Prospect X sits at the desk in his college apartment bedroom and nods quietly as the coach leading the Zoom call explains the defense’s terminology. “50 Weak Squat out of nickel,” the coach says. “All that means is Rover is dropping to two, Buck will drop two to the boundary.” An overhead light shines bright behind X’s head, and the glare washes out his face.
X’s days have been filled with video calls with coaches and phone calls with scouts. He’s logged onto this meeting from his phone, and the PC monitor on his desk is open to a color-coded spreadsheet titled NFL STUFF, where he’s tracking all of his communications with NFL teams: who he’s talked to, how many times, video or phone, and how many picks that team has in the fourth through seventh rounds of the draft.