One of the reporters who broke the story about the Jets’ interest in QB Justin Fields, Fox’s Jordan Schultz, made a point about the Jets’ view of the player that should not go unnoticed.
“They love his athleticism, leadership traits, ability to move the pocket and maybe most importantly, believe his best football is ahead of him,” Schultz tweeted.
That last line is interesting – they “believe his best football is ahead of him.”
Depending on your worldview, that line could be taken in a few different ways. Some might look at that as a glass-half-full perspective on a player who has world-class speed and a rocket arm, and perhaps is still maturing as a prospect.
But you could also look at it as a very dangerous scouting view that could get you in trouble.
If you look at suspect film, and convince yourself “the best is yet to come” to quote Frank Sinatra, that can be a slippery slope.
Perhaps it’s okay to do this once in a while, but you don’t want to make a habit of it.
Theoretically, you could say that about ANY inconsistent player you scout, and get yourself in a lot of trouble as a personnel man.
This might be true sometimes, but very rarely is a player going to turn suspect film into stardom.
Hey, the Fields signing could turn out great for the Jets. None of us know as we sit here right now.
But Mougey needs to be careful playing the “best football is in front of him” card too often.
The film usually doesn’t lie.
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