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WR Mike Evans: Shades of Boston
Before David Boston was making headlines for substance abuse, he was a fine wide receiver. I’m not talking about the rocked-up Chargers’ incarnation. When Boston was an Arizona Cardinal and Ohio State Buckeye he had the makings of a perennial Pro Bowl performer. Even before he became a weight room fanatic, Boston was big, strong,…
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Futures: UGA QB Aaron Murray
Futures: UGA QB Aaron Murray By Matt Waldman The most glaring example of the difference between a good college player and a good NFL player is at the quarterback position. It’s also the position where draftniks and football evaluators have one of the loosest working definitions for the term “developmental prospect.” I’ve seen this term…
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Boiler Room: RB Todd Gurley
Todd Gurley’s style reminds me of Penn State star Larry Johnson. For those of you who remember Johnson for his exploits with the Chiefs than the headlines he made off the field, it’s weighty praise. What they have in common is the agility of a 210-pound runner in the powerful frame of 225-230 lb. back.…
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Futures: UCLA OLB Anthony Barr
Futures: UCLA OLB Anthony Barr by Matt Waldman Which one is not like the others? Aldon Smith. Dion Jordan. Anthony Barr. If you ask Nebraska Offensive Line Coach John Garrison orNFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah, they’ll tell you Barr is stylistically similar to both players. While Jeremiah polled five NFL Execs with a question specifically framed to link Jordan and Barr, there are…
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Futures: Clemson WR Sammy Watkins
It seems ridiculous to label a wide receiver with an 82-catch, 1219-yard, 12-touchdown debut as “unsung,” but consider the company Sammy Watkins kept his freshman year. The Clemson wide receiver is one of only four players in the history of college football to earn First Team All-America honors as a true freshman. The other three…
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On Scouting Wide Receivers
I believe analytics have value, but the grading of wide receivers based heavily on speed, vertical skill, and production is an ambitious, but misguided idea. Further the application is the torturing of data to fit it into a preconceived idea and making it sound objective and scientific due to the use of quantitative data. Unless…
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Flashes: WR Allen Hurns, Miami
Long-time college and NFL coach Dave Wannestedt told an ESPN crew that he awarded Dion Lewis a full ride to Pitt after watching just one play of the Browns running back’s high school tape. Sounds foolish, but I won’t lie: There are some plays impressive enough that you realize you’ve seen much of what you…
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Flashes: QB Chase Rettig, Boston College
Playing quarterback at a high level requires a pairing of skill sets that at times seem paradoxical. Intense preparation and freewheeling improvisational skill. Finesse and grit. Control and abandon. An elephantine memory and selective amnesia. It’s why it’s the toughest position to evaluate. Kurt Warner sat on the bench at Northern Iowa for three years.…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: Venric Mark, Offensive Weapon?
Venric Mark: Offensive Weapon? by Matt Waldman A couple of months ago, an employee from an NFL player-personnel department asked for preliminary input on a project he’s undertaking. He asked me to relay things I watch when I study offensive skill players that he could quantify. One of the things I shared pertains to running backs. What…
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Eddie Lacy and Why I Prefer Talent Over Situation
Eddie Lacy was my top back in the 2013 class before the NFL Draft. After the draft, I dropped him to fourth in behind Giovani Bernard, Le’Veon Bell, and Marcus Lattimore. Why? The three factors that we learned that caused NFL teams to drop him on their draft boards: Lacy was so out of shape…