February 28, 2025 • 7 mins
Director of College Scouting Dan Colbert sits down with Rob King at the 2025 NFL Combine in Indianapolis
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
All right, we are here with Dan Colbert, the Shoothers
Director of College Scouting and getting ready for the combine
and all the events that are taking place over the
next several days. And this is the culmination of a
lot of work for you and your staff. You've seen
all these guys. You've seen more guys that aren't and
haven't been invited to the combine, won't be taking part
in it. What are you and your staff trying to
get done here over these several days in Indie?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Right, So this is one of the final pieces to
the puzzle.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
This is a massive project that we've all been working
on since last May, honestly, So when we come down here,
you know, we just want to tie up loose ends.
You know, we're going to get verified heights, weights, arm lengths,
we're gonna get verified speeds. We're going to measure their
explosiveness with the jumps, so we will get some data
that we can use to gauge them against this class.
(00:49):
And you know, we'll get some historical context as well.
And then you know, we get we get to interview them.
So we're going to the scouts will meet with them,
the coaching staff will meet with them, so we're going
to get to know them on a deeper level.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
There are a ton of first round picks that are
that are going to be drawing a lot of the attention. Look,
it's got the whole first day is the first round
right of the draft, so everyone's paying attention to that.
The fans are too. There's a lot of pressure for
you guys to get that pick right. With that pressure, though,
does it also come joy when you've picked later in
the draft and get a really good player who winds
up being a big contributor.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
We definitely don't want to miss on any of those
first three round picks.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
We expect those guys to be starters.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
But as college scouts, you know, we called Day three
the scouts Day, so we take great pride in, you know,
having conviction about a player that's maybe selected later in
the draft that goes on to have success. That's kind
of how you make your name when you're developing as
an area scout.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So I want to take you back to last year's
draft because you've got three starters on the offensive line now.
Troy Fatina obviously was injured and we didn't get to
see much of him. But he's projected to be a
starter at right tackle, Zack Frasier at center, Mason McCormick
at guard. Three different players, three different parts of the country,
a couple of different levels, different leagues. I mean, Mason
mca is competing against different kinds of competition level. How
(02:04):
do you ascertain that these guys are going to be
good fits for you guys?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I would say there's layers to the process.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So early on, when we're first getting glimpses of who
these players are, we're not really breaking it down with
the fine tooth comb at that time.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
We're more so breaking them, breaking them.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Up into groups, so you know, we'll have the high
level starters, the quality starters, the low level starters, and
the backups. As we move further through the process, that's
when we begin to sequence them against each other. So
the picture just becomes clearer the more exposure that you
have to them, which is why you know, having another
exposure here at the combine is valuable.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Right, But it's one thing, right for guy to excel
one week and another guy to excel for four years.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Right. It's a really interesting.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Part of the process, right, And it's something that you
just get a feel for the more experienced that you have.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
One of the things that I think is also important
and maybe a little bit overlooked by fans, is within
your own staff, right, getting that comfort level. But then
you don't want to get too comfortable. You want to
continue to push yourselves to get better. So so how
do you get that comfort level you've been on the
job for a few years now, and make sure that
you're continuing to grow as well.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Right, we have an awesome scouting staff. I think that
the area scouts are the backbone of you know, our franchise.
We only get seven picks in most drafts, but the
work that we do builds our database for the pro scouts.
So as these guys move from college to the pros,
you know, we're going to grade close to one thousand
players and have background on background information on a thousand
(03:32):
players from this year's class. You know, we spend a
lot of time together. We hire the right people. Everybody
is a culture fit. Just being around each other so
much and getting to experience that the highs and lows
that come with this job, you just.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
They become your family.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Every year when we get into training camp, we do
something called scout school, so different scouts will take different
days to present topics to the group, and we're just
talking about current trends that are happening in the league,
and we'll talk about it as a group and to
see where we need to improve on because scouting is
constantly humbling.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
As soon as you think you've got it right, so
you know you don't.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Yeah, And I think it's fascinating too.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
We talked to Shelvin White yesterday about the linking between
what you guys are doing and four years from now
a guy becomes a free agent. They have information to
fall back on. They're continuing to scout those guys at
the pro level. But it's an amazing process, way more
intricate than I think people sort of understand now.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
As far as this year's draft, are there.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Strengths and weaknesses that you see in this collection of players?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yeah, probably can't get into too many specifics. I will
say the thing that's unique about this class is kind
of the culmination of all the COVID eligibility rules. So
last year, I think we graded six hundred players that
ended up going back to school, so we had a
really great head start on this year's draft.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Class.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So this year's media production team, you were nice enough
to let them follow you around a little bit. What
goes into a season for you? And do you have
any idea how many miles you're putting on?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Oh Man, a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
We're all road warriors, but we start traveling. We'll all
meet up at training camp. Like I said, we do
the Scout school and we kind of go over everything
that we want to cover.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Throughout the fall.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
We'll all hit the road in August and we'll go
to the college training camps first. During the college football season,
I'll usually travel either Sunday or Monday. I'm going to
do three or four school visits Monday through Thursday. So
we do that schedule, you know, where it's four or
five days a week, maybe you're hitting a game on Saturday.
We do that from August until Thanksgiving, and then from
(05:31):
Thanksgiving the Christmas we're kind of getting all of our
evaluations finalized into the system, and then we start the
draft meeting process in December. January is when we get
exposure to All Star games. February we do more draft
meetings and we come to the Combine and it's Pro Days,
and then it's draft season.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
So it's long days, short years. We're constantly on the road.
I don't know how many miles it is.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I would say on average, you know, it's probably like
one hundred and fifty nights out of the year where
we're on the road.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
That's a lot question for you as you get ready
for a draft. How important is it for you to
be scouting players who are fits for this year? So
Amarkn talks about this a lot, like the mentality, and
I think we understand that is he a Steelers type
of player? But within that is also does he fit
a scheme? Does he fit the offensive or defensive scheme?
(06:20):
Are there players you're elevating up that other teams might
have lower players that perhaps you're discarding be Gauts, he's
simply not a fit.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Is that part of your evaluation process?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I think you have to be careful not to discard
certain players because what happens is, even if they might
not be a scheme fit for us, your board should
still have integrity to it, meaning like if you start
taking all the players that don't necessarily fit our defensive scheme,
then other players start rising up into places.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Where maybe they shouldn't belong to it.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
So all of a sudden, you're looking at a guy
who maybe has seventh round talent in the fifth round.
So I think you just got to be careful. You
have to grave players for what they are. You give
yourself the option to look at them in certain places.
It doesn't mean you have to take them, but I
think you have to protect the integrity of the board.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Now.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Obviously those discussions are had, and they're had throughout the
draft meetings, and we incorporate the coaching staff, so we
do talk about that at length. I just don't think
that you can necessarily move them up or down the
draft board.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Dan, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it, sir.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Thanks Rob
All right, we are here with Dan Colbert, the Shoothers
Director of College Scouting and getting ready for the combine
and all the events that are taking place over the
next several days. And this is the culmination of a
lot of work for you and your staff. You've seen
all these guys. You've seen more guys that aren't and
haven't been invited to the combine, won't be taking part
in it. What are you and your staff trying to
get done here over these several days in Indie?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Right, So this is one of the final pieces to
the puzzle.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
This is a massive project that we've all been working
on since last May, honestly, So when we come down here,
you know, we just want to tie up loose ends.
You know, we're going to get verified heights, weights, arm lengths,
we're gonna get verified speeds. We're going to measure their
explosiveness with the jumps, so we will get some data
that we can use to gauge them against this class.
(00:49):
And you know, we'll get some historical context as well.
And then you know, we get we get to interview them.
So we're going to the scouts will meet with them,
the coaching staff will meet with them, so we're going
to get to know them on a deeper level.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
There are a ton of first round picks that are
that are going to be drawing a lot of the attention. Look,
it's got the whole first day is the first round
right of the draft, so everyone's paying attention to that.
The fans are too. There's a lot of pressure for
you guys to get that pick right. With that pressure, though,
does it also come joy when you've picked later in
the draft and get a really good player who winds
up being a big contributor.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
We definitely don't want to miss on any of those
first three round picks.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
We expect those guys to be starters.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
But as college scouts, you know, we called Day three
the scouts Day, so we take great pride in, you know,
having conviction about a player that's maybe selected later in
the draft that goes on to have success. That's kind
of how you make your name when you're developing as
an area scout.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So I want to take you back to last year's
draft because you've got three starters on the offensive line now.
Troy Fatina obviously was injured and we didn't get to
see much of him. But he's projected to be a
starter at right tackle, Zack Frasier at center, Mason McCormick
at guard. Three different players, three different parts of the country,
a couple of different levels, different leagues. I mean, Mason
mca is competing against different kinds of competition level. How
(02:04):
do you ascertain that these guys are going to be
good fits for you guys?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:08):
I would say there's layers to the process.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
So early on, when we're first getting glimpses of who
these players are, we're not really breaking it down with
the fine tooth comb at that time.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
We're more so breaking them, breaking them.
Speaker 3 (02:22):
Up into groups, so you know, we'll have the high
level starters, the quality starters, the low level starters, and
the backups. As we move further through the process, that's
when we begin to sequence them against each other. So
the picture just becomes clearer the more exposure that you
have to them, which is why you know, having another
exposure here at the combine is valuable.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Right, But it's one thing, right for guy to excel
one week and another guy to excel for four years.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
Right. It's a really interesting.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Part of the process, right, And it's something that you
just get a feel for the more experienced that you have.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
One of the things that I think is also important
and maybe a little bit overlooked by fans, is within
your own staff, right, getting that comfort level. But then
you don't want to get too comfortable. You want to
continue to push yourselves to get better. So so how
do you get that comfort level you've been on the
job for a few years now, and make sure that
you're continuing to grow as well.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
Right, we have an awesome scouting staff. I think that
the area scouts are the backbone of you know, our franchise.
We only get seven picks in most drafts, but the
work that we do builds our database for the pro scouts.
So as these guys move from college to the pros,
you know, we're going to grade close to one thousand
players and have background on background information on a thousand
(03:32):
players from this year's class. You know, we spend a
lot of time together. We hire the right people. Everybody
is a culture fit. Just being around each other so
much and getting to experience that the highs and lows
that come with this job, you just.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
They become your family.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Every year when we get into training camp, we do
something called scout school, so different scouts will take different
days to present topics to the group, and we're just
talking about current trends that are happening in the league,
and we'll talk about it as a group and to
see where we need to improve on because scouting is
constantly humbling.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
As soon as you think you've got it right, so
you know you don't.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Yeah, And I think it's fascinating too.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
We talked to Shelvin White yesterday about the linking between
what you guys are doing and four years from now
a guy becomes a free agent. They have information to
fall back on. They're continuing to scout those guys at
the pro level. But it's an amazing process, way more
intricate than I think people sort of understand now.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
As far as this year's draft, are there.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Strengths and weaknesses that you see in this collection of players?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Yeah, probably can't get into too many specifics. I will
say the thing that's unique about this class is kind
of the culmination of all the COVID eligibility rules. So
last year, I think we graded six hundred players that
ended up going back to school, so we had a
really great head start on this year's draft.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Class.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
So this year's media production team, you were nice enough
to let them follow you around a little bit. What
goes into a season for you? And do you have
any idea how many miles you're putting on?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Oh Man, a lot.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
We're all road warriors, but we start traveling. We'll all
meet up at training camp. Like I said, we do
the Scout school and we kind of go over everything
that we want to cover.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
Throughout the fall.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
We'll all hit the road in August and we'll go
to the college training camps first. During the college football season,
I'll usually travel either Sunday or Monday. I'm going to
do three or four school visits Monday through Thursday. So
we do that schedule, you know, where it's four or
five days a week, maybe you're hitting a game on Saturday.
We do that from August until Thanksgiving, and then from
(05:31):
Thanksgiving the Christmas we're kind of getting all of our
evaluations finalized into the system, and then we start the
draft meeting process in December. January is when we get
exposure to All Star games. February we do more draft
meetings and we come to the Combine and it's Pro Days,
and then it's draft season.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
So it's long days, short years. We're constantly on the road.
I don't know how many miles it is.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I would say on average, you know, it's probably like
one hundred and fifty nights out of the year where
we're on the road.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
That's a lot question for you as you get ready
for a draft. How important is it for you to
be scouting players who are fits for this year? So
Amarkn talks about this a lot, like the mentality, and
I think we understand that is he a Steelers type
of player? But within that is also does he fit
a scheme? Does he fit the offensive or defensive scheme?
(06:20):
Are there players you're elevating up that other teams might
have lower players that perhaps you're discarding be Gauts, he's
simply not a fit.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Is that part of your evaluation process?
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I think you have to be careful not to discard
certain players because what happens is, even if they might
not be a scheme fit for us, your board should
still have integrity to it, meaning like if you start
taking all the players that don't necessarily fit our defensive scheme,
then other players start rising up into places.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Where maybe they shouldn't belong to it.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
So all of a sudden, you're looking at a guy
who maybe has seventh round talent in the fifth round.
So I think you just got to be careful. You
have to grave players for what they are. You give
yourself the option to look at them in certain places.
It doesn't mean you have to take them, but I
think you have to protect the integrity of the board.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Now.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
Obviously those discussions are had, and they're had throughout the
draft meetings, and we incorporate the coaching staff, so we
do talk about that at length. I just don't think
that you can necessarily move them up or down the
draft board.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Dan, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it, sir.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Thanks Rob
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