As I sat down on the bleachers in Mobile, Alabama, at the opening of this year’s Senior Bowl practices, Brett Whitefield pointed me to Florida’s Ricky Pearsall and proclaimed him as “his guy.” A minute or two later, after the wideout smoked the American Team’s defensive backs on consecutive chunk plays, I turned to Brett and asked, “Can he be my guy, too?”
For some of us, it’s difficult to articulate our strengths as football analysts. But for Brett, it’s easy: He has a top-level understanding of the game's intricacies and an intimate relationship with the data — and that’s a powerful combination.
We’ve now charted three full seasons at Fantasy Points Data, and more importantly, we’ve built a bunch of bad-ass tools to help us analyze all the numbers. But there is no data without the game itself, and Brett’s hands-on football acumen is the best I’ve seen in the fantasy space (or any space), which explains how his cutting-edge analysis on Anthony Richardson, starting last January, was correct. Brett saw AR as more inexperienced than “raw,” and sure enough, since the Colts also managed him wisely, he was an effective player immediately.
In scouting, when you believe in your overall knowledge base and understanding of things like translatable skills to the NFL, you have to be decisive in your player analysis because, otherwise, what’s the point? Babies born in the year 2024 know that Puca Nacua is great at football, but think about the edge you could have gained last year if you read Brett’s comparison of him to Justin Jefferson in this Prospect Guide. It seemed to some at the time that he was going out on a limb, but he was prepared to let the chips fall where they may because he was confidently leaning on his experience and convictions in an effort to give you an edge. I’ve also placed complete trust in Brett after running his takes by some of the actual players, like how Roman Wilson fully embraced Brett’s comp for Tyler Lockett when I asked him about it in Indy in March.
This year’s polarizing “hot take” is unquestionably former Michigan QB JJ McCarthy, whom Brett has listed as his top signal-caller in this draft since January. I loved Brett’s comparison to former MVP Rich Gannon, especially since I had an opportunity to run it up the ultimate flagpole, which is Rich himself. I’ve been friends with Gannon for a while now, so I had to text him to see if he agreed with Whitefield’s assessment.
Gannon’s immediate, two-word response said it all: “Absolutely brother.”
I hope you enjoy this year’s FREE Prospect Guide!
Fantasy Points readers, I am thrilled to present to you my 2024 NFL Prospect Guide. With over 10 years of experience in the football space, I have had the privilege of learning from and training with some of the most brilliant minds in football, including many former NFL players and coaches, to enhance my player evaluation skills. For the past eight years, I have scouted and scored at least 150 prospects per year, allowing me to gain an in-depth understanding of what it takes for a player to succeed at the next level.
To make my scouting process as consistent as possible, I developed my own composite scoring system. My composite scoring system is a unique and comprehensive approach to evaluating players. It is a weighted numeric score that takes into account four main buckets: film/traits, production, athleticism, and intangibles, all accounting for a different amount of the total score. Each bucket has its own set of sub-criteria and benchmarks that get scored based on the player's projected positional archetype. Each bucket also has both subjective and objective processes within them.
The starting point for every player I score is taking in their college tape. I exclusively use All-22 (coaches’ film) and pride myself on watching almost every single snap a player has played. From there, I score players based on the tangible skills/traits they possess and the frequency in which they demonstrate those skills/traits. This system has been meticulously crafted to ensure that it takes into account all aspects of a player's game, including their skills, production, character, and growth/potential.
In the end, the score generated by my system comes out on a scale of 0-100, making it easy to compare players and identify the top prospects in the NFL Draft. Within the scale, there are score thresholds that represent an individual player's “valuation.” The thresholds are as follows:
95.0-100.0 = Blue Chip Talent
87.5-94.9 = Day 1 Grade
75.0-87.4 = Day 2 Grade
62.5-74.9 = Day 3 Grade
<62.5 = UDFA
Each scouting profile in my 2024 NFL Prospect Guide is designed to provide a comprehensive evaluation of each player. It includes empirical data — a player's measurements, age, and athletic testing numbers — as well as their score and draft valuation. The written portion starts with player background information, including hometown, high school recruitment status, and college football career summary. The scouting profile then dives into a detailed skill summary, highlighting each player's strengths and weaknesses on the field. Finally, the profile includes a projection of the player's potential role in the NFL, as well as any transition periods that may be required for the player to adjust to the professional game. Overall, each scouting profile is intended to provide a complete picture of each player's abilities and potential at the next level. I also make it a point to use consistent language when describing players' abilities and try to shy away from “scout speak” as much as possible. I want anyone reading the guide, regardless of their background in football, to be able to understand and digest the information contained in each report.
I am confident that my guide will provide you with valuable insights and analysis and increase both your knowledge of the incoming draft class, and perhaps the scouting process as well.
Thank you for your interest in my 2024 NFL Prospect Guide. I am excited to share my knowledge and expertise with you and look forward to your feedback.
Brett Whitefield, Director of Fantasy Points Data and Research
