Mike Mayock explains what the spread is doing to pro football’s draft analysis: basically, it’s making it harder to judge kids at most offensive positions coming out of college.
“With so many college teams in the spread — and the spread can be a lot of things — what I’ve learned is how difficult it is to evaluate almost every position,” Mayock said. “It’s not just skill. Take for example the left tackle that never gets in a three-point stance. How do you evaluate his power? He’s also standing straight up immediately. There’s no such thing as a drive block anymore. Every position is affected.
If it keeps up – and you can expect it will as long as there are lots of college coaches who believe running a spread attack gives them the best chance to win – eventually Mohammed will have to go to the mountain.
… Every NFL team has scouts and personnel whose evaluations can affect how the team performs, especially a team with a top pick. That affects people’s jobs. Mayock says teams need to adjust to work with these players’ strengths, and they’ve started to.
“I think in the NFL, all the teams have to do a better job of embracing some of these new-style players at every position,” he said.
It’s either that, or start paying to develop players coming out of high school the way you want.
Get The Picture 
Well, believe it or not, I actually thought about this scenario previously. Just not tied to the spread. I thought about these QB’s that run the spread and the NFL having to take them as DB’s. All they know about them (as a DB) is that they’re physical attributes…not their DB playing IQ. I guess this equates into many more players and positions than I thought about.
Also, on another thought. (Senator, I’m sure you will be getting to this) JP all mic’d up! http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/041515aab.html
Nobody out works you today!!!!
Who’s gonna start the fire today?!!!
Look like a football player!!
Stay down!!
More back peddle 9!
Get out of it!!
Hands! Hands! Hands!
Don’t hop! Aint no hop!
Lean on’em Tramel!
Get lower, you too high!!
If you haven’t sat in a room and watch a 7th grade put the wrong pads in his pants…your kind-of missing something…
I like this guy!
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Good link Pete. Worth the watch.
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Did the 2007 Patriots run the spread. Interesting that the first guy to go in the draft Mariota? is a spread guy.
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Apparently, the Patriots adjusted and embraced the differences.
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I still don’t understand how Mariota is being talked about as a 1st rounder. A.Murray is better, I hope eventually he gets to prove that.
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Wouldn’t it make the pocket passers and those teams that don’t live by the spread more of a known commodity and elevate the players from those teams in the draft? Would think that Gurley’s stock just went up in this milieu of uncertain players.
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You would think it would really help David Andrews. He was a road grader and a good center.
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It is that the spread make guys harder to evaluate. That is just an excuse. The issue is that the NFL people are really really awful at evaluating players. Random, Coin flips, letting a child do it, would all be better methods than the way that all team currently evaluate players.
And this isnt new, so it isnt likely happening because of the spread. It happens now, happened in the past, and will happen in the future because the scouts, coaches, and GMs are really terrible at drafting players. Trading back and accumulating picks is the only way to overcome this issue, or get lucky. Both work. One works all the time.
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I wonder if anyone has studied the correlation between Wonderlic scores and NFL success.
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I am sure that it correlates as well as all the other measures like 40 time and recruiting stars. Meaning that it doesn’t correlate at all.
I am sure they would tell you a long list of reason why it should matter, but it doesn’t.
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The spread option in its current college form isn’t coming to the NFL. Franchises don’t spend $40m on QBs just to have them get hit on every play. Even Carolina is getting $Cam to run less.
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Nothing makes the NFL pay their QBs more than a RB. If a team wanted to run the spread they could just have 2 QBs on their team and pay each of them less.
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True but the pro game is not about who runs the ball most effectively. You have to be able to throw the ball in the pro game. With few exceptions (Seattle, primarily), the passing game sets up the running game.
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In all fairness, citing a team that almost won back to back superbowls as the exception isn’t exactly a telling argument for doing things the usual way.
One of the major reasons Seattle was so good, IMO, is that they took an average QB and paid him average money so they could load up elsewhere.
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That’s a fair comment, but they did a good job of finding Russell Wilson and making the offense work for him. Soon, they’re going to have to pay him the Super Bowl QB going rate.
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I think this gives teams like Alabama and Georgia an advantage in getting players drafted which in turn should give them a recruiting advantage. The scouts will usually feel more comfortable with the devil they know rather than the one don’t. Not to mention it is easier for them.
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I agree Ant. Richt and Sales should be handing out copies of Maycock’s comments to the 5 star offensive linemen they are recruiting. When Auburn and the other Spread teams come calling, the kid would have something to think about.
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Count me in on that plan, JC. And Ant picked the two teams it benefits the most because they have used their players in the same plan that the NFL does.
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He mentions wideouts as a good example of new players benefitting in the NFL, but the truth of the matter is that the recent rule change on the 5 yd cushion benefits all speed players and makes them more tasty. Fast wideouts benefits undersized players as well and could impact players like Isaiah while faster LBs to stay with him benefits those players we currently covet as our ILBs and OLBs.
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I lose more respect for the NFL team executives with each passing day and have already lost all respect for the “pundits” who speculate on the draft. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those guys know less than nothing about evaluating players. I got picked in the 6th round and have won how many Super Bowls? And played in how many more? Plus, if I had gotten picked by a team like Oakland I wouldn’t even have even gotten a chance to play and I would have been out of the League years ago. It’s not that Bill Belichick is such a genius. It’s that he’s not a moron like most of them.
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IMO, Whichever NFL clubs “go to the mountain” and adopt the spread offense shall simultaneously remove themselves from realistic contention to win the Super Bowl. Sure, if could be done if a few breaks go their way;, just not likely.
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