bills scouts question

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, DJB said:

Then why do we struggle in round 2? And have mostly hit safer players in round 1? 

 

Days 1 and 2 are the execs days. They are the guys your GM, your Assistant GM, your Director of Player Personnel, your College Scouting Director and (particularly round 1) your HC and coordinators have looked at in significant detail. The guys on day 3 - by and large - have not had that same level of senior time and attention. The top brass will have watched some tape, but the area scouts and the national scouts carry a lot more weight with those prospects. That is why day 3 of the draft is often referred to as "the scouts day" because it is the day when their evaluations make up a bigger part of the puzzle. And the Bills have had some success there. That usually tells you the guys at that level know what they are doing. 

[SoCal Deek]

1 hour ago, BobbyC81 said:

Wasn’t it for the Sabres that the scouting staff was reduced and relied more on film?

Wait…what? You mean the Sabres have guys they’re actually paying to recommend players who can’t score, skate, hit, or defend? Who knew? 

[DJB]

9 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

 

Days 1 and 2 are the execs days. They are the guys your GM, your Assistant GM, your Director of Player Personnel, your College Scouting Director and (particularly round 1) your HC and coordinators have looked at in significant detail. The guys on day 3 - by and large - have not had that same level of senior time and attention. The top brass will have watched some tape, but the area scouts and the national scouts carry a lot more weight with those prospects. That is why day 3 of the draft is often referred to as "the scouts day" because it is the day when their evaluations make up a bigger part of the puzzle. And the Bills have had some success there. That usually tells you the guys at that level know what they are doing. 

Oh I’m aware the top guys make those picks in rounds 1 and 2. It’s concerning that we keep hitting singles and doubles from those guys. Need more from them

 

[GunnerBill]

10 minutes ago, DJB said:

Oh I’m aware the top guys make those picks in rounds 1 and 2. It’s concerning that we keep hitting singles and doubles from those guys. Need more from them

 

 

No doubt. But in my original post I was talking about the Bills on the road scouts which was the subject of the thread and while clearly they have a role on day 1 and 2 picks where you really differentiate how good a team's road scouts are compared to the rest of the NFL is day 3 and UDFAs. I have been pretty vocal on the personnel staff needing to do a better job finding stars. 

[Buffalo716]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

 

No doubt. But in my original post I was talking about the Bills on the road scouts which was the subject of the thread and while clearly they have a role on day 1 and 2 picks where you really differentiate how good a team's road scouts are compared to the rest of the NFL is day 3 and UDFAs. I have been pretty vocal on the personnel staff needing to do a better job finding stars. 

The bills scouting department going back 30 years is solid 

 

Brandon Beane shows that he sometimes was never a scout in the early rounds .. 100% Elam is Beane selling McDermott and scouts on non scheme fit athlete.. hairston and tre white is scouts and McDermott having a scheme fit 

 

He is a very good gm , needs to trust the people around him and know he isn't the smartest in the room when it comes to scheme and talent identification sometimes 

Edited 3 hours ago by Buffalo716

[BigAl2526]

On 6/6/2025 at 1:31 PM, GunnerBill said:

 

The Bills have a very good scouting department - partly because Pegs is willing to spend on it. 

 

That is why we do so well comparatively on day 3 of the draft.... aka - The Scouts Day.

It is said that Paull Brown, one time owner of the Bengals, bought the draft issue of the Sporting News and made his picks from that.

Edited 2 hours ago by BigAl2526

[T.E.]

13 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

does a higher salary make one a better scout?

I think the issue is that guys who are consistently great at scouting have opportunities to make a much higher salary in other front office positions.

13 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

13 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by T.E.

[Buffalo716]

Just now, T.E. said:

I think the issue is that guys who are consistently great at scouting have opportunities to make a much higher salary in other front office positions.

I think the issue is that guys who are consistently great at scouting have opportunities to make a much higher salary in other front office positions.

There are plenty of scouts who never want to get into all the BS that the front office comes with 

 

They actually like the grind and the hustle of being a area scout on the road 

 

And you can make depending on the team and your seniority 60 70 80 90 thousand dollars on the road 

 

That's with everything else getting paid for so yeah tough life but if it's your passion it's not that bad

 

[T.E.]

1 minute ago, Buffalo716 said:

There are plenty of scouts who never want to get into all the BS that the front office comes with 

 

They actually like the grind and the hustle of being a area scout on the road 

 

And you can make depending on the team and your seniority 60 70 80 90 thousand dollars on the road 

 

That's with everything else getting paid for so yeah tough life but if it's your passion it's not that bad

 

Sure, but traveling all the time for work really wears on you, especially at $80K a year. Jim Monos probably made six times that as a director of scouting, and he wasn't exactly Bill Polian.

[Buffalo716]

10 minutes ago, T.E. said:

Sure, but traveling all the time for work really wears on you, especially at $80K a year. Jim Monos probably made six times that as a director of scouting, and he wasn't exactly Bill Polian.

Well that's why it's a passion thing 

 

If you don't love it ... The hours will feel worse

[Buffalo716]

17 hours ago, machine gun kelly said:

GB, as usual written well as Terry puts his wallet into his team and Beane must have made the case that we will be a top flight team if the later rounds of the draft are hits like Milano (I know the year before Beane arrives), Benford, Dane is productive, and others.

 

As far as their compensation, my understanding is they make a reasonable wage, but as most in the front office, they start as scouts  so they are not breaking the bank.  It’s actually a pretty tough job, but these guys from what I understand love football, and want the next job.

 

To the OP, it was a good question and interesting you're inquiry.  I’m glad you’re here.

 

 

 

Front offices are typically broken down into two sides 

 

Football guys and non football guys 

 

GMS are probably split 50/50 on if they have a scouting background or grew up on the team business side 

 

But plenty of scouts have no aspiration to ever get into high front office positions... Which is less job certainty with more pressure... And other people's decisions affect you 

 

Guys like Bill nunn got enshrined in the Hall of Fame because they were  excellent scouts and never wanted to be in a higher authority position

 

Their calling was finding 14 Hall of Fame players like Bill did.. not to be a higher front office guy 

 

Those are aspirations for guys like Dan Morgan, who's not your typical on the road scout

 

 

Edited 4 minutes ago by Buffalo716