Quite a bit goes into the formation of any NFL club’s draft board. All year, scouts are assigned regions and it’s their job to see as many college games in there area as possible, to watch tape of the games they miss, to talk to head coaches and begin to compile a database of the college players in their region.
This information is critical when the draft board is being constructed. The coaches see very little college games because they are completely immersed into the season at hand. And if they do have some time away from the facilities, they have families that need their attention.