Play since the injury was not as dynamic. Slow at the combine. Maybe he fails to adjust to the speed of the NFL but for almost nothing the Browns got a player with a great attitude and a ton of upside.
For that reason I bet he makes it at least as a special teamer. Give me a hardnosed ballsout high motor player over a somewhat more talented hearts not in it player every time. He'll find a place as long as he lets it all hang out each and every play.
He also lost the tip of his index finger in a bowling incident, might have knocked down his stock a bit. _
I thought that Scooby was going to be a mid round pick but his pro day and combine were taken more into account than I thought. His hand injury might have made him slide too.
Scooby wasnt all that at the u of a. While his numbers and hardware are nice u of a's d line helped his numbers by getting pushed around.
I think teams put way too much emphasis on Combine and Pro day workouts. Unless something comes out in the interview process that teams don't like I think 99% of a players 'grade' should be based on game tape and the combine results only used to sort out people who are closely graded from tape. I know if I were a GM I'd be scraping up players with great tape but poor combine numbers who fall way further than they should based off of combine results (excluding interview red flags of course).
I disagree with your bolded statement. The problem with that is great production in college doesn't necessary mean that a player will have great production in the NFL. One of the measures that helps club determine a player's chances for being a productive player in the NFL is the combine and seeing how they do on the cone drills, broad jump, etc. to see their agility, lateral movement, explosiveness, etc. Slower players can do very well in college, because there are a lot of other slower players, teams have poorer quality players overall, and in many cases the coaching and thus fundamentals of the players are less. One of the most difficult aspects of a GM's job is trying to determine if a player's production, talent, skills will translate to the NFL. Just watching tape doesn't give a true picture. If they primarily consider only the game tape, they will only see how the player did in college vs inferior competition. They won't get a clear picture of a player's athleticism and movement skills. Having those measurables from one draft class to another gives GMs and teams a MUCH clearer picture of a player's talents and abilities, how they stack up against other players, and what the chances are that a player will succeed in the NFL. Interviews are also important, both of the player, and their former coaches and teammates to determine a player's work ethic, character, love for the game, coachability, leadership abilities, etc. IMO the Combine and interviews are every bit as important as game tape. Some players can overcome physical limitations and lack of athleticism with hard work, determination and heart, but imo those are in the minority, and even when they make it in the NFL, they are always limited and cost their team in some ways when they're on the field. In Wright's case, I don't think he will last long in the NFL, unless his heart, work ethic, and determination are sufficient to overcome his physical limitations. IMO he's just too slow and unathletic. I'm glad the Jets didn't take him. Even though he has been a solid defender for the Jets and been very productive, we all know that David Harris is slow and there are a lot of plays that he can't get to in time, thus he has limitations, especially in coverage. I believe that Wright is slower and less athletic than Harris.
I'm not talking production. I'm talking actual film watching. What was he doing? Was he pushing weaker players but being pushed by stronger players? Was he taking plays off or disappearing, not in stats but in play. You can be around the ball all day and blocking lanes and doing your job and not pull a single stat that day. What condition was the rest of the team? If you're the only good player on a team your stats are going to be lessened somewhat. What a guy does in shorts has no bearing on what happens on a football field. I don't care if a guy ran a 4.6 at the combine, I want to see what his game speed was. Should combine results be ignored? no, but a player shouldn't fall from the 1st to the 4th because he ran a 4.6 instead of a 4.5 in shorts.
I know you're talking about actual film watching, but production is a part of that. Even if they're not gaining stats, they're being "productive" if they're filling their lane, completing their assignment, winning their one-on-one battles, etc. Still, one cannot compare college and NFL with a great degree of accuracy. That's why so many GMs miss on players. Prior to the Combine, all they had was game film. I don't know the figures/stats, but I would bet that GMs have gotten better now that they have the Combine, Wonderlic, interviews and psychological testing. Your examples don't reveal a whole lot. Even if he wasn't being pushed by stronger players in college, he could be in the NFL. Just because he was pushing weaker players in college, doesn't mean he'll be able to push anyone around in the NFL. WRs in college are frequently wide open. In the NFL they aren't. In judging WRs, speed is part of the equation in determining whether they'll be able to gain separation in the NFL, as is their route running, their lateral mobility, quickness, whether they lose speed making cuts, etc. Game tape doesn't show nearly enough. I think you're wrong about what a guy does in shorts having no bearing on what he does on a football field. If that were the case, the NFL and teams wouldn't spend millions of dollars every year having the Combine. That's just silly on your part. The 40 yard dash isn't the only measurable, and it's probably the least important measurable. The cone drills are important for showing lateral movement and agility. The broad jump and vertical leap are important in showing explosiveness, and how quickly linemen can get off the LOS, and in showing potential burst for skill position players. The bench press is important in showing their strength. IMO your premise is wrong.
The combine has been in effect since 1982. Prior to that it wasn't just film, in fact it wasn't until recently that an abundance of film became available for college games, especially for those outside of the big schools in the big conferences. Prior to the combine teams brought in or scheduled workouts with individual schools or prospects. and prior to the late 70's almost all scouting was done by scouts shooting super8, and later VHS, tape from the sidelines or stands and then only for a handful of games. Combine is a sexy event, but performance in shorts leads to a lot of Workout wonders and studs who fall because of a bad combine time or workout. It's a one time event, twice if they get a second look at a pro day. a small window that is representative of very little, and I think where a lot of the mistakes you refer to occurs, over emphasis of those 1 or 2 short windows in shorts.
Addendum. Now the combine might be worth something if the players were in pads doing drills against each other....at least then you're getting a gauge on them close up in action.
Yes, the downfall of the Combine is that it can lead to GMs or owners falling in love with speed (like Al Davis), and players falling. That doesn't mean that the Combine itself is bad, just that bad GMs and bad owners can put too much emphasis on the wrong things. They could make the same mistake with the Wonderlic, or game tape too and ignore other factors, and miss on players. I agree with you that game tape along with private workouts are the most important factors, but think the Combine, Pro Days and Interviews/Testing are important as well. I think the more tools the GMs and owners have to evaluate players, the better.
