INDIANAPOLIS - One of the things I find interesting at the Combine is listening to the coaches of other teams describe the various elements of the draft. It's amazing how similar most are in terms of what's important when trying to evaluate players.
Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz, a Bill Belichick disciple from their days together in Cleveland, even used one of the Patriots coach's favorite terms - value - when discussing quarterbacks.
Asked if the evaluation process of the game's most important position had changed in light of the advent of spread offenses throughout college football, Schwartz admitted it had.
"It's like it was 30 years ago when you were trying to figure out if an offensive lineman could pass protect because you just didn't see a lot of it with teams running the wishbone," Schwartz said. "Quarterbacks are expected to do a lot more. You've started to see teams throwing the ball a lot more and that's a lot better for your evaluations. You still have to be able to project. You're not going to see everything. The most important thing is value. Having a grade for a player and having a job description. What might be right for one team might not be right for another."
