Solid scouting is the key to success in the National Football League.
The best personnel departments will guide their organization through the draft with accurate reports on college prospects that can contribute at the pro level. Fans will gather for the NFL draft that the league has turned into an off-season spectator sport. When their team picks a popular offensive player the fans in the crowd wearing their jerseys will cheer like their team just got better.
When their team picks an offensive lineman or defensive player they never heard of, they cheer anyway while looking at each other for approval.
Truth is, whether their team is selecting a quarterback that was in the running for the Heisman Trophy and the talk of the town or an unknown athlete out of a small college program, the public is cheering on what they know. And it is as unreliable as checking with your four-year-old on what insurance policy to bundle for your home and auto.
People wagering on games are a lot like the fans at the annual draft; clueless and enthusiastic.
Early in a season, the betting public will gravitate to the teams that did well the prior year. The Eagles will get more action than the Cowboys in next week’s season opener. The Kansas City Chiefs are getting more than 80% of the early action for their game against the Los Angeles Chargers.