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https://sports.yahoo.com/why-they-g...-scouting-director-brad-holmes-165715155.html
The whole thing is worth a read, lots of interesting stuff in there, but here's one question with very Rams-specific info-
Yahoo Sports: That in-person eye test can be huge in splitting hairs, it seems.
Brad Holmes: Oh, yes. Like with the Rams here, I remember when we drafted Cooper Kupp. The first time I saw him live — I didn’t get a chance to make it to Eastern Washington his senior year, even though I did see him the prior year. I remember seeing him the year before because I had heard so much, and I remembered he was pretty good. But at the Senior Bowl, he just looked like a different player. It looked like he was different than everybody else on the field. He just went through the process, went to the combine, and he doesn’t run really fast. But it was like, every time you saw him play football with shoulder pads and a helmet, he was great.
Or when [former Rams corner] Janoris Jenkins came out, I was doing the Southeast area at the time. I remember he lined up man-to-man versus Julio Jones and A.J. Green in the SEC and did very, very well. So when he got in the NFL early in his career, you’d just see him lined up — they just slid him in, in man coverage — you saw that superpower. You’re seeing what you saw early on.
Take someone like [Rams safety] John Johnson. His instincts just stood out so much. He’s just turned into a heck of a run supporter. He’s just been terrific. But I remember during his evaluation process, it wasn’t really … I mean, he’s a good-sized kid, but you know, he didn’t run the fastest. I remember watching him live and then again at his Senior Bowl, it’s not like he was picking off a bunch of balls — and he might have had six picks or something in his [college] career.
But he was just cutting off so many routes. He just instinctively knew the angles to take. So I look at him now — I remember that first start he had against Seattle and his picks that ball off on the sideline and I am just like, yep, that’s what you saw.
Or like, [Rams 2019 second-round pick] Taylor Rapp is a guy that, whew, we loved him. We had [a first-round grade on him]. And you’re probably going to say, OK, why didn’t you take him at 31 then? Well, we just kind of thought that with all the information we had that we’d have that opportunity to move back and pick up some more draft capital and be in a position to get him.
We’re really excited about Taylor and Darrell Henderson and David Long and [Greg] Gaines has a lot of ability. Bobby Evans, he’s gonna be … in a great situation for our line. Yeah, we’re really excited about all those guys.
The whole thing is worth a read, lots of interesting stuff in there, but here's one question with very Rams-specific info-
Yahoo Sports: That in-person eye test can be huge in splitting hairs, it seems.
Brad Holmes: Oh, yes. Like with the Rams here, I remember when we drafted Cooper Kupp. The first time I saw him live — I didn’t get a chance to make it to Eastern Washington his senior year, even though I did see him the prior year. I remember seeing him the year before because I had heard so much, and I remembered he was pretty good. But at the Senior Bowl, he just looked like a different player. It looked like he was different than everybody else on the field. He just went through the process, went to the combine, and he doesn’t run really fast. But it was like, every time you saw him play football with shoulder pads and a helmet, he was great.
Or when [former Rams corner] Janoris Jenkins came out, I was doing the Southeast area at the time. I remember he lined up man-to-man versus Julio Jones and A.J. Green in the SEC and did very, very well. So when he got in the NFL early in his career, you’d just see him lined up — they just slid him in, in man coverage — you saw that superpower. You’re seeing what you saw early on.
Take someone like [Rams safety] John Johnson. His instincts just stood out so much. He’s just turned into a heck of a run supporter. He’s just been terrific. But I remember during his evaluation process, it wasn’t really … I mean, he’s a good-sized kid, but you know, he didn’t run the fastest. I remember watching him live and then again at his Senior Bowl, it’s not like he was picking off a bunch of balls — and he might have had six picks or something in his [college] career.
But he was just cutting off so many routes. He just instinctively knew the angles to take. So I look at him now — I remember that first start he had against Seattle and his picks that ball off on the sideline and I am just like, yep, that’s what you saw.
Or like, [Rams 2019 second-round pick] Taylor Rapp is a guy that, whew, we loved him. We had [a first-round grade on him]. And you’re probably going to say, OK, why didn’t you take him at 31 then? Well, we just kind of thought that with all the information we had that we’d have that opportunity to move back and pick up some more draft capital and be in a position to get him.
We’re really excited about Taylor and Darrell Henderson and David Long and [Greg] Gaines has a lot of ability. Bobby Evans, he’s gonna be … in a great situation for our line. Yeah, we’re really excited about all those guys.
