(Photo via Peter King, MMQB)INDIANAPOLIS — In professional football, the players on the field and the coaches on the sidelines, of course, tend to get all the attention — good and bad.
But behind the scenes in every NFL operation is a staff of talent evaluators, whose sole jobs are to work around the clock — virtually 365 days a year — to ensure their team's rosters are as good as they possibly can be. A pro scout's job is to keep an eye on all available NFL free agents, while a college scout evaluates every available NCAA football player for the upcoming draft (or those who might thrive as an undrafted free agent).
The Indianapolis Colts' scouting staff, led by general manager Ryan Grigson, is, of course, no different. And, thanks to Monday Morning Quarterback's Peter King, we now have an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at exactly how these guys operate behind the curtain.
During training camp at Anderson University a few months back, King spent more than four hours with Grigson and his 23-member pro and college scouting staff as they held their staff development night. Everybody in the room is only together a few select times a year, and the team uses this development night to grow closer as a group and just talk ball.
Grigson led the meeting, but wants anybody in the room to know their honest opinions are always welcome.
"No matter what your title is," Grigson said, via King, "your job is to find talent. At our core, every one of us is a talent evaluator. Our goal here, like the Ravens and the Packers and the great scouting staffs, is to develop greatness in this room—to build from within and develop you as scouts so you can pursue your life goals in this business. And, of course, to narrow the talent gap between us and our competition. This will be a slow, organic process. I want us to be old-school—I want scouts who rely on their eyes and their opinions, their strong opinions from what they see and not from what they think the consensus is."
King does a great job covering the meeting, which featured a startling revelation from regional scout Ahmad Russell that is definitely worth your time.
Check out the entire piece by clicking here.
