Read on Twitter
I want to tell a short story about talent evaluation... When I studied the 2020 NFL class pre-draft, I had about a day or so where I basically questioned everything about my process, evaluation skills, etc. because I was much lower on a player deemed a top 10 player...1/?
... That player was Jeff Okudah. I thought he was a good player, but I could not wrap my head around him being a consensus top 10 player. I was terrified of his reactive athleticism, recovery speed, change of direction while running, and his lack of ball skills... 2/?
A guy everyone said was a press man defender I felt he was better in press bail zone, and when he could work through the eyes of the QB. His feet in press weren’t consistent, and the fact he was so scheme dependent worried me greatly. 3/?
I talked with multiple people, including @mrhurriicane about this. I read my scouting report without naming the player, and he concluded that he sounded like a day 2 player (my report didnt emphasis how elite his football IQ was, but you get the point). 4/?
How could I justify this report? No one really seemed to feel that way about him, a stone cold lock as the best CB in the class for most. For the sake of ratings, I settled for him being 1B behind my CB1 C.J. Henderson, and even went as far as to put him above my CB2... 5/?
My CB2 was Jaylon Johnson. I loved Jaylon and felt that he had the ball skills and football IQ to be an impact zone defender, and really wasnt that far from Okudah, except he made more plays on the ball. Regardless, it is scary going against the consensus especially when you 6/?
are publishing your takes and the player in question is a lock. It makes me appreciate @MoveTheSticks ‘s initial OL rankings even more. Trust your eyes, your process, but always keep searching for more information. 7/7
