Big Blue View’s draft prep is kicking in to gear

Happy Sunday, New York Giants fans!

I know, I’ve been something of a ghost around these parts for the last week and a half (or so), but that’s because I’ve been hard at work getting BBV’s draft prep up and running. Ed has been gracious enough to let me be a draft-monk and start stockpiling prospect profiles for you all, and starting tomorrow (Monday, January 14th) they start getting posted.

As usual, there will be a couple minor tweaks to the profiles and the process based on last-year’s experience. Some of them are behind the scenes in my own process, others you guys will get to see — such as a new section for Dan to share some stats or advanced analytics on the prospect being profiled.

As I did last year, I will be taking the time before the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine to concentrate on offensive linemen and running backs. While the Combine does figure in to the evaluation of those position groups, athletic testing isn’t as important for them as it is for other positions. Lower-body explosiveness and power are important for linemen, and the field drills are always instructive, but not as important as seeing what they do in live reps against actual opponents. Likewise, speed, explosiveness, and agility are all important for running backs, but vision and contact balance are more important for me. And since SOMEONE has to get profiled before the combine, they get the nod.

For “measurables” I will just be listing the best height and weight I can find. After the Combine, that section will feature MockDraftable’s spider charts — which I like for a couple reasons. They give a lot of info, and put it in perspective of the player’s position group, and make it easily readable t a glance.

Likewise, I am going to try and keep these profiles as relevant and topical as I can, which means that this week’s batch will be drawn from players on the East-West Shrine Game roster, and next week’s will feature prospects from the 2019 Senior Bowl.

There will be a few more surprises along the way, and I hope everyone enjoys the run-up to the draft!