Monday 17 December 2018 18:09, UK
Bucky Brooks is a former seven-year NFL scout. So, during his stint in the Sky Sports studio, we got him to deliver a scouting masterclass...
Click on the video above to watch as Bucky guides you through the work entailed by scouting college games and being on the road, the NFL Combine and being an NFL pro scout.
College and on the road - this is where scouts travel to college teams to collate all the background info they can on any particular athlete that is of interest to them. What is their work ethic like? Are they a leader? Do they have the qualities you're looking for?
Also involved is hours of film study of the player, seeing how he competes against the best teams, watching their field workouts and practice - what are they like in athletic terms? - and monitoring how they behave during games and interact with their teammates.
NFL Combine - this is where NFL teams get their first opportunity to be face-to-face with college draft prospects and interview them. There are also the well-known combine drills and a player medical.
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Eagles, we see a fascinating insight into this process with a clip of their interview with quarterback Carson Wentz during the process of drafting him.
Will Blackmon, a former NFL safety, also in the Sky Sports studios on Sunday, recalls his own interview with a sleeping Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis!
NFL pro scouts - As well as the above, each NFL team will have its own set of scouts with the sole responsibility of grading every single player on every single roster in the league, ready to recommend players that become free agents or hit the waiver wire, should they be a fit for their team.
Bucky adds that every team in the NFL will grade players differently, though, using the example that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots typically pursue the smartest players, while Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks got after the best athletes.
Click on the video above as Bucky navigates you through all of the above with his fascinating scouting masterclass.
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