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RSP Boiler Room No.52: TE Cethan Carter
Footwork issues can manifest in a variety of ways for a physically talented football player. Cethan Carter has the potential to become a talented move tight end. If you want to see how far along a player’s development is, study the footwork of his routes and transition from pass catcher to runner. For analysis of…
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The NFL Lens: Agility and Flexibilty w/LeGarrette Blount
It’s always in the hips, folks. This dude is how most football fans I know react to speed. But if you want to see me act like this guy over a player, show me a prospect with great hips. If a football player is capable of doing a deep squat—especially in the context of his job—I’m…
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The NFL Lens: Fingertips Technique w/Jarvis Landry and Mike Evans
Testing technique is a lot like testing character; how well it holds up under stress will tell you a lot. A man’s true character comes out when he’s drunk. -Charlie Chaplin Much to your dismay, I’m not advocating shots before the gauntlet drill at the NFL Combine. I agree, it would be entertaining—even more so…
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The NFL Lens: Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, and FBI
There’s the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. When it comes to quarterbacking, I want prospects who understand both. I want quarterbacks that make good decisions when things don’t go as planned. Apply pressure to that off-script moment and you’ll see who thinks clearly and creatively and who doesn’t. For quarterbacking,…
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Steve Volk: In Defense of Trade Deadlines (Or Why Adam Harstad Is The Wrong Choice For America)
According to Steve Volk, Adam Harstad just happens to be wicked, dangerous, and clever enough to be a threat to all we hold dear in fantasy football. By Steve Volk The trade deadline in my favorite dynasty league is coming up, on Nov. 15th, and frankly I couldn’t be happier. I note with no small degree…
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The NFL Lens: Economy of Movement With Michael Bennett
A look at one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in the game. Whether it’s offense or defense, you can often spot the best players on the field based on the economy of their movement. Even if that player has a variety of flashy moves and strings them together in mind-blowing ways, they only do…
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The NFL Lens: Balance With Jay Ajayi
Jay Ajayi’s impressive display of balance against Pro-Bowl caliber defensive end Kyle Williams. Define “balance” and “power.” Ask two talent analysts to do this and it’s one of the easier ways to take a conversation about football into the weeds. There’s enough overlap between the two concepts that it can spawn debates about what belongs…
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The NFL Lens: A Maritime Tale of Pulp Fiction w/Rob Gronkowski
Batten down the hatches, Rob Gronkowski tells a shocking maritime tale. I’ve been spending time each day diagramming run blocking schemes and pass routes. One of those routes is the sail route. When drawn up in a book or a blackboard, a sail route (bottom left quadrant) looks like an upside-down “L”. One of the…
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RSP Film Room: RBs Donnel Pumphrey & Darren Sproles w/Eric Stoner
Eric Stoner and I study Darren Sproles, but first, we study a player who Emory Hunt says is used like Sproles in terms of system. Donnel Pumphrey is the latest of a long string of players earning direct comparisons to Darren Sproles. The most sensible of these comparisons comes from Emory Hunt, who shared that…
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The NFL Lens: Pad Level With Jarvis Landry
A great example of pad level from a wide receiver? Go figure. What’s the most important thing you look for in a player? It’s easily in the top-10 of common questions that I get about evaluating football prospects for a living. One essential answer is comfort giving and receiving physical contact. You’d think this quality…