Once upon a time, I could sit down in front of my TV, open my YouTube app and mosey on over to the Draft Breakdown channel and write my own scouting reports on NFL draft prospects. That channel is sadly now gone. It was too many hours for too little money for a small crew to keep afloat.
Others who only had a passing interest in the draft proceedings would simply pull up ESPN or NFL.com and read/watch the mock drafts put out by those media companies, though they often come with agendas behind them.
I’ve always been a big believer in trusting your own eyes and opinion, but although the industry is always expanding and information on the internet is limitless, finding unbiased videos of prospects is frustrating. Yes, you can get highlights and hype, but that won’t show you the complete picture. It only shows you the positives, and that simply will not do in talent evaluation.
Couple that with the fact that COVID-19 messed up the world, and it’s hard to get a lock on players this year. Some schools played more games than others. Some started their season later, some sooner. Players opted out altogether as well, meaning their most recent body of work is over a year old. The NFL canceled the combine and most schools are not televising pro days.
So what is a fantasy football junkie to do? Draft day is coming like Christmas in Whoville, and if you don’t want to fall completely flat on your face, you need information. Where can you go? Who can you trust? Some are very good. Some are…not.
If you can’t get your own hands on the information you are after; you will need to rely on outside sources. Yes, ESPN and NFL are out there, but might I suggest something a little less corporate. Several sites cover the NFL draft and they dispense their info in a myriad of ways.
Saturday2Sunday
My first recommendation is my friends over at Saturday2Sunday.com where I used to be a team member. Matt and Paul watch tons of games and videos and have some of the most sound evaluations around. They offer a draft guide for $10 that includes a metric boatload of players. Plus, in the days leading up to the draft, Paul will predict the first round, and I believe he sports an accuracy percentage in the high 80s or low 90s.
Dynasty League Football
There are also the good folks over at Dynasty League Football. Again, they are a former employer of mine, but they really do collect the best and brightest of fantasy football. Their 20/20 series will give a solid evaluation of a player written in an easily digestible manner. They have a subscription plan for $8/month or $50/year and it is well worth the investment.
The Draft Network
The next site I would check out is thedraftnetwork.com, and as the name implies, they specialize in the NFL Draft. Now, they aren’t as fantasy-focused. They tend to look through the lens of an NFL front office, but they do have excellent insight on how teams operate and have profiles of well over 400 draft prospects.
Other Media
If reading isn’t your thing, I will point you in the direction of podcasts, specifically The College Draft with Ross Tucker and Fran Duffy. Duffy is the Eagles director of video scouting, and Tucker is a former NFL lineman. I would also suggest Locked on NFL Draft, which covers all 32 franchises.
Finally, I recently signed up for a newsletter from the 33rd team. This is from a group of former NFL front office folks that give breakdowns and opinions on team needs and draft prospects.
Of course, you can always check back here at FFSQC for our evaluations as well. I’m always happy to chat with folks on Twitter about prospects @Doogie448 too.
