American football can be a game of inches but it is also a game of words.
Over time, a certain amount of jargon has worked its way into pre-draft discussions and scouting analysis.
And as it is that time of year again, you can expect to hear a lot of these words and phrases over the next few weeks.
So here are my contenders for the NFL Draft Jargon ‘Hall of Fame’.
I have also added a few tongue-in-cheek thoughts on how irritating I find some of them!
[Player] out of [University]
Of course you need to mention the college but why “out of”? What is wrong with “from”?
I have never heard anyone say, “Hi, I am John out of accounting” or “Meet Sarah out of Southampton”.
So, is this a football thing? An American English thing… or just a thing?
This phrase gives rookies an unwarranted faux-gravitas. These guys are 21-year-old jocks who just spent four years in a college frat house, not legendary warriors emerging from the swirling mists of a mythical land.
Length
In the coming days, you will certainly hear players described as having “outstanding length”. Excuse me, but what now?
They mean height. Or maybe arm length. I will even graciously allow wingspan at a push. All specific and relevant terms.
But if a draft analyst describes a person in terms of “length” like they are a piece of spaghetti, they themselves are being a noodle.
Physicality
“He plays with great physicality.” Great, sure. But this is football, one of the most brutal full-contact sports going.
That means everyone on the field, except maybe kickers and punters, is expected to bring physicality. Otherwise, they are going to get killed.
You will hear this a lot but it tells us nothing other than he plays football, which we knew already.
Plug-and-play
This phrase gets wheeled out at draft time to describe a college prospect who can slot straight into a starting NFL line-up.
And sure, we all know what it means. But to me, it makes players sound like USB sticks.
These are professional athletes, not external hard drives. I prefer “day-one starter” or “starting calibre”.
Upside
For sure, it helps describe a player with untapped potential or unproven athletic traits.
On the other hand, it can feel a bit of a cop-out because every player has that potential until he proves otherwise.
But because it wraps the risk up in optimism, I will give it a pass mark for positivity alone.
Position versatility
If someone can play multiple spots, like a lineman able to play both tackle and guard, that is genuinely useful.
This phrase tells you something about a player’s skill set without sounding dumb, so it passes muster.
You can also expect to hear:
- Gritty: Tries hard to the point of hurting themselves in the process.
- Sneaky athletic: No one expected that lump of lard to run so fast.
- Violent hands: Not so much a scouting term, more an extract from a crime report.
- Relentless motor: Runs around a lot without doing anything useful.
Love them or hate them, these terms will be on every podcast and in every article over the next two to three weeks so tick them off your bingo card when you come across them.
And if anyone you know calls themselves something like “Dave out of IT” in everyday life, do please let me know!
