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Futures: Florida DE/OLB Dante Fowler
Futures: Florida DE/OLB Dante Fowler By Matt Waldman I’m a big fan of Stephen White’s draft profiles. The former NFL defensive end-turned-blogger has a writing voice that transports me to a corner booth at a late-night Korean barbecue joint where, over the sizzle of pork belly, beef brisket, and kimchi on the iron-cast lid, we’re…
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Futures: Deep Diving for Small-School Sleepers
TE James O’Shaughnessy, WRs Darius Davis and Dezmin Lewis, and RB Zach Zenner are small-school players worth monitoring. By Matt Waldman In his recent article on CSU-Pueblo quarterback Chris Bonner, Mike Tanier referred to me and Optimum Scouting’s Eric Galko as “deep divers” of the draft analyst community. With my caps and “seafarer” grooming, I…
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Futures: The Inner Game & the 2015 Class
I host a weekly show on YouTube called The RSP Film Room. I suppose this is an indirect promo, but that’s not the intent. There’s a larger point to broaching it here. Typically 60 to 80 minutes long, the show is a Google Hangout where two football analysts watch a prospect’s cutups. We comment on…
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Futures: Michigan TE/WR Devin Funchess
Futures: Michigan WR/TE Devin Funchess By Matt Waldman (Beginning today, Matt Waldman’s Futures column moves to Wednesdays through the 2015 NFL Draft.) Is Devin Funchess a wide receiver or a tight end? The easiest answer is It depends on the team and scheme. NFL.com quoted an anonymous NFL personnel executive who compared Funchess to Jimmy…
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Futures: USC DT/DE Leonard Williams
This year’s unofficial theme at Futures is profiling complete football players: physically, mentally, and conceptually sound prospects with the versatility to contribute in multiple roles within their position — and in some cases, on either side of the ball. My profiles of Shaq Thompson, Myles Jack, and Ameer Abdullahhighlight the skills that earned these…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: QB Brett Hundley
Beyond the immediate considerations of Hundley’s potential, the quarterback’s tape raises larger questions about the position. Futures: UCLA QB Brett Hundley By Matt Waldman I’m so happy that I’m a married man. Atop the list of reasons why is the obvious: I love my wife. However, the fact that I no longer have to experience…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: Jameis Winston
Futures: FSU QB Jameis Winston By Matt Waldman Winston is an important prospect who requires coverage in a column like Futures. There are thoughts that I have about Winston’s off-field issues, how college football enables bad behavior, and the thorny decisions that NFL personnel directors face with talented performers involved in allegations like Winston’s. I…
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Jameis Winston: Leadership (On Stage and Behind the Curtain)
I find it wholly appropriate that I’m writing about Winston two years to the night that a FSU freshman accused the quarterback of rape, because the man’s off-field behavior requires analysis within the context of evaluating his NFL prospects. I could pretend to be objective about Winston, but I won’t. His off-field behavior disturbs me. I…
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Futures: Six Memorable Lessons About Talent Evaluation
This week’s Futures makes a visit to the past. Matt Waldman lists the 10 most influential prospects in his development as a talent evaluator. This will be the tenth season that I publish the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. One of the most frequent questions readers ask is, Who were your greatest hits and misses? It’s an…
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Futures at Football Outsiders: FSU TE Nick O’Leary
Need a player who will do the dirty work to keep your quarterback looking and playing clean like Heath Miller does for Roethlisberger? Nick O’Leary is your man. A pervasive theme of this year’s Futures is the profiling of football players who transcend the typical boundaries of their position. Hines Ward comes to mind as…