Long-time NFL front office personnel man Mike Ackerley joins Pro Mindset host Craig Domann and shares his perspective on what creates “draft value” and the difference between the front office mindset and the football coach mindset related to evaluating and drafting players. The NFL Draft is the #1 supply chain mechanism for NFL teams adding talent to their rosters. Mike also discusses his personal experience as the West Coast Scout for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers leading up to the 1993 NFL Draft when they drafted safety John Lynch out of Stanford University in the third round. He shares insights about the scouting and coaching opinions about Lynch, as well as, the impact of Lynch’s pedestrian 4.73 forty time at the NFL Combine. Lynch was widely considered a 1st round performer but was rated a 3rd rounder in terms of draft value due to his speed concerns. This month Lynch is again a finalist for the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame in Canton, Ohio. Lynch is looking to become the 5th player from the 1993 NFL Draft Class following Willie Roaf, Michael Strahan, Jerome Bettis and Will Shields.

Prior to his 20+ year NFL personnel career, Mike coached in college football for 20+ years as well. In fact, Mike was Craig’s position college at the University of Kansas. As a seasoned college coach, Mike believes he had an edge in scouting since (a) he was accustomed to scouting players as a college coach as a part of his recruiting, and (b) he could relate to and anticipate what his pro coaches were looking for in terms of evaluation factors.