In-depth film analysis of NFL Draft Prospects With a Fantasy Football Lens - by Matt Waldman ©2025
Just thought I’d drop everyone a line and give them the news that we’re about 99 percent finished with the changes we’re making to the player values, salary cap, and spreadsheet. I’d like to thank Donnie Smith for volunteering to make the Excel spreadsheet behave like something it’s capable of doing in the past five years rather than my knowledge that stopped in 2005. You’ll see what I mean sometime on Sunday.
Enjoy the weekend.
After looking at two rosters and consulting with a few more writers, I’m cutting the salary cap and asking the writers to start over. It’s not enough of a challenge. Even when I limit myself to prospects at skill positions, my offensive line and defensive line are too good. There’s no way I should have offensive and defensive lines this good or be able to field Victor Cruz, Miles Austin, and A.J. Green on the same squad with passable (or good) units in other phases of the game.
I don’t want this to be fantasy football in that sense.
I want to make the writers work at this and $160 million is just a fun time diversion for a few days. I’ve enjoyed it immensely, but I want to force everyone to really think about what they are submitting and agonize. I’m mean in that way.
So I’m dropping the cap from $160 million at least by $20 million, maybe more. I’ve informed the writers. They all groaned, but also laughed because many of them had teams they really liked and readily admitted it wasn’t realistic.
So if you still want to play the $160 million version, I’ll keep the spreadsheet up here. However, I’ll be out with a revised, writers version in a few days.
And I was so loving my Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse defensive line. I was dreaming up the poster of those guys riding Harley’s, dressed in black cloaks…
The Rookie Scouting Portfolio Football Writers Project is an all-star cast of football writers, former scouts, and draft analysts on the Internet. Their mission is to take a month to build a 53-man roster with a $160 million salary cap and present the team here. You can use the same information to build your own team (see the bottom of this post).
Last night, I unveiled the skill positions of a first-draft team. Today, I’m unveiling my offensive line. Remember, this is an initial draft and I will probably take a month to truly build my squad. However, I think it is valuable and entertaining to display a thought process behind building a team. Readers will hopefully gain this insight when I display other writer’s teams, but they won’t get the same process as I can offer leading to the final product.
I am already working on a second draft of the team I’m unveiling this week and there will be some major changes. However, I still think it is fun to show my initial version because it reveals a lot about building NFL teams. Why certain ideas are ingrained in the culture of coaches, general managers, scouts, and players.
If you didn’t read the skill position unveiling yesterday, Continue reading
This is one of my favorite posts in a while, because it is two very different angles of one play. The first angle will leave you shaking your head at the wide receiver. The second angle will provide a more sympathetic feeling towards him and less so for the quarterback. Continue reading
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Welcome to Reads Listens Views. It’s my Friday space where, in contrast to the rest of the week, I write less about football and share a little more about life in general. I’d like to thank my avid readers for your patronage during the quiet months of late spring-early summer. I’m growing more attached to this blog with each passing month. Hopefully, everyone has been getting good use of the 2012 RSP and 2012 RSP Post-Draft addendum.
If you have a dynasty draft coming up and haven’t downloaded it, you’ll love it. I have a lot of first-timers this year that have told me how pleased they are with it. I’m also days away from cutting my second donation to Darkness to Light, thanks to my readers. Every $10 I’ve been able to donate on behalf of the RSP pays for training of an adult to understand how to combat and prevent sexual abuse in the community.
Football Reads Continue reading
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“He’s going to play everywhere. He’s our starting fullback. He’s a starting (tight end) if we go to two tights. It’s still about versatility with James.”
– Gary Kubiak, head coach of the Houston Texans talking to Houston Chronicle reporter John McClain about James Casey in May 2012.
Based on what I’ve observed about James Casey, I’m willing to bet if he weren’t a professional football player he’s the type of guy that the Universe gives him a gift as it kicks him in the ass. If you’ve lived life, you know what I mean. If you don’t, imagine driving an 12 year-old beater that you’ve been holding together with prayers and duct tape to hang onto that job or get your kid to school and it breaks down and needs $500 in repairs just you won the $520 on a scratch-and-win lottery ticket the night before.
Casey the football player is ahead of his time, Continue reading
This week the news broke in Patriots camp that second-year runner Shane Vereen was working in OTAs as the No.1 runner on the depth chart. Stevan Ridley was the projected lead back after the rookie from LSU had the better season in 2011. Of course, it’s easy to have the more impressive performance when the competition for that role missed much of training camp and the season dealing with a leg injury.
I wrote in 2011’s Rookie Scouting Portfolio that Shane Vereen has enough physical skill and talent to have a better career than former Cal teammate Jahvid Best. That might seem like an easy task considering that Best has incurred multiple concussions and his long-term career seems more questionable than when he entered the league a top-flight rookie prospect with skills and stylistic similarities that I think is a nice a blend of Marshall Faulk, Reggie Bush and Walter Payton.
Those a big names and I don’t expect Hall of Fame level production. However, I do expect big plays. Today I’m going to show you what I like about Shane Vereen and if he stays healthy, why he’ll have a significant impact for the Patriots in 2012. The links below will take you to the specific points of the highlight package I’m referencing throughout the article. Continue reading
Spring is here, flowers are in bloom, and now’s the time to look at next year’s NFL Draft prospects. A player I didn’t see much of the past two years, but I intend to watch a great deal in 2012 is Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones.
Jones considered leaving school a year early to enter the 2012 NFL Draft, but wisely chose to stay for one more. Not that I have a definitive list of reasons why Jones made the right choice, but one of the things I would like to see him improve upon is his decision-making. This is true for most college quarterbacks heading to the NFL, but I think Jones could use another year to master the speed of the college game before he tackles the challenge of the pros.
Jones has the fundamental tools to develop into a good pocket passer in the NFL. However, like Tom Brady, he’s not going to wow anyone with his athleticism. This means his skill at finding the open man, manipulating the defense, and delivering the ball with uncanny accuracy will need to be top notch for Jones to maximize his potential. Continue reading
Friday News
It’s been a little quieter around here as May winds down, but that’s because I’m busy working on a lot of fantasy football material at Footballguys.com. We’re rolling out an iPad magazine that is going to be Continue reading
I have often broached the idea that quarterbacking or running between the tackles is similar to improvising with a rhythm section. There has to be an understanding of rhythm, interaction, and when to play outside the conventional boundaries of the structure. It should also be a given that a player has to have mastery over his fundamental technique.
You don’t have to be a fan of jazz improvisation to grasp what I’m saying. However, jazz performers tell some great stories that parallel the type of things that young pro football players learn in camp from veterans. One of the big lessons is, don’t bring that weak-ass shit here. Continue reading