National Football League

The five tasks every team must complete in final days before 2023 NFL Draft

Updated Apr. 21, 2023 5:33 p.m. ET

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than a week away, and scouts and coaches are still burning the midnight oil to prepare for a three-day event that could alter the fortunes of their franchises.

While we are busy putting the finishing touches on our final mock drafts, NFL executives undergo an extensive "checks and balances" process that enables them to make sound decisions when their teams are on the clock.

As a former NFL player and scout, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at what your favorite teams will be doing over the next several days.

Here are the five tasks every team is working to complete ahead of the first round Thursday night:

1. Complete the medical and background information

With less than a week remaining before the draft, NFL teams have all the information to complete each prospect’s profile. The medical team has evaluated each player and submitted a series of grades that help determine whether a team will draft the prospect or if it will remove him from the draft board.

While some teams might tweak a prospect’s grade or round value to match the "risk-reward" associated with any previous injuries or medical concerns, other teams will completely remove high-risk players from the board to eliminate the temptation to draft a talented but injury-prone prospect.

In addition to the medical staff providing detailed reports, each team’s security staff will give the personnel staff a comprehensive background report detailing any legal transgressions and additional information on any character concerns. The reports have been thoroughly researched and cross-referenced with the background information that NFL Security provides on each prospect.

The decision-makers will also ask the college scouts responsible for covering a prospect’s area for any information they can provide from conversations with their sources on each campus.

The discussions with the scouting staff and the security team will help the general manager determine whether a prospect is a culture fit based on the owner’s established standards and preferences, particularly regarding legal issues and misconduct.

2. Coaches and scouts tweak the final player rankings

Despite spending months reviewing film, conducting workouts and meeting with prospects, the coaches and scouts continue to engage in extensive discussions to determine which prospects are ideal fits and how they would be utilized and developed.

The conversations can sometimes become contentious, with scouts and coaches advocating for their favorite prospects on the board. Whether providing the personnel staff with new information or pointing out a prospect’s top games, the final pre-draft meetings allow evaluators to make a case for their favorite prospects.

In addition to participating in debates, scouts and coaches will discuss developmental plans for the top prospects to provide evaluators with a glimpse at how the player could develop over time. Scouts could offer coaches advice on the best teaching methods that have worked with the player in the past, while providing some context to any issues that have popped up during the pre-draft process.

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3. The scouting staff conducts mock drafts to prepare for draft-day scenarios

Every NFL team in the league will run through a series of mock drafts to prepare for the draft-day chaos that is on the horizon.

Despite the disdain executives and scouts have for the "entertainment" mock drafts that dominate NFL media this time of year, the process of conducting a war room draft enables decision-makers to get a feel for how the draft could play out and which players could be available when the team is on the clock.

In addition, the draft-day practice enables teams to conduct a dress rehearsal with the scouts and personnel staff running through their assignments to avoid making an egregious error when the draft is live. With trade scenarios also included in the exercise, the repetitions enable decision-makers to map out a plan before the draft that will help them execute their tactics and strategies without succumbing to the moment's pressure.

4. Call around the league to set up possible trade scenarios

Despite the impromptu feel of draft-day trades, the foundation for most maneuvers have been established ahead of the draft. General managers will call their colleagues to gauge interest in moving up or down in a given round to see if potential trade possibilities deserve serious consideration.

Armed with that information, the personnel team will map out a plan that enables it to move up or down based on which prospects and what draft assets are available on draft day.

Although the scenarios might never come to fruition, preparing for every scenario is critical to executing the plan that has been in the works since the beginning of the offseason.

5. Contact every player on the draft board to confirm draft-day contact information

Scouts will spend the final days before the draft reaching out to every prospect on their draft board. The phone calls are part of a check-in process that enables the team to know that the prospect is reachable through the contact information he provided at the NFL Combine or his pro day.

In addition, scouts will double-check the prospect’s agent information and his draft day whereabouts to ensure the team can reach the prospect if it decides to draft him, or sign him as a free agent after the event.

Although the tedious process is time-consuming, fact-checking this essential information is the only way teams can confidently pick up the phone to make the call that makes for a heartwarming highlight on draft night.

Bucky Brooks is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He regularly appears on "Speak For Yourself" and also breaks down the game for NFL Network and as a cohost of the "Moving the Sticks" podcast. Follow him on Twitter @BuckyBrooks.

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