What’s sometimes forgotten, however, is where all that information comes from. Jeff Bauer, the New York Jets’ college scouting director, recently shined some light on the exhaustive process his crew goes through and the impact it has on the team’s future.
“What the scouts have done in their areas is vital,” Bauer told Eric Allen of newyorkjets.com. “That's really the nuts and bolts of who the person is.
“Every scout did a position, so that's another cross-check. So most all of these guys (draft hopefuls) will have four reports completed on them so far. The scouts who cross-check watch at least three tapes of each prospect. We encourage them to look at multiple games against better competition. Sometimes I pick an early game, a middle game and a late game to see if there is any difference.”
Bauer told Allen that he and a couple key decision-makers will spend the next two weeks going over all the extensive research his scouting crew has compiled so that they can have a definitive ranking of each position by the beginning of the Combine.
Bauer will be working with general manager John Idzik, assistant director of player personnel JoJo Wooden and senior personnel executive Terry Bradway, who will each bringing their own parts of the puzzle to the table, as well. When it’s all said and done, the players will each receive a number grade, which directly corresponds to where the team would theoretically draft that player given the chance.
“Basically our first-round grades are 6.2 and higher. The second round is 6.1 to 6.15," Bauer said. "A 6.05 is a high third-rounder, a 6.0 is a third-round grade, a 5.9 is a fourth and it kind of goes down. That's what we use as a guideline and we also have a projection in there. You project how much they would play for you that first year and how they would fit in with the Jets.”
Bauer said he hopes to have his list, which has "about 260 guys" right now, down to 200 names by the time they get to Indianapolis.
“but we'll see," he said. "It might be a bigger list than that.”
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