From the sideline of a pro day, an NFL executive was unenthused by 40 times and more eager to peek at something else.
"I'm looking for late-bloomers," the exec said.
He explained that players might have a 10-year window of peak performance. He's looking for players who haven't started theirs yet: guys who weren't stars in college, whose skills are still developing because of their youth or whose minimal tread provides a clean injury outlook.
Not every scout takes this linear approach, but most agree that finding players who will last is crucial in today's age-centric game, and a seven-round draft format leaves room for risk-taking.