The LSU Tigers are preparing to kick off against the Alabama Crimson Tide in what may be the most-anticipated game in the college football season, but the New Orleans Saints won’t be watching at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Per a report from Charlie Potter of 247 Sports, the Saints didn’t have any scouts on hand. Potter surveyed the teams with personnel credentialed to catch the LSU-Alabama game live from the press box, and didn’t note New Orleans among them:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Buffalo Bills (2)
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Denver Broncos
- Detroit Lions
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Miami Dolphins (3)
- Oakland Raiders
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- San Francisco 49ers (2)
- Seattle Seahawks (2)
- Washington Redskins (2)
Half of the NFL sent scouts to watch Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and the dozens of other pro prospects duke it out, with some teams credentialing multiple members of their personnel staff. But the Saints opted to assign their scouts to other games this week. That decision isn’t as surprising as you’d think.
The widespread availability of coach’s film allows NFL teams to watch every game afterwards, so they approach game assignments with different philosophies. Sometimes, teams scouting quarterback prospects want to get eyes on him during a game, catching what the cameras won’t — seeing how he interacts with coaches and teammates on the sidelines, what he does to recover from negative plays, that sort of thing. Teams with a less hands-on approach might let scouts pick whichever games they like each week, which could come down to personal preference.
So don’t worry too much about who the Saints may be scouting this week (or who they aren’t watching live). College scouting director Jeff Ireland has done a great job evaluating talented draft prospects in recent years, and he likely has a plan to keep up his streak of success as we inch closer to draft season.
