If you’re really into the NFL Draft, sure you can fork over some cash and read ESPN’s Mel Kiper or Scouts Inc.’s Todd McShay. You can find countless magazines on newstands that focus on everyone’s favorite gameless sporting event. But if you’re looking for a little bit more local flair when it comes to your draft information, all you have to do is get your hands on a copy of Monticello sophomore’s Nathan DiGregorio’s “Draft Prospectus.”
“I’ve made four books, but I’ve been following the draft since I was eight or nine,” DiGregorio said. “I’ve always been a huge fan of college football and pro football and the draft is kind of the perfect way to put the two together.”
Each year, DiGregorio spends countless hours of his free time putting together his draft packet which includes player ratings by position, scouting reports and a mock draft. During the fall, when he’s not in class or with the Mustangs football team, DiGregorio is watching as many college football games as he possibly can. Those he misses, he records and gets back to when the time is more convienent, dominating the DVR space at his parents’ house.
“I’m watching football all weekend throughout the season,” DiGregorio said. “My DVR is full of games and I watch them throughout the week and take notes on certain players.”
Once the season has wrapped up, and he’s zeroed in on more than 250 players, it’s off to the white board to try and put it all together. For months he tinkers with positional hierarchies, moving players up and down on the board based on things he’s witnessed on tape.
And when it’s all said and done, DiGregorio types it up in a booklet that originally started as simplistic list but has since grown to more than fifty pages as his skills as an evaluator have grown too.
“When I started I basically just listed the players,” DiGregorio said. “Now I’m doing a lot more writing, more specific things about the draft as I’ve learned more about the players and watched a lot more tape.”
One thing that DiGregorio takes pride in when it comes to his work is that it is his own. His Draft Prospectus is not a repackaging of anyone else’s opinions or evaluations. And that’s key, because although he may only be in his second year of high school, DiGregorio has aspirations of being able to participate in the NFL Draft down the road as a professional, whether as an analyst, scout or at the top of the list, as a general manager.
But that’s still a long way away. The draft on the other hand, begins Thursday, which is new this year. In previous years the selection process has taken place on Saturday and Sunday, but now the NFL has moved the first round into primetime at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The second and third rounds will take place Friday night, and the final three rounds of the event will be on Saturday. It’s a polarizing move for Draft fanatics. While some are excited about the event being spread out, many others like DiGregorio are sad to see what was an all-weekend event chopped up.
“I don’t like it all,” DiGregorio said. “Maybe down the road I’ll learn to like it this way, but I just loved the whole Saturday event and then the later rounds on Sunday.”
Of course, while he approaches his work on the draft with a neutral prospective, DiGregorio watches the actual event in hopes that his beloved Green Bay Packers walk away with a fortune. But after the draft is over, he gets right back to work and starts breaking down and grading the selections teams made.
That’s a lot of work for anyone, much less a student. But colleges are always looking for extracurricular activities. It just might not be fair to call DiGregorio’s work an activity or a hobby. For him, the draft is a clear cut obsession.
Nathan DiGregorio’s 2010 first round mock draft
Editors note: DiGregorio’s mock draft was created last week before a handful of trades including the Denver Broncos sending Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins as well as Miami shipping Ted Ginn Jr. to the San Francisco 49ers.
- St. Louis Rams – Sam Bradford, quarterback, Oklahoma
- Detroit Lions – Ndomukong Suh, defensive tackle, Nebraska
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Gerald McCoy, defensive tackle, Oklahoma
- Washington Redskins – Russell Okung, offensive tackle, Oklahoma State
- Kansas City Chief – Eric Berry, safety, Tennessee
- Seattle Seahawks – Trent Williams, offensive tackle, Oklahoma
- Cleveland Browns – Joe Haden, cornerback, Florida
- Oakland Raiders – Bruce Campbell, offensive tackle, Maryland
- Buffalo Bills – Jimmy Clausen, quarterback, Notre Dame
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Rolando McClain, linebacker, Alabama
- Denver Broncos – Earl Thomas, safety, Texas
- Miami Dolphins – Demariyus Thomas, wide receiver, Georgia Tech
- San Francisco 49ers – Derrick Morgan, defensive end, Georgia Tech
- Seattle Seahawks – Everson Griffen, defensive end, Southern California
- New York Giants – Dan Williams, defensive tackle, Tennessee
- Tennessee Titans – Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end, South Florida
- San Francisco 49ers – Mike Iupati, offensive guard, Idaho
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Bryan Bulaga, offensive tackle, Iowa
- Atlanta Falcons – C.J. Spiller, runningback, Clemson
- Houston Texans – Kyle Wilson, cornerback, Boise State
- Cincinnatti Bengals – Dez Bryant, wide receiver, Oklahoma State
- New England Patriots – Jared Odrick, defensive tackle, Penn State
- Green Bay Packers – Charles Brown, offensive tackle, Southern California
- Philadelphia Eagles – Anthony Davis, offensive tackle, Rutgers
- Baltimore Ravens – Rob Gronkowski, tight end, Arizona
- Arizona Cardinals – Sergio Kindle, linebacker, Texas
- Dallas Cowboys – Vladimir Ducasse, offensive tackle, Massachusetts
- San Diego Chargers – Maurkice Pouncey, center, Florida
- New York Jets − Brandon Graham, defensive end, Michigan
- Minnesota Vikings – Taylor Mays, safety, Southern California
- Indianapolis Colts – Brian Price, defensive tackle, UCLA
- New Orleans Saints – Sean Witherspoon, linebacker, Missouri
