DRAFT SERIES: Access Bob McGinn's 12-parter inside

How does the NFL view this year's draft class? Scouts supply Go Long a full reflection. All stories to McGinn's 41st annual series are linked inside for subscribers.

Getty Images

The phone lines must stay open at McGinn HQ through February and March because the calls from scouts are constant. Whenever I check in with our longtime scribe, it’s important to keep the conversation pithy.

There’s nobody in the business quite like Bob McGinn. What a pleasure it’s been to reunite with my former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel cohort right here at Go Long.

Once again, McGinn brings his unparalleled draft series to our pages.

All 12 parts — ranging from 4K to 7K words apiece — are available to our paid subscribers below.

Draft coverage has blown up over the years. Long gone are the days of one singular magazine supplying the masses content. And yet, 24/7/365 draft mania also leads to oversaturation. The same takes get recycled. The same highlight reels. In fear of social-media shaming, the majority of talking heads activate the gutter rails and play it safe. Thus, McGinn’s content is forever different. As we say often at Go Long, football is a human game. It’s not played on a spreadsheet. Film only reveals so much, too.

This is a high-stakes business. All GMs for all teams must figure out what makes prospects tick if they’re going to win. When everyone’s hurt in December, and the title hunt is on, how will that wide receiver respond? That defensive tackle? The best of the best scouts must be full-fledged investigators.

A ton is revealed in McGinn’s 41st annual series.

All links are below with a teaser quote from each story.

Thank you for joining our growing community of readers from around the world.

Part 1, WR: Tetairoa McMillan, and then... what?

Scout on Luther Burden: “One of the worst practice players you’ve ever seen but his talent on the field makes you take notice. There’s times when his routes are lacking but it’s more like effort and discipline (than) talent. To his credit, he’s been super productive. Even with quarterback troubles he was pretty productive. He’s a really good slot receiver that can give you some outside but then, with the character, I don’t know how you can draft him in the first round.”

Part 2, TE: Is Tyler Warren the next Great American NFL Tight End?

Scout on Tyler Warren: “He’s not Travis Kelce that’s fast and quick in his routes. But you kind of forget how big he is. He’s got (Rob) Gronkowski size, and for that size he’s a good athlete. He’s a Y (conventional) tight end that’s really talented. Y’s are hard to find; most of them run 5.0. He can play F (split receiver), too. You could put him in a wildcat and make him a goal-line runner. He has can’t-miss character. He’s going to be an outstanding pro.”

Part 3, OT: Inside the hunt for the next stalwart left tackle

Scout on Will Campbell: “They love him at the school and in the interviews so he will win people over with the personality and the desire and all that. But if you take him as a left tackle you’re going to be disappointed. You’ve got to have alternative plans. If you take him as a right tackle or guard then he’ll prove to be a good pick.”

Part 4, G/C: Who let the dawgs out?

Scout on Tate Ratledge: “He was important to them from a locker-room perspective and the mentality that he is as a true talent. Even when he was banged up this year he was such an important part of that offensive line. He does have a real nasty streak. I just thought he was a below-average athlete, a phone-booth brawler. Has stiffness and balance issues. If he didn’t have the mullet and attracted all the cameras and attention I doubt … he’s a good, solid player who will be drafted as a backup guard only.”

Part 5, QB: Do NFL scouts view Cam Ward & Shedeur Sanders as franchise quarterbacks?

Scout on Shedeur Sanders: “If his name was Joe Blow I don’t know if he’d get talked about nearly as much. He’s tough and has decent arm talent. He’s a pretty accurate thrower. Problem is, he’s a complete backyard football player. Hero balls, holds the ball. He’s not going to be able to play the way he plays in college. He’ll get crippled his first season. Not a wow athlete for his size, and not a big man. He just scares me. I think he’s in for a very rude awakening. His dad was so uniquely gifted. He’s not that guy. The (son’s) got mom’s talent.”

Part 6, RB: 'Rare human being and a rare player,' but when to draft Ashton Jeanty?

Scout on Ashton Jeanty: “It was honestly a crime he did not win the Heisman Trophy this year. Whoever takes this young man will be absolutely thrilled from the minute they draft him to the minute he retires. He is a rare human being and a rare player. I just don’t see how he fails. If he’s not something on the field he’s going to turn himself into that with his work ethic. Ashton’s rare trait is his contact balance and ability to break tackles.”

Part 7, DL: Meet the Brawlers

Scout on Walter Nolen: “He’d probably be at the top of the list if you could just not see him between plays, between drills, between meetings. This kid has been paid at five different schools: three high schools and two colleges. He is a mercenary. He’s probably the biggest mercenary in this whole draft. He has followed the money everywhere but yet is very quiet and shy. You would think totally disinterested. You wouldn’t think he’s hearing a word the coaches are saying to him. But when the ball is snapped, for 4 seconds at a time, he’s really talented, really gifted.”

Part 8, Edge: Herd of QB Hunters arrive with warnings...

Scout on James Pearce: “You knew at the combine he would put on that show, and he did. He did not disappoint. He probably goes after Williams, Carter and Stewart. But it will probably be to a successful team that will feel like they can take him on. At Tennessee, he was literally a no-go. You ask somebody there: ‘Hey, if you had a chance to come to the league, would you bring this guy?’ They’re, like, ‘Absolutely not.’ On his own program. The whole team’s working out and he’s in his apartment. They didn’t know where he was.”

Part 9, LB: Jihaad Campbell, Alabama's latest ass-kicker, leads class full of playmakers

Scout on Jihaad Campbell: “He is all over the field. Explosive, nasty. They do everything with this guy. He’s a former D-end. He has got bad intentions. He can blitz, cover. Love this guy.”

Part 10, CB: The generational talent of Colorado's Travis Hunter

Scout on Travis Hunter: “When you think about guys that have played well on both sides of the ball there’s (Charles) Woodson, Deion, Rod Woodson. They’re probably all faster than him but I don’t know if they’re quicker than him or have the same ball skills. And his feet are like machines. It’s tap-tap-tap and he’s gone. Think of one of those small punt returners. He’s like them. No matter how hard you try to hit him, you can’t hit him.”

Part 11, S: Why Malaki Starks, 'A+ across the board,' can run your defense

Scout on Malaki Starks: “I still think he’s one of the most valuable defensive players in this draft because he can play safety and/or down as a sub defender. He’s still the best safety. Hell of an athlete, great kid. He’ll know everything there is to know about your defense.”

Part 12, ST: Is it worth drafting a kicker anymore?

Coach on Andres Borregales: “If you’re looking for the most consistent field-goal kicker this is probably the guy. He’s 95% (in his career) on what I call clutch kicks. I do not think he’s a great kickoff guy. He has solid enough leg strength but it’s not overwhelming. With the rules changes, the kickoffs aren’t as big a deal as they’ve been in the past. You’ve got to look long and hard for the best field-goal kicker.”

ICYMI: