NFL Draft Fantasy Scouting: Talented Prospects League Wide

This is a fun topic to think about if you are a fan of the NFL Draft or like fantasy scouting

To say “talent breeds talent” is an understatement in college football. A team with a few great players will oftentimes surround those players with even more good players. Teams who have talent and get national recognition often catch the eye of young high school phenoms. With little effort, teams are able to lure these high school athletes and sign them for the future.

USC, Florida, Alabama, the very best teams get the best players over and over again. So when it comes to the NFL draft, you aren’t surprised to see the same teams having players grace the cover of NFL Draft mags. It’s the reason why we see “powerhouses” and also the reason why some teams can only get wins against FCS teams. Hoarding talent, is a trademark skill in the NCAA.

BCS bowls and even conference championships of the BCS conferences are usually good for at least one if not a few first round NFL talents. Clearly the trend of the best schools in the nation get the best recruits out of high school. This was the way things were done if a kid wanted to try and get to the NFL.

However… the game has been changing recently and this year is evidence of that.

If you recall, the NCAA cut back the amount of scholarships that each D1 football team could have a few years ago. In other words each NCAA Football team couldn’t grab up as much talent, and so now we are starting to see more and more “quality” players become spread out amongst the league.

It used to be a question of “How many will be drafted in the first round” from teams like Miami, LSU, USC, Oklahoma and Ohio State (amongst others), now it becomes a question of “…First Round talent from where?”

The top players are not only finding themselves on “lesser quality” teams, but they are starting to do so in droves! This means more competition, but it also means you can see teams with a bad records still landing a stud and having him get drafted high.

In recent years, we have seen 1st round picks from teams like Fresno State, Boise State, Northern Illinois, Troy, Tennessee State, Delaware and East Carolina. When was the last time any of those teams played a BCS game (excluding Boise of course)?

For evidence of how this trend has been shifting and how not just single players but multiple first round talents are going to schools which aren’t “perennial powers” …take a look to the 2011 draft:

Teams With Multiple First Round Selections (and the number of first round selections in parenthesis)

• Alabama (4)
  
• Auburn (2)
  
• Missouri (2)
  
• Wisconsin (2)
  
• Colorado (2)
  
• Baylor (2)

Now obviously Auburn was the National Champion. Alabama started the year at #1. Wisconsin played in the Rose bowl. And Missouri was a respectable 10-3 overall. However, how can Colorado who only had 5 wins (and only 3 against BCS conference teams) and Baylor with only 7 wins(only 4 against BCS conference caliber teams) end up with multiple first round picks?

Those players ended up being Aldon Smith (San Francisco) and Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville) from Missouri as well as PhilTaylor (Cleveland) and Danny Watkins (Philadelphia) from Baylor.

This is going to be very interesting for future prospects, Can we really judge a player as an amazing athlete if he’s not helping his team to win? Or if the surrounding talent isn’t as good? Players look better if they are playing against a lesser skill level.

The theory used to be players who were drafted in the first round were almost always on the big name powerhouses, but we are seeing a fundamental change in the draft process.

So if you like fantasy scouting, or just like keeping your eyes and ears open for the 2012 draft prospects, don’t just focus on the Top NCAA teams for producing first round NFL talent, top prospects are coming from all round.

-Chris Johnson played at East Carolina, enough said