INTERESTING - Inside look at Jets GM Joe Douglas’ new draft grading system

Inside look at Jets GM Joe Douglas’ new draft grading system and how it could help revamp his roster

By MANISH MEHTA
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
APR 07, 2020 | 7:00 AM

https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/...0200407-lo6l56dqjnesndljbhvs6wlani-story.html

He had just landed the job of a lifetime when the thought surely crossed his mind last summer: We all have to speak the same language.

Jets general manager Joe Douglas has a massive undertaking to re-chart a course for an embattled franchise. He is a careful, patient soul with a singular purpose to pull a wayward outfit back from the margins. He is devoid of glitz and glamour, a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race kind of guy, who knows exactly what is required to reach the NFL mountaintop.

Douglas’ biggest challenge after taking over for Mike Maccagnan 10 months ago was aligning the organization’s vision. How could he teach the same people how to analyze the same problems in a different way? What could he impart to make a tangible difference?

Coronavirus restrictions have prompted the NFL to turn the 2020 draft into a virtual experience with team decision-makers selecting players from home. The cancelation of most pro days and workouts will put a premium on the Jets’ year-long evaluations and reveal how successful Douglas was with implementing a new scouting philosophy and grading system.

Sixteen of the 20 people tasked to evaluate college prospects are carryovers from previous Jets regimes, but they’ve been taught to find solutions in a different way.

Douglas drew praise from former and current employees and co-workers, who spoke to the Daily News, for his ability to master an adopted draft grading system. He knows it like the back of his hand. Douglas’ charge was teaching his new colleagues to evaluate through a different lens.

“He knows this scale inside and out,” said one colleague. “He’s really good about placing guys in it. He understands roles and value. He’s a really good evaluator.”

Imparting his wisdom was pivotal.

The Cleveland Browns model

Douglas’ core scouting beliefs stem from the old Cleveland Browns draft model that places a premium on a prospect’s specific value and role for his team’s current offensive/defensive systems.

While Maccagnan implemented a round-specific scale, Douglas’ grades are based on how a player fits into his coaches’ schemes.

Embracing a role-specific focus was the biggest adjustment for Jets scouts, who had become accustomed to rate and review players before determining which round should be attached to the evaluation. Douglas’ system does not make any such conclusions. So, they no longer scout a player as a “first-round talent,” for example.

Douglas, who was introduced to the system 20 years ago as a Ravens scout, laid the groundwork for his scale last summer, making sure that every Jets talent evaluator not only understood the tenets of the new system, but was aligned on how best to approach college coaches/NFL liaisons during scouting trips to maximize the type of information that mattered most for the Jets.

Besides, there was no real value for an area scout to claim that a cornerback was a “second-round talent” without a firm handle on how the position looked nationwide. Once scouts purged the round mentality from their minds, they could be freed to truly dissect how valuable a player could be in the Jets offense or defense.

What role would he fill?

A more streamlined approach

The Jets’ new grading scale technically maxes out at 8.0, but it’s highly unusual for a prospect to ultimately earn that score. In fact, none of the evaluators who spoke to the News recalled anyone receiving that mark. For all intents and purposes, a 7.0 is the gold star in this scale.

Here are the five tiers of the grading scale that differentiate whether the prospect is a starter, backup or just a warm body:

• Day 1 starter
• Starting-caliber player with limitations (that might or might not be correctable)
• Role player (aka — spot starter or significant contributor in sub packages)
• Low-level roster player and/or practice squad
• Training camp/preseason roster filler (aka — Camp body)

A 7.0 is reserved for elite Day 1 starters. The rest of the prospects are graded on what scouts believe the player will ultimately become in 2-3 years. It’s essentially a weighted score.

Most Day 1 prospects earn 6.7s. Although they’re penciled in as Day 1 starters, they still need to make improvements (like strength or technique) to realize their full potential.

Players that score a 6.1, 6.3, or 6.5 are typically taken in the Top 100 (aka — premium players).

Any prospect with a 5.8 or above grade is considered draftable. A 5.6 or 5.7 player would fall under the practice squad/training camp body category.

The numerical grades come with “alerts” or “types” to highlight potential hurdles.

A “Z” alert, for example, signifies an undersized prospect. So, a “6.7 Z” identifies an undersized starting-caliber talent. A “T” alert means that a player offers special teams value in addition to his offensive/defensive position.

A “M” type signifies a mental alert if a team has concerns about whether a prospect will be able to grasp nuances of the scheme. Can he learn what is being taught?

Character, or a "C" alert, plays an important — and sometimes nebulous –— role in the grading scale. A “C” alert could have multiple layers that play a part in the overall grade. Character matters, but there are always exceptions and amendments if the value becomes too great. It’s not as if Douglas only drafts choir boys.

The new model is much more targeted to your team’s makeup. Douglas has a clear sense of what he’s looking for, so expect the Jets draft board to be around 150 players. Maccagnan’s boards that he kept close to the vest (on his laptop) were anywhere from 300-350.

Some people felt the large number was simply window dressing, while others rationalized that Maccagnan didn’t have a firm handle of precisely what he wanted.

His successor will have a more streamlined approach.

Everyone has a voice

Douglas has contractual control of the 53-man roster, but he’s hardly an autocrat.

Part of his gift is making sure everyone is heard during this critical process. He isn’t the lone voice even if there’s a sliding scale.

Douglas’ and Maccagnan’s systems overlapped in a fundamental way. Every prospectis graded on basic qualities like strength, speed, quickness and balance. Maccagnan asked his scouts to attach pass-fail, checks-minuses or numerical grades (on a 10-point scale) depending on the year. Douglas requires his scouts to give straight letter grades — A through F — for what he calls “core traits” for every prospect.

Both Maccagnan and Douglas (and virtually every general manager) also ask scouts to give evaluations on position-specific traits. But how they determine the specific qualities differs.

These “Critical Factors” in Douglas’ model are guidelines that vary by position created in collaboration with the coaches. It’s an inclusive process that helps scouts better understand exactly what coaches prioritize at each position. For example, pass protection is a critical factor for a tackle, but not necessarily a center. How a cornerback plays in zone and man coverage is a critical factor.

There are no hard and fast rules on what the critical factors are each year. Instead, the system allows for flexibility to better meet the desired goal: Finding the best players to fit your schemes.

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Collaboration with coaches


There’s an art to managing egos that not everyone can master. Although Douglas isn’t going to force players on Adam Gase or Gregg Williams, he’s not ceding control of the most important part of his job.

Douglas was entrusted to build the roster. His task is to create a path that makes the most sense for sustainable success. He’s well-versed in dealing with opinionated coaches (see: John Harbaugh), so don’t expect him to be significantly influenced by Gase or Williams.

“Joe is very convicted in what he thinks,” said one league source.

However, there’s nuance that shouldn’t be ignored. Douglas has never subscribed to the my-way-or-the-highway school of thought, according to people who have worked with and for him through the years. So, he will make every effort to supply Gase and Williams with players who possess the skillsets that the coaches say that they want.

When Gase describes specific attributes that he’s looking for in a wide receiver, for example, Douglas will deliver a player that fits those parameters even if it might not necessarily be the specific guy that Gase wants.

“You want a player who can do A, B and C?” Douglas might say to Gase. “Well, here’s a guy who can do all those things.”

Although Douglas’ draft board is continually evolving, the coaches’ evaluations will not prompt a significant move up or down the board.

Douglas’ most commendable trait is his willingness to learn from those around him. He might have a strong belief in his own evaluations, but he’s amenable to co-workers’ points of view as long as they are precise.

Douglas doesn’t sit on the fence in his grades. He doesn’t want his talent evaluators to, either. If scouts can justify their grades with clear points, Douglas is willing to review his own evaluation. Dissenting opinions backed by smart evidence are welcomed.

“Just because he’s the GM, he’s not going to say you’re wrong if he has a different opinion,” said another source. “If you can back it up, he’s going to go back and look at it again and see if maybe he was wrong. He’s a man of few words… but when we start talking players, he’s much different.”

The conclusions in the Maccagnan and Douglas models also differ. For Maccagnan’s final draft, he wanted scouts to review a player’s strengths and weaknesses and where he fit in the league. (He changed what he wanted from the previous year).

Douglas is consistent. He isn’t looking for scouts to write an opus. Instead, he wants a 10-12 sentence synopsis highlighting a player’s pros and cons. Scouts are required to add a bottom line section laying out A) the prospect’s specific role for the Jets, B) comparisons to any players on the Jets or around the league and/or C) players that the scout has evaluated in the past.

Douglas will take care of the rest.

It’s a thorough, consistent process that has helped Douglas for the better part of two decades. He’s hoping that the people around him now can help by looking at the same picture in a different way.