They're not louts—they're NFL scouts - Kickoff

Football Digest, March, 2002 by William Wagner

Is THERE A MORE THANKLESS job in the NFL than that of a scout? These guys rank right up there with officiating crews on the prestige ladder: The only time they ever get noticed is when they screw up.

Whenever a Kurt Warner or a Jeff Garcia slips through the cracks, fans rail about how the scouts were asleep at the wheel ... again. Whenever a Cade McNown or an Akili Smith is proclaimed a savior on draft day and then promptly falls flat on his face once the games begin, fans rail about how the scouts were asleep at the wheel ... again. Every couch potato in America thinks he could do a better job judging talent.

But the truth is, NFL scouts actually are a pretty astute bunch. They have to weigh an infinite number of nebulous factors when assessing a player--Is his head screwed on straight? Does he have the drive to succeed at the next level? Has he already reached his peak physically? How will he fit into the scheme the team utilizes?--and more often than not, they're right.

A look at our 2001 All-Rookie Team on page 48 reveals just how right they can be. Of the 22 position players on our All-Rookie Team, 16 were drafted within the first two rounds (an impressive 73%). In other words, our team is filled with players who did at least as well as the scouts had projected they would. Only two players "slipped through the cracks," undrafted free agents Fred Wakefield and Antonio Pierce. And one of the later-round picks--fourth-rounder Chris Weinke--made our team mostly bemuse he was the only first-year quarterback to take a significant number of snaps, not because he played lights-out football.

Sure, there is room to question some of the evaluations of the scouts. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Kendrell Bell, our Defensive Rookie of the Year, was the best player in the Class of 2001. He had a Pro Bowl-caliber season, playing a key role in Pittsburgh's resurgence. If scouts had known a year ago what they know now, he would have been one of the top three players taken in the draft. But they didn't, of course, which is why he fell to the second round (39th overall).

Meanwhile, our Offensive Rookie of the Year, Chris Chambers, was the 10th wide receiver selected in the draft. Despite his obvious playmaking potential, Chambers had to wait well into the second round (the 52nd slot overall) to hear his name called.

So the scouts really screwed up on Chambers, right? Not necessarily. As a rookie, he was infinitely better than wideouts like Koren Robinson, Reggie Wayne, and Freddie Mitchell, all of whom were drafted well before him. But as for the future, who knows?

Following the 2000 season, the Steelers were widely blasted for having spent their first pick of that year's draft on wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress was one of the most spectacular failures of the 2000 rookie class, playing without a clue and seemingly without much drive.

This season, however, both Burress and the Steelers were vindicated, as the wide receive, emerged as one of the league's true game-breakers. [For more on him, see our cover story on the 2001 season's breakthrough players on page 26.] Like Bell, Burress was pivotal to Pittsburgh's success. And now his future prospects seem limitless.

Chalk another one up for the scouts, the game's unsung heroes.