MOBILE, Ala. — Scot McCloughan has learned over nearly two decades of collegiate scouting that only so many traits and characteristics can be gleaned from watching a game on television.
That’s why McCloughan, hired to be the Washington Redskins’ general manager two weeks ago, was thrilled to get right to work scouting the collegiate all-star games. After a week at the East-West Shrine Game, McCloughan’s maiden voyage will conclude with the Senior Bowl.
“You see the talent on tape, but [it’s important] to see the person, what really drives him and the passion and competitiveness, what they’ve overcome in their life, what’s the family situation like,” McCloughan said. “It’s just building the whole package, and as we go through the draft process, you keep adding to it and keep adding to it, and the more you know a person individually, the better chance you have of being right when you draft him.”
After finishing 4-12 this past season, the Redskins need to be right. That’s why McCloughan, who helped build the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks into playoff-quality teams by building through the draft, reiterated on Thursday that the team’s focus going forward will be on scouting and developing its own players.
The Redskins have veered from that strategy in recent years by frequently signing free agents to plug gaping holes. And while McCloughan said the team will continue to be active in free agency — after all, not every issue can be addressed through the seven-round draft — the foundation will be laid through the cultivation of college players.
“My belief is the core of the team, you start this year in the draft,” McCloughan said.
The scouting schedule has prevented McCloughan from delving into the evaluations of the Redskins’ existing players, but he said he has watched every game from this past season at least once.
He also maintained the stance he took when he was introduced as the Redskins’ general manager on Jan. 9 — that the team will draft the best available player, regardless of position, to provide competition and fortify depth.
“We just need to add good football players to this team,” McCloughan said. “Doesn’t matter what position it is. Just keep stockpiling good, young football players that are healthy, that fit the mold we’re looking for, [that have] competitiveness, intelligence, toughness, that will be consistent football players day in and day out.”
Every member of the Redskins’ collegiate scouting department was in attendance for the week of Senior Bowl practices, and McCloughan said the group will reconvene on Tuesday to begin sharing the notes and evaluations culled during the past two weeks.
McCloughan couldn’t put a number on how many college players he was able to interview during that period, saying only that he has spoken to “tons” of them. Unlike the NFL combine, when access is restricted to allow every interested team to meet with a prospect, gatherings during the all-star game weeks are significantly more informal.
And while McCloughan said that he has found over time that the quality of players at certain positions lead to stronger teams, he declined to share those positions — or even share any evaluations of players or his assessment of the quality of position groups on the whole.
“I don’t want to name one, two or three positions,” McCloughan said. “But I will say this: We just want to have good football players at any position. I don’t care if it’s a kicker. I don’t care what it is. If the guy is a dang good football player that gives us a chance to win, not just for this year but for the future, then that’s what I’m going for.”
McCloughan’s hope is to have evaluations of many of the top college seniors done by mid-February, when he will travel to Indianapolis for the NFL combine. That will allow he and the Redskins to focus on the 74 underclassmen who have entered the draft, which begins April 30 — the players that McCloughan considers to be the “sleepers” of the draft process.
The Redskins hold the No. 5 pick, marking the first time in three years they’ll have a first-round selection. Then, McCloughan hopes, the shaping of the team’s future can begin.
“I guarantee you every time we make a pick, one through seven rounds, there will be a player on that board that ends up being a good NFL football player from the standpoint of a starter, a quality backup, or a dangerous special teams player,” McCloughan said. “You can identify that, and a lot of that comes from sitting around here and getting to know these guys.”
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• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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