Reiss: Breaking down the Patriots sample draft card

Really rare insight into the true inner goings-on of the Patriots here and thus I have to dub it MUST READ! The most interesting thing to me is confirmation that there are in fact definite measurables that are desired for their system.

DEFINING THE GRADE: Any letters that come before a number is what the team calls “typing”. An “I” type means the prospect is “clean” based on the standards the team has for height, weight and speed at the position in the team’s system. In this grade, the “Z” means the player is height deficient. The “S” means the player is speed deficient. If there was a “B”, it would mean the player is bulk deficient based on his weight. The player’s grade is the number 4.910. The grading scale is 1 to 9, with 1 “not very good” to 9 being “this guy is rare.” The lower-case letters – in this case “lw” – are the team’s alert system. In this case, the “l” means a lower level of competition (e.g. a player from a Division II school). The “w” is a weight alert, indicating that the player has battled a weight problem (either too heavy or too light). The alerts don’t eliminate a player, but remind the team it’s something to investigate further.