Review: On The Best Draft Guide I've Ever Seen

And Why It's Just As Useful Now Than It Was Before The Draft
By: Jason Peery of NFLTALK.COM

When I heard that Russell Lande, former scout for the St. Louis Rams, had put out a draft guide, my ears were perked and I called him up to get my own copy. What I didn't expect was that, when it arrived on my doorstep, I would need my wife to grab one end of it to help me bring it in the house and place it on my desk. The chunky, 407-page guide, which Lande calls "GMjr: Guide to the 1999 NFL Draft", is absolutely stunning.

First of all, let me say that I don't get a penny from Lande if any of you buy his draft guide, lest you think I'm "hyping" the product for some shady motive. I don't even know him, except for 2 brief conversations, in which he was very cordial and informative about what he thought about the Browns' big decision and a few other trivial draft matters I asked him about.

With that said, let me explain one more thing: I didn't get ahold of this draft guide until very recently, and wasn't able to work this review in before the draft. If I did, it would have been about 2 days before the draft, and you probably wouldn't have even received it until after the draft anyway. Furthermore, I realized that this draft guide is perhaps just as useful after the draft than it is before the draft. Here's why:

There are so many obscure players taken in the draft, many of which aren't found in hardly any of the "gurus" draft guides or mock drafts or position-by-position analyses. This guide reviews everyone who was drafted (and not drafted) in painstaking detail, no matter how obscure the player. And it gives you in-depth information about each one of them (miles beyond the made-up one-liners draft commentators give about players they're not familiar with). To me, it looks like Lande must do nothing else but study, analyze and think about college football players, because he has amassed a truly impressive amount of information about them. (He claims to have done every evaluation of every player in the guide himself, except for 6 of them).

You get the idea.

The "GMJr" guide is thorough. Really thorough. There's a cartload of information about any single player (or non-drafted signee) that you can possibly think of. It has a full-page of fine-print info that evaluates each player in several areas, rather than just giving an "overall summary" of the player's strengths and weaknesses or some flimsy doublespeak that leaves you confused about whether the player has real NFL abilities or not. For example: for tight ends, Lande reviews players according to each of the following criteria:

No joke. He evaluates the Tight Ends on every single one of those categories.

He does the same thing with every player, no matter the position, adjusting the criteria of evaluation depending on the player and position. For example, for Defensive Tackles, he also evaluates their ability to read and react, use their hands, shed blockers, pursue, wrap up tacklers, close, power-rush, speed rush, etc. (For some lesser-known, lesser-esteemed players he still gives a full 1/3 page with strengths, weaknesses, 150 to 200-word summary, height, weight, 40-yard time, position, college, overall rating, jersey number, etc.)

He also rates the players by position, gives his listing of who he feels were the best 97 players in the 1999 draft, and more. According to Lande, his rating system concluded in 1998 that Charlie Batch would be the best rookie of the draft.

The guide is not the fanciest-looking guide. (Like NFLTalk, it's not particularly slick, but has tons of good info.) There are only 2 pictures in the entire guide. One on the front cover of some player I can't decipher, and one on the back cover of Mississippi's St.'s Ed Smith, who wasn't even drafted. There's no price on the order form for next year's guide.

Aside from those minor problems, "GMJr" is phenomenal and is a must-have for any serious football student. The cost? Just $19.00 + $5.00 shipping (more than reasonable. Frankly, I'm very surprised he doesn't charge at least $40-50. His printing costs alone for the huge thing must be half the price.) You can order by sending a check to "GMjr., Russ Lande, P.O. Box 296, Cedarhurst, NY 11516-0296". Or, try calling him at 516-374-3703.

AGAIN, folks, I don't get jack squat for plugging this draft guide. I'm just doing what I do every day for you, which is finding the best NFL information and pointing you to it. Use it as you wish. This one's a no-brainer, though, believe me.