Broncos Too Dependent On Pro Scouts?

This comes from 2007 Broncos personnel assistant, Michael Lombardi’s blog, Lombardi on the NFL:

“Last year in Denver, we never brought in one player that could help the current team win right away once training camp started-not even one to the practice squad. In fact, they have already released some of the players signed during the season as they were not even talented enough to bring to camp this year. I would gladly admit that I made mistakes in my pro evaluations, but since the GM in Denver at the time, never spoke to me for the entire 175 days I was there, it would be hard to pin these decisions on my evaluations. Denver relies on a service of pro scouting outside the building that is based on some older former college coaches who watch tape and write reports.”

Lombardi has spent the last 20 years as an NFL executive working for high profile coaches such as Bill Walsh, Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Belichick, Jon Gruden, and Mike Shanahan. He now writes for SI.com and will be appearing on the NFL network.

This guy knows the league very well, and common sense tells you that simply relying on pro scouting services is not going to build a SuperBowl roster. There’s no doubt that college players change from year to year, and once they enter the NFL, their skills and athleticism take on a different meaning because of the caliber of players they are going up against. In my opinion, it would benefit the team to gradually move away from the pro scouting services and rely more on their pro department. It makes sense. You want someone making judgment calls who is invested in your team on a deeper level than an outside scouting professional. Both parties are being paid to find the best players, but who will get a ring when the team wins a Super Bowl?