Be sure to purchase the Inside the Pylon Draft Guide (including team specific guides) for full reports on all drafted players, available now! A tumultuous Pittsburgh Steelers season that included the Ryan Shazier injury and the “no catch” by Jesse James came to a disappointing end, with the team giving up 45 points at home to…
Each year the NFL scouting community engages in a shuffle, as both personnel and scouts move between organizations. Sometimes these are individual movements and promotions from team to team, but other times these moves indicate a new front office that is looking to make a shift in the team’s philosophy. This tracker I have put together…
As the offseason continues, the ebbs and flows of headlines continue to rock the football world. Between the group of free agent quarterback available this year and the very deep 2018 draft class, there is certainly a lot of chatter to go around. Recently, AJ McCarron became a unrestricted free agent in the wake of…
Changes are a-coming. Black Monday is almost here. We’ll be seeing, at minimum, five job openings in the NFL head coaching ranks this offseason. The New York Giants have already dismissed Ben McAdoo, the Browns claim to be hanging on to Hue Jackson (can’t see this happening), John Fox is non-answering his way through press…
The 2017 NFL trade deadline was surprisingly full of excitement this season. There were many high impact trades affecting teams both trying to win now and those preparing for the long term. However, I want to mainly focus on the quarterback movement, or almost quarterback movement in the case of A.J. McCarron, and how we…
The Bills run power. Really well. Rick Dennison runs zone. A lot. From day one of the new regime under head coach Sean McDermott, the hire of Rick Dennison as offensive coordinator seemed odd to me (and other Bills fans). Dennison was practically born and raised in the Denver Broncos outside zone stretch running scheme,…
From a wins and loss perspective, things have not been looking well for the Cleveland Browns this season. And with another loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4, the Browns find themselves in an all too familiar spot, sitting winless and looking for answers. In the last 10 seasons, the Browns have started 0-4…
Houston Texans’ rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson emerged victorious in his first career start, leading his team to a narrow 13-9 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. While he turned in the biggest play of the game, a 49-yard scramble for the game’s only touchdown, there were some areas of concern. During the draft process one of…
“Daddy, where do fumbles come from?” Startled, I nearly spit out my coffee. “Well … when a mommy and daddy fumble love each other very much …” I stammered. He interrupted me, “Dad!” I fixed a sober gaze on my son. “Do you really want to know?” He nodded. “Sacks, mostly.” “What?” “Look at the…
The NFL season is upon us, and after another whirlwind offseason of coaching changes and player movements, I’m pleased to present the 2nd edition of my NFL Roster Valuation model. For those not familiar with the previous iteration, the goal of my roster assessment isn’t to fall in line with others that put together individual…
Every spring, NFL teams meet with prospects for the upcoming draft in the months leading up to the draft itself. There are many opportunities for players and teams to meet with one another, including all-star games, pro days, the NFL Scouting Combine, workouts, and private visits. Each type of meeting has different rules that govern…
The Los Angeles Rams’ 2017 draft was peppered with small-school reaches. While the Rams may not have gained the best value from the 2017 NFL Draft, the overall process did contain a few positives. The offensive selections demonstrate that the front office has a clear acknowledgement of the scheme that new head coach Sean McVay…
The Cleveland Browns made the right decision staying with Myles Garrett and not taking Mitchell Trubisky. In the end, I believe the Trubisky hype was all media-driven and that the Browns were locked in the entire time, which is what I maintained throughout the process. Cleveland allowing teams to come up around them for Deshaun…
Series Introduction: A scheme fit is when a player’s traits and abilities line up with a certain coach’s style and scheme. Imagine if every NFL team could draft a player that fit perfectly into their scheme. That would benefit both the teams and the players simultaneously, as general managers and coaches wouldn’t be putting a…
“State of the Draft” is going to be a weekly column serving as a catch-all for anything NFL Draft. You can expect information on which prospects I’ve been watching, players I’m high or low on, players who I think might be under the radar, positing on draft philosophy, expanded thoughts on topics in the media…
Author’s Note: The title of this piece has been changed. This is not a list of my top candidate’s for the position of GM, but reflective of research into GM hiring dating back to 2006 and the clusters of candidates that Owners seemingly gravitate towards. As of this publication, all 32 General Managers are still…