is a great example. Relying on his knowledge of his blocking scheme, reading the defense, and integrating these conceptual skills with his athletic ability and technique, the LSU running back squeezes every possible inch out of this play.

I’ll be sharing a lot more about Guice—positve and constructive—this year. He’s a skilled college running back with a lot of traits that match those of runners who play on Sundays.

For analysis of skill players in the 2017 draft class, download Matt Waldman’s 2017 Rookie Scouting Portfolio today! Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2012 – 2017 RSPs at no additional charge. Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. You can purchase past editions of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio for just $9.95 apiece.