In-depth film analysis of NFL Draft Prospects With a Fantasy Football Lens - by Matt Waldman ©2025
Throughout the 2011 college football season I will be providing initial impressions of prospects based on my research for the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Here are three backs you’ll be hearing about this winter. Continue reading
I have a lot of new readers-followers in recent months (thank you) who have asked me about the Rookie Scouting Portfolio.
I’m a pretty transparent person. My goal is to make the Rookie Scouting Portfolio my full-time pursuit. This is different than a full-time job.
The RSP is already a full-time job. So is my full-time job as a magazine writer. There’s also my part-time job as a staff writer for Footballguys.com.
One of my goals with this blog is to spread the word about the RSP. I have to do this because as the letter at the end of this post states: I’m your secret weapon.
The Rookie Scouting Portfolio is an annual publication devoted to the evaluation of draft prospects at the skill positions. It’s a 120-150 page analysis:
In addition to this complete analysis of 150-200 skill players ( quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends), the Rookie Scouting Portfolio provides something that few, if any rookie guides do: I show my work.
Most of my readers are satisfied with the 120-150 page guide, attached to the Rookie Scouting Portfolio is an enormous appendix that contains all of the research, analysis, and breakdown of the grading process that I use to arrive at my takes on players:
Essentially, the Rookie Scouting Portfolio’s appendix provides you an additional 500-700 pages of research material that will satisfy even the most hardcore football fan. My most hardcore readers compare it to a research textbook that helps them learn more about the game, gain an even greater understanding of my takes, and even arrive at their own takes separate from what I offer.
Here is what a new customer told me this week about the 2011 Rookie Scouting Portfolio:
The RSP looks awesome, as I have started reading it on the iPad this evening. The amount of work that goes into it is OBVIOUS. One thing I will say, and please understand this is the highest compliment I can pay you:
Part of the problem you will always have with spreading the word is that guys in fantasy leagues that read your work are going to look at it as their “secret weapon,” and they’re not willing to give it up as one of their better resources. I have been playing fantasy sports since 1987 and when teams find premium, quality stuff they look at it as an advantage that they can use to dominate.
Obviously, it’s a huge compliment that you’ve produced such a wonderful resource…Fantasyleaguers are always willing to pass along something that’s sub par (or worse). The good stuff…they keep that under their hats.
Being iPad-friendly, it can go anywhere with you. I use a simple app that costs 99 cents called Goodreader and it allows you to search the whole .PDF for keywords and allows you to jump around as well. It really makes your large document very reader friendly.
Calling your product “premium,” badly undersells it. Not only do you share your own thoughts, but you also show your work, thus giving the reader the ability to process what they’re watching in a way they never have. It’s a football textbook and it’s 10 bucks.
Seeing how you interact with others was one of the reasons I bought today. There are some folks…who act as if they invented the game of football and I honestly can’t believe the way they talk to potential customers that they expect to sell anything…
Don’t ever change Matt. It’s obvious you get it. Keep doing what you’re doing and keep being as civil as you have to others. If I’ve noticed, you better believe others have and hopefully more rewards will come your way.
-Ray Calder
The following post is the transcript of an on-air editorial I presented on The Audible Roundtable during Week 11 of the 2010 football season. The opinions herein do not reflect those of my Audible co-hosts Cecil Lammey and Sigmund Bloom our our sponsor Footballguys.com. The Terry Tate Office Linebacker Undergoes Sensitivity Training segment was not broadcast in the original segment (but you know you want to see it again).
[Author’s Note]: Two days after this segment, the University of Illinois and Northwestern came to their senses after enormous media exposure in the days preceding game at Wrigley Field to implement a stopgap safety measure Continue reading
Preseason football is underway and before you know it, college football. Thank you to those of you who are making the Rookie Scouting Portfolio Blog a part of your regular reading schedule. As I’ve been saying weekly, if you like what you’ve seen thus far, please consider these three acts of kindness: 
And then consider performing one special act of kindness to yourself: Get my publication The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Those who buy it keep coming back year after year. See what they have to say about this player evaluation resource with a fantasy-friendly approach.
The RSP is a 120-150 page rookie report loaded with analysis, rankings, and player comparisons of over 150 offensive skill position prospects. And unlike any publication, I also show the reader my work with an appendix containing hundreds of pages of game study notes as well as my position-specific scoring checklists adopted from best-practice methods for performance evaluation.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting more prospect analysis that you’ll likely see in the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, which will be available here for purchase in the early spring.
Back issues of the RSP (2006-2010) are available for purchase by emailing me.
A Few Preseason Takes
Dallas WR Dwayne Harris scores twice, earns over 100 yards: Harris demonstrated his patented open-field skill as a runner, spotting a huge lane up the gut of the Broncos defense in the fourth quarter and put the hammer down for a 76-yard score. Continue reading
An excerpt from the 2009 RSP on Browns QB Brian Hoyer, who I saw as a backup with developmental potential as a future starter.
Brian Hoyer, Michigan State: I think Hoyer has a greater chance to be a success than Brady-in-a-Box candidates Tom Brandstater and Hunter Cantwell. The reasons are pretty clear when you examine Hoyer’s game. He’s a strong-armed passer with no major issues with his delivery and is capable of pinpoint accuracy in the intermediate and deep range.
Hoyer has good pocket presence he’s always looking down field and he can step away from pressure. He throws well while rolling right or left on short routes. He possesses the maturity to throw the ball away. He shows some ability to look off the coverage.
He throws well while rolling right or left on short routes. Hoyer will throw the ball away and he shows some ability to look off the coverage. He possesses decent play fakes and pump fakes. He can take a hit and come back to deliver a good pass on the next play.
He just has to shore up minor footwork issues with his set up to address the problem. Hoyer moves and throws well moving to his left as a right-handed passer, and I think this a very good sign that he’ll be able to refine his other issues.
What I like about Hoyer the most is whenever I watched him experience a bad play, he would frequently follow up with a strong play. He didn’t play with a great receiving corps and I watched two games where he had a total of 13 drops – 10 of them in one game alone. He demonstrated patience and I liked that he didn’t mind throwing the ball out of bounds when he couldn’t spot anyone open. He doesn’t appear to get rattled. Hoyer makes very good throws under pressure while behind in this game.
He’s a reasonably mature player who plays within himself and was able to guide the Spartans to a winning season in a tough Big Ten Conference. He also impressed with his performance in the East-West Shrine Game practices. I actually considered listing Hoyer as underrated, but I think he’ll be brought a long slower with lower expectations so that makes him a project in my eyes. He’s one of those players that could surprise 3-5 years into his NFL career, if drafted.
For analysis of skill players in this year’s draft class, download the 2014 Rookie Scouting Portfolio – available to pre-order now, and for download April 1. Better yet, if you’re a fantasy owner the 56-page Post-Draft Add-on comes with the 2012 – 2014 RSPs at no additional charge and available for download within a week after the NFL Draft. Best, yet, 10 percent of every sale is donated to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse. You can purchase past editions of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio for just $9.95 apiece.
In the final part of our conversation, Footballguys IDP guru Jene Bramel discusses the possibilities for Mathias Kiwanuka’s role in New York, the roles of tiers in fantasy drafting, and what I believe is the absolute best scoring system to reflect the value of very position in an IDP/Offensive Player combo league. You have to see it.
Waldman: Tell me your thoughts about Mathias Kiwanuka and the Joker Package. He was off to a great start last year before the herniated disc. Do you think the Giants will surprise with this combo of Tuck, Pierre Paul, Kiwanuka, and Umenyiora.
Bramel: The Giants have a couple of things going on. They had that “Big” package last year where they took bigger linebackers and put them on the strong side. My first thought is it might be akin to what Terrell Suggs might be doing with the Ravens, but I’m not 100 percent positive on that. Kiawanuka is so versatile Continue reading
Yesterday in Suwanee, Georgia, third-year running back Gartrell Johnson took first-team reps for the Atlanta Falcons while Michael Turner rehabs from groin surgery. Johnson, a 5’10, 218-lb. runner from Colorado State was my eighth-ranked RB in the 2009 Rookie Scouting Portfolio, above James Davis, Andre Brown, Mike Goodson, Devin Moore, and Jeremiah Johnson. In fact, Johnson’s game grades were consistently higher than Rashad Jennings, LeSean McCoy, Donald Brown, and Beanie Wells. But those grades a reflection of a player’s execution of techniques and not his potential and Johnson’s lack of top end speed was one of a few factors that led me to believe his upside in the NFL was closer to maxed out than the four players I just mentioned who I ranked above him.
The San Diego Chargers drafted Johnson in 2009, but cut him before camp ended. The Giants added Johnson and the rookie earned a limited amount of playing time during the season. The Giants waived Johnson in early September of 2010 and a few weeks later the Falcons added the runner. With Michael Turner on the shelf during camp, Johnson has clearly impressed enough for fans to begin remember his name. I’m going to get you acquainted with his game by sharing brief excerpts of my 2009 analysis of Johnson (where there is 6 pages of analysis devoted entirely to him).
Accompanying my analysis is the great video analysis from DraftGuys.com Continue reading
If you’re an offensive-centric fan of the NFL or you play fantasy football the same way your older brother taught you then you need to read this interview with Jene Bramel.
The Footballguys.com staff writer is one of the best fantasy writers you don’t know about because he is recognized as one of the go-to guys for leagues featuring individual defensive players (IDP). Even if your leagues are strictly offensive players, his knowledge of defenses will make you a better decision maker with offensive talent.
In part III of our conversation, Jene and I use the phrase “crap shoot,” enough to think it’s a PG-13 summer movie, but I promise its only in the context of discussing fantasy football.
Waldman: Why are you such a fan of the defensive side of the football?
Bramel: I think that’s sort of what drew me to football in the first place. Continue reading
Norv Turner announces San Diego will use a two back system (Ryan Mathews, Mike Tolbert)
SigmundBloom: Two back system in SD: chargers.com/news/article-1… – Tolbert is not going away, folks.
evansilva: Ryan Mathews to miss preseason opener w/ leg strain. Has also battled conditioning, toe inj, “general soreness” in camp http://bit.ly/pikOX3
My Take: Of course Tolbert isn’t going away! At the same time, the two back system Norv Turner is now mentioning to the media is a 180 change Continue reading
If you’re an offensive-centric fan of the NFL or you play fantasy football the same way your older brother taught you then you need to read this interview with Jene Bramel.
The Footballguys.com staff writer is one of the best fantasy writers you don’t know about because he is recognized as one of the go-to guys for leagues featuring individual defensive players (IDP). Even if your leagues are strictly offensive players, his knowledge of defenses will make you a better decision maker with offensive talent.
In part II of our conversation, Jene and I discussed 2011 free agency on the defenses that fared well or poorly in the open market for players. We also continue the conversation about the difficulty of evaluating safety talent, which NFL Draft Scout’s Chad Reuter broached in an earlier interview. And to wrap up this portion of our conversation, Jene and I discuss the roles of head coaches and coordintors and why he favors the zone blitz. Continue reading