Tag: NFL draft

  • Reads Listens Views 4/19/2013

    Reads Listens Views 4/19/2013

    More draft analysis on the way from RSPHQ – including more from the No-Huddle Series and Boiler Room and my take on Cordarrelle Patterson from the perspective of Football Outsiders and its Playmaker Score. If you’re new to the RSP blog, welcome to my Friday post Reads Listens Views, my chance to share things I’ve been…

  • Futures: Why Scouting Gets a Bum Rap – A Front Office Overhaul

    Futures: Why Scouting Gets a Bum Rap – A Front Office Overhaul

    Scouting gets a bum rap. “Of course Waldman would say this,” you proclaim. “He’s a scout!” I may perform the fundamental role of one, but I am not a scout. This elicits laughter from my friend Ryan Riddle. The Bleacher Report columnist who holds Cal’s single season sack record and played with the Raiders, Ravens,…

  • Boiler Room: Oregon St. WR Markus Wheaton

    Boiler Room: Oregon St. WR Markus Wheaton

    Wheaton is my favorite wide receiver in this draft. There are dozens of plays I’d like to show you and then there’s another dozen of one-on-one moments where he shined against a good class of corners at the Senior Bowl practices. He might not be the best receiver in this class, but I think he’s…

  • Behind the Scenes Thoughts on Tight Ends in 2013 RSP

    Behind the Scenes Thoughts on Tight Ends in 2013 RSP

    With the launch of the 2013 RSP, Sigmund Bloom suggested that I share a behind the scenes retelling of my thoughts and feelings about players – something that delves deeper than rankings and profiles of skills ad potential. A few days ago, I wrote about running backs. Today, it’s tight end – a position where three years…

  • Reads Listens Views 4/5/2013

    Reads Listens Views 4/5/2013

    Would Josh Gordon have been the top option in the 2013 draft class if his college career wasn’t filled with off-field missteps? I thought he was an option in the late-first to early-second rounds of 2012 rookie drafts, which would have placed him in the conversation with this year’s class. If you wish to take a liberal…

  • Behind the Scenes Thoughts on Running Backs in 2013 RSP

    Behind the Scenes Thoughts on Running Backs in 2013 RSP

    In case you were on a covert mission in the jungles of southeast Asia to save the world from a mad scientist hunkered down in a secret lair who was just a step away from bringing the world to the brink of chemical warfare, the 2013 Rookie Scouting Portfolio is now available for download. The…

  • The Elusiveness Factor: Patterson-Austin-Woods By Nick Whalen

    The Elusiveness Factor: Patterson-Austin-Woods By Nick Whalen

    If you’re an NFL Draft junkie, this time of year feels like the weeks of anticipation leading to Christmas Day.  When I was a kid, recordings of previous NFL Drafts were my “cartoons before bedtime,” before this blessed event that always brought a sense of euphoria when it finally arrived. I’m not normal. But I…

  • Futures: Unknown, Unsung, and Underappreciated

    Futures: Unknown, Unsung, and Underappreciated

    When you’re in my line of work, the most memorable players are often the unknowns, the underappreciated, and the underdogs. One of the most memorable for me was a player I watched in September 2006, whose performance against a top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers defense was so good that it belied his 24-carry, 72-yard box-score entry. Here’s…

  • 2013 RSP Publication Update

    2013 RSP Publication Update

    Good Morning. One day before the 2013 RSP will be available for download at mattwaldman.com and I thought you’d like a status update. I just finished writing the final section of the publication and tomorrow I will be reviewing edits and constructing the publication. As soon as the construction of the document is ready, I…

  • Futures: The Hybrid RB Evolution

    Futures: The Hybrid RB Evolution

    March is the month that I take 14-to-18 months of research and use it to generate rankings and analysis for the April 1 Rookie Scouting Portfolio publication. The labor involved in this compressed time period involves a workweek with hours averaging in the triple digits. I believe this will be the last year I have to…