In-depth film analysis of NFL Draft Prospects With a Fantasy Football Lens - by Matt Waldman ©2025
For more about the RSP Writers Project, featuring some of the best football analysts on the Internet, go here.
Matt Williamson unveiled his RSP Writers Squad yesterday and the offensive firepower is obvious. The ESPN analyst was gracious with his time to kick the tires on this project before releasing it to the public. I could say he had a head start, but the reason he picked a promising team has more to do with his experiences, including work as an NFL scout. Continue reading
Matt Williamson’s story is well-known to us at the RSP blog. The former Cleveland Browns scout graciously served as our unofficial quality assurance tester for the writer’s project player values. Due to a communication error on my part, some of the writers built rosters with only two quarterbacks. I’m letting it slide due to the sake of time, but just know that there would have to be some minor adjustments with Williamson’s squad to meet the three-quarterback rule.
I doubt the adjustment would seriously change the make up of his team, which at first glance is an offense with a powerful ground attack complemented by a fearsome vertical passing game, and a 34 defense with most of the money invested in linebackers. Williamson’s team is a fun mix of big and small investments with a lot of players that reflect his eye for talent combined with a willingness to rely on role players that fit his scheme.
I think the last part of that statement is an important one to remember. Good teams aren’t filled with superstars from top to bottom, but they do have a great mix of studs and players that are studly at a limited number of tasks. See comments for guys Chris Rainey and Williamson gets it.
At the same time, he also found potential bargains. His tight ends are a great example. If Fred Davis can stay away from situations where he has to be his own lawyer Continue reading
Film Study is a Dangerous Job
My life has been a whirlwind these past two months. In addition to writing the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio here’s the rest of the past eight weeks:
Of course this list doesn’t include the more personal elements of my life that make life a fun (sometimes) challenge. Continue reading
Bill Walsh and the art of quarterbacking
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9TcFkDRJso]
Reads
Coming this spring to the RSP Blog is an exercise I am calling The RSP Football Writers Project. Some of the top football writers and analysts I have the fortune of knowing will be given 4-6 weeks to construct their own teams from top to bottom with a salary cap. Continue reading
I think it’s accurate to describe Ourlads’ Dan Shonka as one of the ultimate practitioners of football evaluation. Shonka has 39 years of football experience as a player, college recruiter, college coach, and a combined 16 years as a NFL scout for National Scouting Service, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Redskins, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Last week, Shonka agreed to speak with me about scouting, players, and the NFL. The scheduled 60 minutes became two hours of football talk that flew by. Dan was afraid I got more than I bargained for, but I told him that I got exactly what I wanted – just more than I could have expected.
This segment of our conversation included war room stories about perhaps the greatest linebacker of a generation, a cornerback who had some great battles with Michael Irvin, a disruptive defensive tackle, and a backup running back from the University Texas whose first name is Anthony but went by a more holy moniker. Continue reading
Entering my third year of studying film for The Rookie Scouting Portfolio, I had just finished a year of film study that included a player who continues to be one of the bigger lessons I have encountered, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. The highly coveted prospect had some raving fans, but I wasn’t one of them.
I didn’t see what others thought even after studying a half-dozen games. And despite a strong 2010 campaign, I’m still not convinced he’ll be a consistent 1000-yard rusher as an every down back. I’m looking forward to seeing something from his game that will change my mind.
My initial take on Darren McFadden in 2008 was how I became acquainted with NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell. I read his Sporting News piece on McFadden and I was surprised to learn that we had similar takes on the runner. I sent Cosell my RSP analysis on McFadden and this fueled a longer conversation over the telephone. While Parts I, II, and III were from a recent conversation. Part IV is a conversation from 2008. Continue reading
If you thought ESPN analyst Matt Williamson’s path to becoming a paid evaluator of talent was unusual, consider NFL Draft Scout.com senior analyst Chad Reuter. The Wisconsin native lacks a football background, but he managed to transform a hobby into a job because of his tremendous analytical skills, sincere passion for the game, and a veteran scout’s work ethic. In this multi-part conversation, Reuter and I spent a couple of hours discussing a variety of topics related to player evaluation.
In Part I of this conversation, Chad and I discuss why he enjoys studying offensive line play, evaluating technique versus results, and balancing these two behaviors with the craft of projecting a player’s future in the NFL. In Part II we covered Reuter’s path to studying football as a full-time job, a defensive position that is difficult to evaluate, and why “instincts” and “intangibles” may not be innate after all. In this segment, Chad and I discuss sabermetrics and football, the mathematical logic of drafting a quarterback in the first round, and the importance of tiers when building a draftboard.
Waldman: There’s a growing camp of sabermetricians in football as well as the football media. While many understand why Bill Belicheck might use data to learn the odds strategic decisions, there are others who believe football can never completely embrace the Moneyball route. It’s obvious that you are both fluent in statistics and the craft of film evaluation. What’s your take on these two camps?
Reuter: I think data analysis is little more than a study of history. And I think you have to be cognizant of history when you are evaluating players — not just on the statistical side, but grouping characteristics with guys such as similarities in styles, size, etc.
But you can’t be a slave to it. Continue reading
ESPN analyst Matt Williamson is a former NFL scout for the Cleveland Browns. He agreed to talk about a variety of topics in a three-part interview at The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. In Part I, Williamson discusses an emerging NFL offensive trend with personnel and then explains the difference between scouting for a football team and a media conglomerate. In Part II, Williamson tells the story of his ascent to football’s biggest stage despite never playing the game. In this final installment, Williamson discusses his role with the Browns, his transition to ESPN, and the resources he uses to continue learning about the game and its players.
Waldman: What were your responsibilities with the Browns?
Williamson: I was equal parts NFL and college scout. I was in charge of the NFC West. I had to have a grade on every player in the NFC West at all times and be on top of all of the player movement for that position.
Then I had 20-25 schools: Penn State, Maryland, Marshall, West Virginia, Pitt, the New York area. More or less anywhere you could drive six hours from Cleveland. You put a circle around Cleveland – more east than anything – and that’s where I was. Then I was crosschecking on a lot of the other stuff, too. Everyone had their own region.
Waldman: You were there for the 2005 NFL Draft. Were you a part of that process?
Williamson: That’s the year we selected Braylon Edwards. We picked third in the draft. The war room leading up to the draft was amazing. I did speak my mind a little too much, but oh well.
Waldman: Why do you think that?
Williamson: Every GM or head coach is different. Some want more conversation about players in the war room than others. It’s something you have to get a feel for.
But it did surprise me how bashful some guys were. I mean, all of our reports were due well before we sat down to talk about these players so everyone knew what you thought of the player.
Speak your mind. The only way to be great and be able to sleep at night is to say what you think. You do that well on the air.
Waldman: Thanks. Without getting into too much detail, what was the basic scouting system like in Cleveland?
Williamson: It’s a standardized report that is entered into their system They still have them. I’m sure they can access my scouting report on DeMarcus Ware, Shawne Merriman, Pac-Man Jones, and all the guys I went to see.
Waldman: What were some of your favorite parts of the job?
Williamson: Like I said before, the war room leading up to the draft was great. So was game day. The intensity of it and being on the sideline was unbelievable – I really miss that. I also learned a lot from having the chance to drop into position meetings whenever I wanted.
Waldman: How did your time come to an end in Cleveland? Continue reading
ESPN analyst Matt Williamson is a former NFL scout for the Cleveland Browns. He agreed to talk about a variety of topics in a three-part interview at The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. In Part I, Williamson discusses an emerging NFL offensive trend with personnel and then explains the difference between scouting for a football team and a media conglomerate. In this post, Williamson tells the story of his ascent to football’s biggest stage despite never playing the game.
Waldman: Tell me about your football background.
Williamson: I never put pads on in my life. I came from a rather nonathletic family. I played baseball and basketball like every kid, but I was never picked for an all-star game. I was never the first kid picked for a team. I am slow. But the love for football was always there.
When I was six years old and we would go on vacation I got preview guides and just read them the whole time. That’s all I cared about. I was a huge Steelers fan growing up here in Pittsburgh, and obviously football is “sort of big” in this town. I’m sure that had something to do with it.
Waldman: How did you get into scouting?
Williamson: I went to school at Pitt at Johnstown. Throughout college my neighbor owned a swimming pool servicing company. It was a really small organization all based on service. Every summer I would come home and work for him. Over those five summers I gained more and more responsibility and eventually I was running my own crew at the end.
I was a creative writing major. When I graduated, my grades weren’t great and I didn’t have a great direction. I didn’t know what I was going to do. So I bought the swimming pool company. The owner was an older guy and I got a great price on it. I was my own boss when I was 22 years old and I had an employee or two. It made money and allowed me to do whatever I wanted during the winters. Continue reading
ESPN analyst Matt Williamson is a former NFL scout for the Cleveland Browns. He agreed to talk about a variety of topics in a three-part interview at The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. In this post, Williamson discusses an emerging NFL offensive trend with personnel and then explains the difference between scouting for a football team and a media conglomerate.
Waldman: What is a positional trend in the NFL that you believe is really making a league-wide impact?
Williamson: One thing that I think is really becoming more prevalent and I think that we’ll continue to see much more of it is hybrid offensive players. People that come to mind are Aaron Hernandez, Dallas Clark, Reggie Bush, and Percy Harvin. Now Harvin doesn’t count as much as those others, but the rest of those guys are all in really good offenses with smart quarterbacks – which is absolutely a necessity.
The problem they present to defenses is how do you count them? If you are a defensive coordinator and Reggie Bush is on the field with a fullback, a tight end, and two wide outs are you going to call Bush a running back and just play a base defense against him? Okay, that’s cool… Continue reading