I was thinking about the NFL Draft on Saturday morning while I was working out. Remember James Morgan? He was a quarterback at Florida International and as the 2020 draft was approaching, he was picking up steam as one of the two or three most promising quarterbacks in that third tier, the guys that were going to go in rounds three, four or five and need at least two seasons to learn the playbook and pace of the pro game before he was a viable starting option.
Morgan had the right frame for scouts to fall in love with. His highlight tape was full of all the right throws – dropping a dime over the receiver’s shoulder, the cross body scramble. You know the routine. As you are trying to parse out who had the better pro day, remember that every single quarterback capable of being drafted can make all these throws.
The New York Jets ended up taking Morgan with the 125th pick. He didn’t see the field at all during the regular season, and that is largely okay. That was kind of the plan. But here we are headed into the 2021 NFL Draft. The Jets traded incumbent starter Sam Darnold to Carolina and the consensus is that the team will use the second overall pick to draft another quarterback. Morgan isn’t even going to get consideration for the job, nor is the team confident enough in what they have seen that they felt like they could resign Joe Flacco as a placeholder and then do something different with the second pick.
You’re in sports radio, so you are not a one-for-one comparison to James Morgan. That doesn’t mean that there still isn’t plenty you can learn from him and the way the Jets and other NFL teams evaluated him.
Well, him and every single other draft prospect really. I really like FIU (class of 2017), so Morgan just sticks out in my mind this way.
Both job seekers and hiring managers can learn lessons here. We’ll get to the specifics in a moment, but it begins with the same fact. Any serious candidate for a job can do the basics well. For quarterbacks, that means leadership and being able to make “all the throws”. For sports radio positions that can mean any number of things depending on what position you are trying to fill. Every host worth hiring can entertain. Every viable PD candidate can coach talent.
For football players, the difference shows up in the game film. Why is Trevor Lawrence clearly the best QB this year? Because on tape you can see his touch, you can see he is calm in the pocket, and you can see the variety of ways he can beat defenders. The tape can also highlight the answers you need. Can Trevor Lawrence read coverage, go through his progressions and make good decisions with the ball? Jaguars brass had to do a little more work there, because playing for Clemson against ACC competition means that Lawrence didn’t have to do that very often.
Do you have a candidate for a PD job that you like, but that person has never scored big ratings wins? You need to find out why and how significant that actually is. Was his/her station on a weak signal? Maybe the station didn’t win ratings battles, but did the station show growth? I don’t just mean in terms of listeners. Did the station show growth on the revenue side? Answers to those questions would help you evaluate how strong of a candidate this person is without relying solely on what numbers from a flawed system tell you.
Every person you talk to about a hosting gig will send you their very best audio. If you like them enough to set up an interview, it means they are compelling and know their stuff. How will each candidate play in your market? What can you expect if you are trying to pair them with one of your established talents? Do they have the kind of inexplicable “it factor” that people just kind of like? That’s why we ask for references and do interviews.
You know the old saying about drafting a quarterback. Guessing wrong can set a team back years (oh, hi there Broncos!). The same is true in our business. The highlights can only tell you so much. Your work isn’t done once you’ve been wowed. The job just changes.
Betting on the wrong leader for a new drive time show could send listeners looking for new options. Bringing in a program director that isn’t open to working on sellable content ideas could hurt revenue. Forget about looking forward and building for the future. Now you have to make changes just to get back to where you were.
Hiring doesn’t have to be hard, but it certainly isn’t easy. Rarely are you in the Jaguars’ position, sitting at the top the NFL Draft with a no brainer staring back at you. Then again, you are not hampered by rules about who you can and can’t get. When you find the ideal candidate, you can make a competitive offer and go to work selling him/her on joining your organization.
For all of the mock drafts and insider punditry, nothing has actually happened yet as far as the NFL Draft is concerned. Before anything does happen, the smart teams will be doing their homework, gaming out the scenarios they could be faced with and doing deep dives on any prospect they are intrigued by to make sure he fits their plans and has a positive impact on the organization.
The NFL Draft is just a job market. So if it is the NFL’s version of posting an opening on the BSM job board, doesn’t it make sense to follow those smart teams’ lead when you are looking to add to your own staff?
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
