NFL Mock Drafts Review

I would have loved to have done with every mock by everyone, but that would have been a nightmare to try and organize.

if you read it too, a lot of people were hating on it for the Moore pick. Fox said he wants to emphasize turnovers, especially in the secondary, and with Moore’s value there I had a feeling he was high on their list for that pick unless one of the top DT’s fell.

And thanks for compiling this, its cool to compare. Still, we all must remember after the top 5 picks this thing is a crap shoot, so just because one does better doesn’t make him smarter. I know that’s not the intention of this maxwell, just wanted to throw that tidbit out there

But he is pretty smart, though more opinionated then factual sometimes. I’d love to prove him wrong this season.

Jeremy knows more about the draft than anyone on this site. He was the one who compiled the scouting reports and made a mock big board of all of the players we brought in, remember? He definitely IS known for his knowledge of the draft, that’s for darn sure.

I haven’t been doing as much draft stuff around MHR as I used to. In fact, that was mainly what I used to be known for, but the last two years, and this year especially, I have been focusing mostly on keeping the database up to date, behind the scenes. 2009 was the last year that I really covered the draft intensely on the site, putting up 200 original scouting profiles, and watching so many games that I swear I was seeing players in my sleep. I was offered a job scouting the WAC that same year, and after several months of sort of getting into the swing of things I realized that scouting was something fun for me only when I could scout my way, on my own time. I have a great job and a wonderful life, and it was clear that I was going to be starting at ground level if I went down that road. I said thanks but no thanks, and I don’t regret that decision. I made some good contacts at the time, and some have become close friends who I chat with about what they are seeing in the draft. They make a great resource for running my own scouting reports by them, and they are kind enough to supply me with ready made databases of things like combine data and bowlgame info. That alone has cut down on the amount of time I have had to spend compiling instead of watching.

Last year I knew I was going to be short on time, and I limited my activity to keeping the names database up to date (incoming players,etc.) and watching the top 100 or so players, but I had a trip planned for April, so I never really put any of my info out on the site. This year I knew early that I would be swamped, so I set up a very conservative schedule for watching the top 100 players, installed a “Bronco fit” system that I have been toying with for about 3 years, and focused exclusively on the Broncos and who they might be interested in. By the time Feb rolled around, this method lent itself naturally to the Cameo series that I ran this year, which was perhaps the easiest draft project that I have ever undertaken for MHR. I’m looking forward to fine tuning it for next year.

The one thing I would clarify about my draft “knowledge” is that I rely 100% on the experts when it comes to forecasting what other teams might do in the draft. I have no clue at all about the other 31 teams and their needs, so I have a deep respect and appreciation for guys like Mayock, Kiper, Judge and others who stay abreast of all of that information. Without those guys’ work, a lot of us would be making very little headway in our own projects.

Here are some links to the general methods of madness that I use, Organizing, Getting set up, prospect analysis. There is also a whole series on MHR breaking down how to analyze games for players at each position. They are under the Scouting Services heading in the archives. These methods are a formalized version of my own trial and error system, and they have changed significantly over the past two years, although the core of a revolving database and extensive notes is still at the heart of it. By far the biggest improvement in my scouting has been learning about scheme specific traits and tendencies, which helps to establish context for projecting player success. Knowing the differences between Kaepernick’s system and Ponder’s is a huge element in their analysis. Identifying Von’s role in a larger scheme, or seeing Moore moved up to the line of scrimmage in 2010 after roaming like and Ed Reed in 2009 are hyper critical to the analysis that I really want to do for MHR, which is to find out who all fits what the Broncos want to do, and who we like most out of that group.

Having said that, I agree with everyone who is pointing out how much of a role luck plays in something like the rankings you have provided. For the most part the pros like Mayock and Kiper should be able to nail down about the first 10-15 picks in the draft, plus or minus 1-2 picks, but beyond that, the draft is simply to arbitrary and flexible to do much more than feel that you understand the vast majority of picks. I feel as Broncos fanatics our goal should be to excise all the nonessential considerations from the conversation, including personality fit, scheme fit, toolset fit, positional fit, roster fit, cap fit, etc. In the end, I would attribute my above grade in your Review to first hand player observations coupled with first class Broncos knowledge and understanding from this amazing community. Every so often I have to remind myself how lucky I am to be able to have a place to contribute something with so many like-minded wierdos. I remember when I first found MHR, I had no idea that anyone followed the draft as closely as I did, and was shocked to find out that not only was the information I had been compiling valuable to someone, but that there were people out there who were even crazier about this stuff than I was. In a way it was liberating. When Sayre came on board here, it was a similar relief. Here was a guy that could talk and cover draft stuff 24/7, had a ton of credibility, and a genuine enthusiasm for discovering potential. I was more than happy to slip into the background to watch my torrents and take my notes, knowing that the MHR faithful were getting more info than they could probably handle. I think MHR is really a safe haven and comfortable place for Broncos draftniks. I think they feel really, really at home here, and that is awesome!