WEBVTT - How to Evaluate Draft Prospects + Essential Traits At Every Position Process | Ticket to the Draft Podcast | Washington Commanders | NFL 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.440 On today's episode of Ticket to the Draft podcast, we 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:04.920 got draft talk. We're back, baby, and you know we're 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:06.960 not getting ahead of ourselves. Mana's gotta go to the super Bowl. 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:10.400 But we are talking draft. We're talking how to evaluate prospects, 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:12.640 super high level things you can look for at. 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:14.120 Home right trust your eyes. 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:17.200 We're talking NFL threshold, why those are important, and maybe 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:20.079 most importantly, we get into the weeds on every single 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:22.360 position and here's one or two things you can look 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:30.840 for that are essential. It all starts right now. Welcome 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:33.840 into the Ticket to Draft Podcast. I'm Logan Paulson here 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:35.640 with just a guy Jason and guys. 0:00:36.120 --> 0:00:39.000 We are here. We're back. We're here to talk draft. 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:42.159 However, we're going to kind of like chill out today 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:45.120 specifically because we're still playing competitive football. 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:46.920 The commanders are right, Ja. 0:00:46.960 --> 0:00:47.559 Yeah, we're in there. 0:00:47.640 --> 0:00:49.760 Yeah, we're in it. Jordan Daniels, where it is. 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:52.960 We're making a push for the playoffs, probably super Bowl. 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:55.120 But just know we want to kind of touch base 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:56.640 with you, guys. Make sure you understood that we're still 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:57.880 going to go to the Senior Bowl, We're still going 0:00:57.920 --> 0:00:59.760 to the Combine. We're still going to give you all 0:00:59.760 --> 0:01:01.920 of our kind of top flight insight on the draft. 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:03.800 We're gonna get the heavy hitters on here, Trevor Sikama, 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:06.720 Field Yates, some big boy kind of draft analysts on 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:07.880 here talk about their process. 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:08.679 That's all coming. 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:10.840 But again, we figured we're going to start the off 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:14.080 season when the Commanders start the off season, which hopefully 0:01:14.080 --> 0:01:14.920 is after the Super Bowl. 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:16.840 Yeah, we just wanted to get an episode out just 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:18.880 let you guys know that we are coming back again 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:21.640 this year. We put out like close to thirty podcasts 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:25.800 last year. Going through everything through this draft process, I 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.840 love it. I became a huge fan of the process, 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:31.760 really started grinding logan. You taught me so much and 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:35.520 maybe appreciate football so much more. It doesn't hurt that 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:39.360 I'm lucky enough to be in an organization or a 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:42.560 part of an organization that has Adam Peters when and 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:46.800 Jaden Daniels coming through. So seeing like what the rookie 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:51.559 class has done and watching their process and learning from 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:55.480 just watching right, Like, I don't have any inside information whatsoever. 0:01:56.440 --> 0:01:59.840 I'm just watching what they're doing and it's it's crazy cool. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:01.720 I'm like, I want to learn how to do that. 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:03.680 Yeah, No, I think that's exactly right. 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:05.600 And I think it's it's funny like when the free 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:08.280 agency process has been so successful, when the draft process 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:10.320 has been so successful, you want to kind of kind 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:12.880 of distill and pick things from that and say, this 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:14.960 is why at work, this is things that we expect 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.720 the team to do moving forward. And it's always fun. 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.040 The more in depth each year that we get with 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.920 the draft, the more you learn about the process, the 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:25.040 more you learn about, hey, I may be missed on 0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:27.360 this evaluation, or this is why this team missed on 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:30.960 this evaluation, talking with people, having conversations, and so it's 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:33.280 really just a fun time of year because it's a 0:02:33.320 --> 0:02:35.800 time for every team in the NFL to get better 0:02:36.080 --> 0:02:39.000 and hopefully if they're handling the process appropriately, everyone's getting better. 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.360 But every year someone screws something up, someone takes a 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:43.720 you know, like a little bit of a swing out 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:45.920 of fastball, and they miss it and onto the next 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:47.920 year and they kind of have to live with those decisions, 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.880 and some of them have long standing ramifications. 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.440 And it's just self scouting, right, that's kind of what 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:55.760 you're talking about. Like, for me, that's what I loved 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.560 this off season of this podcast is going back looking 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.080 at how I scouted things like Okay, what did I miss? 0:03:02.120 --> 0:03:05.080 Why did I miss it? Can I is that an exception? 0:03:05.240 --> 0:03:07.560 Is that a rule? And just trying to learn so 0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:10.040 I can get better at this process. And I want 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:12.760 to say that like we had a we were very 0:03:12.880 --> 0:03:14.800 lucky in that we had a lot of fans follow 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:19.200 this podcast, which was really humbling and awesome. I think 0:03:19.240 --> 0:03:21.520 it's a lot because of you, because you're so incredibly 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:25.320 smart and talented. I have nothing to do with it. 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.400 I'm just a guy. It's all Logan, and I just 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:30.560 want people to know, like you need to like and 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:34.120 subscribe this podcast because Logan is going to I mean, 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:37.800 you get in the weeds more than I think, personally 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.440 more than anybody else. I listened to all the draft podcasts. 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.080 Maybe the PFF guys are right there because they they 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.080 get really into it with the stats. But having a 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:50.440 former ten year veteran of the NFL talk about what 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:52.480 it's like to be in the NFL, how you can 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:56.960 see maybe those traits, whether they're physical, they're mental, they're technical. 0:03:57.520 --> 0:04:00.400 I think you have a step above almost in anybody 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.480 else out there, and you if you want draft content, 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:06.880 you need to put Logan balls in on whatever podcast 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:09.840 he's won. I recommend this one, but you need to 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:11.760 put him in your weekly cue. 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:12.880 Oh that's very nice for you. 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:15.600 And again, like it's cool to have a job where 0:04:15.640 --> 0:04:17.560 I get to do with this stuff and talk talk 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:19.960 football and talk draft and talk about my passions and 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.040 so yeah, I think we should probably dig in a 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:22.400 little bit. 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:23.280 Yeah, let's do it. 0:04:23.320 --> 0:04:25.800 The first thing we want to talk about is what 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.480 can we expect from the Washington Commanders. And I think 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:30.720 this is a really good one because last year we 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:33.440 kind of saw this road map, this model of kind 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.000 of saying, hey, you know, we're going to draft good 0:04:37.000 --> 0:04:41.560 football players, but who are captains? Team leaders? Good players 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.120 in college have these leadership qualities, are self starters, And 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:47.400 I think all of those things are extremely important and 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:49.880 I expect to see a lot of those things transfer 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:53.240 over again. However, it's interesting to watch teams that have 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.120 been part of long term building processes they still have 0:04:56.200 --> 0:05:00.080 those underlying tenants, you know, like the self starters, the 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.600 the team captains. I think those are threads you'll see throughout. 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:04.719 But I kind of wonder this year if they'll take 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:08.560 a take some shots maybe in late rounds on guys 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:10.440 with traits, like every once in a while you see. 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:11.400 The Philadelphia Eagles do this. 0:05:11.760 --> 0:05:14.560 Last year, for example, they drafted Johnny Wilson, who is 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:16.600 this you know, six seven, two hundred and forty pound 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:19.279 wide receiver, you know, maybe not the best receiver, but 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:23.080 has these tremendous traits. They still have their kind of model, 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.200 but occasionally they'll take a flyer on someone who's exceptionally 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:28.560 talented in a later round just to kind of give 0:05:28.560 --> 0:05:29.920 it a shot and see if it works out. I 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:33.320 wonder if you see some of that this year coming 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:35.440 into the Yark because again, you've kind of established the 0:05:35.480 --> 0:05:38.280 foundation with all with this first class, with this first 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:40.520 free agency group, and I wonder if that's something we'll 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:41.400 see moving forward. 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:44.360 Do you how quickly do you think that teams are 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.320 able to do that to like take swing from the 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.320 heels in a sense, like a baseball term, just really 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.160 go for the grand slam when like you use the analogy, 0:05:54.240 --> 0:05:56.880 last year, we're just trying to hit singles, ye, right, 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:02.840 because that's what AH not a rebuild, but a recalibrate 0:06:03.760 --> 0:06:06.480 organization does. Just let's just get on base. We're a 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:09.200 little bit and then we can start taking these big 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:11.240 swings because we have a core in nucleus here that 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:11.800 we believe in. 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:14.520 Yeah, And I think it's it's kind of it's managing that. 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:16.839 So I think last year, everyone, every one of the 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:19.520 decisions felt like we're getting on base, We're getting a 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:22.960 connection with the athlete, we're getting connection with the organization. 0:06:23.000 --> 0:06:27.040 We're having people who are, you know, good football players. 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:28.640 And I think the thing that sticks out to me 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:30.680 is when I talk to people at the combine, when 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:32.919 I talk to people are the Senior Bowl Scout specifically, 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:36.479 they're like, you want five sure things. 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.400 Quote unquote, guys you feel really good about. 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:41.479 They fit the measurables, they their production is really good, 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:43.560 they're good citizens, they're good people. And then you can 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:47.240 take three guys that are maybe a little bit more risky. 0:06:47.560 --> 0:06:49.159 And that was the person I talked to was from 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.600 like an established organization. I'm not going to reference the organization, 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:53.479 but they were from a established group that the staff 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:54.840 had been there for a long time, the coach had 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:56.680 been there for a long time. And I think, so 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:01.760 you're always going to want that foundational, like like get 0:07:01.800 --> 0:07:04.159 on base type of guy, but every once in a while, 0:07:04.200 --> 0:07:05.840 you can take one where you're like, I don't see 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:08.240 exactly what this is, but I see the athlete, I 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:10.760 see the upside, I see the work ethic, and I 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:13.680 see he's misused or miscast in college. I'm going to 0:07:13.680 --> 0:07:15.160 take a swing at this, and I think he's going 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:17.440 to be something really special. I think a great example 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:19.960 of that is like yeah ya Dabi for example, for 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:22.440 Tampa Bay, Like I remember doing his evaluation. He was 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:27.000 playing this three four defensive end. He couldn't rush the 0:07:27.040 --> 0:07:31.000 pass or he's playing basically defensive tackle, and then somebody 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:32.360 got it in my ear that he was going to 0:07:32.360 --> 0:07:34.640 maybe project a defensive end and you start thinking about 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:35.840 it like that, You're like, oh my gosh, if that 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:39.160 hits with his size, his speed, his power that he 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:42.160 plays with, that could be a big, a huge, explosive 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.280 draft pick for them. And so there's a little bit 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.200 of projection there, kind of probably more than you'd be 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:48.240 comfortable with and like a normal like get on base 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:49.880 type of pick. And if you look at it, this 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:51.520 last year, he was like a top four pass rusher 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:53.720 in the NFL in terms of pressure rate. So that's 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:55.200 one where example, you take a guy in the third 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:57.240 round there's a little bit more risk associated with it 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:59.720 in terms of his developmental arc, but it works out 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:01.120 in a big way for that organization. 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.480 So something that you're talking about there that I think 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:05.480 is interesting and you don't have to be a fan 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:07.560 of the Commanders listening to this podcast and get something 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:09.840 out of it, because I think a lot of good 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:13.480 organizations do this, And you reference it in the sense 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:16.680 of like, we're not just taking sometimes a guy that's 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:19.920 like everybody says, is good at football in college, right 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.640 like we're we're looking we're looking at a specific skill set, 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:26.840 how can it translate or a mentality and what I uh. 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:28.800 That's one of the things that the Commanders did a 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:31.720 lot of last year in the last draft that hit 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:34.400 for them is they were looking for a mentality. And 0:08:34.440 --> 0:08:37.760 when you do that, sometimes you're not drafting for need. 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.720 You draft this is where the best player available comes in, 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:43.680 because an organization will sit there and they'll say, Okay, 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:47.199 maybe this guy has a little more talent, like college 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:51.640 stats were there he stood out, but maybe he doesn't 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:56.000 have these intangibles quote unquote that fit within what we 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:59.080 want of an organization, and so we'd rather take a 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:02.160 guy with this mentality and one or two traits that 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.280 we think will translate and mold them into something different 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:06.360 than they were in college. 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.560 Yeah, I think that's exactly right, because again, you want 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.240 you want the foundation, and that's something really hard is 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.640 like there's players, like there's certain schools that have the reputation, 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.840 Alabama being one of them of having kids that are 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:22.080 they're they're kind of constantly chaperone, they're kind of forced 0:09:22.120 --> 0:09:24.120 to go to the workouts, they're forced to go to practice, 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:26.120 there's someone that goes to class with them, and they're 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.240 not great self starters because of the in the environment 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:32.079 that Nick Saban has developed and cultivated there. And Nick 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:35.320 Saban's talked about that too, right, But there are guys 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:36.840 like to your point, that are like, Hey, I'm going 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:38.200 to get an extra lift in, I'm going to be 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:39.839 early to practice, I'm going to stay late so i 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.000 can get my work done. And those are guys you 0:09:42.080 --> 0:09:44.720 really want to make sure you're betting on right because 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.040 when you draft the player like that, with those kind 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.200 of intangibles, the leadership qualities, the work ethic, they're going 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.960 to continue to get better and ultimately, like the thing 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:56.000 that's so hard about the draft and why everyone says 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:58.840 it's a crapshoot and I'm not breaking any like revolutionary 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:02.719 ground here. For example, is that even though you get 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:06.360 an athlete who's very, very skilled, the game from college 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:07.800 to the NFL is different. And we talked about that 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.319 on last year's show, And so how do I get 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.920 a guy that's going to develop continue to grow in 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:17.120 this environment? And it's those intangibles that really make that go. 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.800 And I think you see that with guys like Mike Sanderstill, 0:10:19.960 --> 0:10:23.640 Joshan Newton, like watched their developmental arc Jaden Daniels over 0:10:23.640 --> 0:10:25.720 the course of the year. They'd never stayed the same, 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:28.520 they got better each and every week. We saw Mike 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:30.080 sand Rossel get beat on this type of route, the 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:32.079 next week he covers it up. Jade Daniels gets beat 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:34.600 by this type of coverage. And that's again, the coaches 0:10:34.600 --> 0:10:36.800 are doing a great job supporting that athlete, but they 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:41.160 have to have something kind of internally that motivates them 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.440 to get better. And I think that's that's where like 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:46.400 we're doing talent evaluational like on large part on our end, 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:50.040 but they're doing scouting. And the scouting is the thing 0:10:50.080 --> 0:10:52.760 that's the different thing there because it's what type of 0:10:52.840 --> 0:10:55.439 person is he? What type of pro is he going 0:10:55.440 --> 0:10:58.000 to be? And that's where you really and one of 0:10:58.040 --> 0:10:59.760 the things that was so impressed last ye about Adam 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.800 Peter is he did that I felt like so incredibly 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:06.360 well finding a guy like Brandon Coleman who is kind 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:09.040 of this guard tweetyer player, but looked at the measurables, 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.960 looked at the athlete, talked to his coaches, and you're like, 0:11:13.000 --> 0:11:14.679 oh man, this guy could maybe be a starting left 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:17.720 tackle the NFL. And so those are like that's where 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.319 the magic sauce is made, is finding those kind of 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:21.280 magic intangibles. 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.439 Yeah. Absolutely, And it's a combination. Ultimately, when you put 0:11:24.480 --> 0:11:27.160 your quote unquote big board together at the end, who 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:28.959 goes up at the top, Well, you want them to 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:33.280 hit the intangibles. You want them to hit the evalue 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:35.800 the ev ows that you do of just watching them, 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:39.120 like the technical how they move, how their ball control, 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.760 whatever that is. And then you want them to hit 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:47.520 the things of like the combine stuff right the forty time, 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.000 the bench press, like all these things is like you 0:11:50.080 --> 0:11:52.480 combine them all up, mix them all together. Do you 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.920 have the perfect creative Matt and create a player in. 0:11:55.840 --> 0:11:58.320 There, absolutely, And I think that's something that is always 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:00.680 so fun and it's so fun when you're watching, Like 0:12:00.760 --> 0:12:02.640 I consume a lot of draft content when I'm getting 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:04.800 ready to do this show, and it's so funny to 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:08.400 see how a good Senior Bowl or good Combine gets 0:12:08.600 --> 0:12:10.079 changes the narrative about. 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:12.000 A player because of these. 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:16.199 Like pre existing metrics that kind of support positional success. 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.160 So that's something that's always fun to kind of keep 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:20.080 an eye on, and something we're going to keep an 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:21.440 eye on for sure over the course of the show. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:22.839 You know, we're gonna go to the Combine, gonna be 0:12:22.880 --> 0:12:24.839 the Senior Bowl, so we'll we have a front row 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:26.400 seat to all that stuff, which is always a lot 0:12:26.400 --> 0:12:30.560 of fun and and give you the talent evaluation and 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:33.000 how they fit in these certain boxes. But again, if 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:35.760 you're if you're really into the draft stuff, the best 0:12:35.880 --> 0:12:38.000 draft nerds I know are always able to find out 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.960 little details about the player, right, Oh, the player X 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:43.800 is Oh he goes and does soup kitchens on the weekend, 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:45.760 and he does all this with his free time and 0:12:45.760 --> 0:12:47.920 a good guy and study's extra and you know has 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:49.760 dinners at his house, brings the whole old line over 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:52.120 whatever it is, and all that stuff is the is, 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:55.160 the is, the is the finishing on the sauce that 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:56.920 really says this guy's going to make the jump to 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:57.520 the next level. 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:00.880 Yeah, and they put that in like the reality of 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:04.200 here in Washington. To me, what I remember of those 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:08.520 two things that as I did evaluation process as we went, 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:12.520 we didn't know was that Jaden there was talk he 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.040 shows up he's a first one at LSU, right, he's 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:18.839 the first one there. And then the VR training that 0:13:18.920 --> 0:13:20.640 they said he would do all the time using a 0:13:20.720 --> 0:13:25.000 VR headset and to learn defenses and work through that, 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:29.920 like just taking his preparation to another level. And like 0:13:29.960 --> 0:13:32.080 we don't when you're at the combine, when you're at 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:33.800 the Senior Bowl, you don't see those things. You can 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:37.160 only hear those things from the janitor at Melis or 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:39.960 whatever when you talk to them. And so what I 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:41.640 want to ask you, though, is let's move into the 0:13:41.679 --> 0:13:44.840 evaluation part of this, because this is the time where 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:50.240 people are really starting to get into evaluating prospects, especially 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:53.559 fans of other teams. Not to watch the commanders. Right now, 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:56.960 we're focused on the playoffs. But other teams, their fans 0:13:57.000 --> 0:13:59.319 are looking at the draft. They've already moved ahead. So 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:02.960 let's talk about ways that they can evaluate players. And 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:05.719 we're going to do that by me asking you how 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.480 do you evaluate players? Because you're the expert here, so 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:11.880 give me your high level thoughts. When you're watching a player, 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:15.440 when you're watching a prospect, what are you looking at? First? 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.079 The very first thing, The. 0:14:17.080 --> 0:14:17.679 Very first thing. 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.240 I have a column in my spreadsheet, which you know 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:23.440 that just simply says like yes or no, and it's 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:25.840 a very binary thing. But it's like, can this person 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:30.120 from a movement technical standpoint play at the NFL level? 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:31.840 And that becomes somewhat. 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.120 Suggestive, you know, as you go through the process, and 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.320 it's suggestive based on my opinion. But basically, like when 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:39.160 you're watching a guy. So I was watching the left 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.120 tackle from Michigan, for example, and he's on nobody's radar 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:44.760 right now, no one's talking about him. But I'm, you know, 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:47.160 watching the running backs from Michigan, and I'm like, oh, 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:49.520 who's this left tackle? So I'm kind of going through 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:51.200 his clips and I'm like, he's big, he's got a 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:53.520 good anchor, he's got strong hands, he's got good feet, 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.240 and so to me, even though no one's talking about him, 0:14:56.240 --> 0:14:57.600 he's a senior, he's a grad senior. 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:59.680 It's like he's a yes, right. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.040 And then there's other guys on the list, Like there's 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:04.640 a tackle from Rutgers, for example, who's big fella, and 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.560 he's got a lot of hype around him, but when 0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:08.200 you watch him, he. 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:09.720 Just doesn't move quite right. 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:12.280 He can't set the bowl, he can't set his anchor 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:14.440 very well. And you're like, that's a no, because that's 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.080 a technical issue and an anatomical issue. Because of his 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.840 length length and his torso length. They say he's never 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:22.880 going to be able to play at the next level. 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.800 And you take another example of the right tackle for 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:31.080 Minnesota for example, and he is technically perfect, it's. 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:31.600 Excellent to watch. 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:33.480 He anders, sounds, had an anchor and says that to 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:36.040 drive his feet, sink on contact, all these different things. 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:37.480 But then you see a move in space and you're like, 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:39.920 I don't know if he's athletic enough to be anything 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.760 more than kind of a rotational backup. So that column 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:44.360 is my first jumping off point. 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:46.800 And you're saying, like you're talking about some technical things, 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:49.800 but you're saying you just you're not dissecting it technically, 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:52.080 you're able to call it out because you've done this, yeah, 0:15:52.120 --> 0:15:54.160 for so long. But something just looks on. 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.920 It's just off, like the movement skills aren't right. They 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.680 can't set a bull or like a receiver, they just 0:15:59.680 --> 0:16:02.400 look like that's a big thing that shows up. Maybe 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:05.480 the number one thing in this column is just a 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:10.240 lack of athleticism or a general stiffness that you just 0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:12.640 got to be aware of that. And when you're looking 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:16.280 when you're talking about athleticism, stiffness, all these they're kind 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:19.760 of subjective, but you know, there's certain receivers where you 0:16:19.760 --> 0:16:21.080 watch them get out of break and they kind of 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:23.080 get stuck at the top and it's because they're too 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.760 stiff in the hips. Their ankles don't bend the right way, 0:16:26.040 --> 0:16:28.000 and they get a pass broken up and you're like, 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.560 that could be a fatal flaw at the next level. 0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:32.400 Or you get a big wide out they're six ' four, 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:35.000 they're two twenty, and they can't quite run, so then 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:37.320 you say no as a receiver, but maybe yes, it's 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:38.920 a tight end or something like that. And I think 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.680 that's where that column is and that's just the super 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.320 high level stuff, right, And it does help when you're 0:16:44.400 --> 0:16:47.400 kind of distilling all this information. Like our goal, like 0:16:47.480 --> 0:16:49.480 last year we watched I want to say, two hundred 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:50.960 and twenty five guys. This year, the goal is to 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:53.240 watch three hundred guys. And so when you're going through 0:16:53.240 --> 0:16:55.280 three hundred athletes, you need to get your list down. 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:57.760 I think you hear about some teams going into the 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:00.640 draft with a draft list of fifty athletes. It's fifty 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:03.400 guys that they are targeting in the draft. That's essentially 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.000 what I'm doing with that metric is like, yes, this 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:08.080 guy can do it, No, this guy can't do it. 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:10.960 And as the process goes, that does change for me. 0:17:11.000 --> 0:17:13.720 But usually that I find that that first kind of 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:18.720 knee jerk reaction is very It kind of sets the tone, right, 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:20.720 and it's kind of like and oftentimes I go back 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:22.560 and I check that yes, no, and I'm like, man, 0:17:22.600 --> 0:17:24.560 I was right about this six months ago, and I 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:26.200 kind of talked myself out of it because of something 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:26.880 else than I read. 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:29.320 Yeah, absolutely, So what's the next step then? 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.359 Yeah, So that's like kind of like a general movement assessment. 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:34.320 And then there's also like an element of this next 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:37.359 column in there, and this one's maybe more important is 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:40.879