-
Futures: Wake Forest WR Michael Campanaro
A Lesson In Zone Routes By Matt Waldman The depth of the wide receiver class is one of the headlines of the 2014 NFL Draft. The subtext of this storyline that deserves more attention is how the volume of talent at the position generates massive variation of player grades from team to team across the…
-
Futures: BYU OLB Kyle Van Noy
Van Noy has all the tools to become a quality starter in the NFL. He also has the vision and decision-making to become potential star. Futures: BYU OLB Kyle Van Noy By Matt Waldman When my friend Ryan Riddle, Cal’s all-time sack leader, says outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy has great instincts, that’s a player…
-
Player-Coach: Questioning Process vs. Questioning Authority
It’s not often discussed, but the quality of coaching and leadership adds another layer of complexity to evaluating prospects. One of the great things about the Internet – specifically social media – is having conversations with people who don’t go with the herd. Ryan Riddle is one of those individuals. So when my friend says…
-
Futures: “I am smarter than ‘Phillip’ Rivers”
The Wonderlic is great for testing future loan officers, but Matt Waldman would rather have Wonderlic failures like Jim Kelly or Ray Lewis as his on-field CEOs. Futures: I Am Smarter Than “Phillip” Rivers by Matt Waldman “You scored a 32 –- that’s better than Phillip Rivers. He scored a 30. Rivers’…
-
QB Jimmy Garoppolo: Knockout
Jimmy Garoppolo’s draft stock in the media is gaining steam, but the quarterback is a player whose whole does not equal the sum of his parts. In this week’s Futures, I wrote that scouting quarterbacks remains an untamed wilderness for the NFL. While easier for scouts to identify details like height, weight, arm strength, base accuracy,…
-
Scouting QBs: Separating the Dark From the Dark
After spending an insane amount of time during the last decade studying players, talking with scouts, and paying attention to history, I have learned three things about evaluating football talent: Scouting and quarterbacking are about detail and nuance. Experience matters, but not like you think. Quarterback remains the untamed wilderness of football evaluation. These are…
-
Futures: 2014 Speed Score Leaders
If I had a laboratory fitting of a mad scientist, Football Outsiders’ Speed Score would have its application. What about now? Futures: The 2014 Speed Score Leaders By Matt Waldman Indulge me in a bit of fantasy. Imagine an old football field. It’s a practice field at the rear of an abandoned high school with…
-
No-Huddle Series: WR/KR Bruce Ellington
Bruce Ellington is like a Swiss Army knife equipped with a butane lighter that doubles as a jet pack. A couple weeks ago, I was a guest on Elise Woodward’s show on 950 KJR Seattle talking Seattle wide receivers and the NFL Draft. Woodward asked me which receivers I think the Seahawks might take in…
-
No-Huddle Series: David Fales, Developmental Gem?
Can San Jose State quarterback David Fales develop more velocity on this throws like Drew Brees? Read on. Eric Stoner at Draft Mecca is one of the first draftniks I know who watched David Fales and liked his game. I do, too. When I talked about what I saw in the 6-1, 22o-lb.starter at San…
-
Futures: A Trio of Sleepers
WR Paul Richardson, RB Tim Flanders, and QB Dustin Vaughan are intriguing players without the big-top pedigree. Futures: A Trio of Sleepers by Matt Waldman According to most fantasy football writers, the term “Sleeper” is dead, buried, and the wake held in its honor featured a stuffed mushroom dish with creamed spinach and Italian breadcrumbs…