WES BUNTING, NATIONAL FOOTBALL POST

JBS: First, we want to thank you for taking time to chat with us.

Wes: No problem.

JBS: Let’s start in the beginning.  When did you first start covering the draft?

Wes: On my own 2002 is when I first started.  I just had a passion for it and I fell in love with it.  I loved how players could be big impact guys.  I am a big Raiders fan and when they drafted Napoleon Harris and Phillip Buchanon and they made an impact in the Super Bowl.  In 2005 and 2006 I would write for any website that would let me.  I wrote for TFYDraft.com, draftinsiders.com, and others.  When National Football Post came out I sent my resume to Michael Lombardi and he liked me and hired me full time in August of 2009.  I had been interning full time about a year and a half with them.

JBS: What is your most memorable moment covering the draft?

Wes: Probably going to the Senior Bowl last year for the first time.  I got to meet players up close and I had never done that before.  It stuck out seeing Bill Parcells walk by and being so close.  It was almost like an “I made it” moment.

JBS: Can you talk about how your season goes such as when you start on each draft class and how you approach scouting?

Wes: I don’t do kickers and punters.  I feel like it is all about once you get them in to camp and you could bring in 10 of them and just pick the best.  I like to start out with junior tape the summer before.  I am a one man team so it is tough.  I try to watch two games of every guy.  I hear some guys say they watched every throw of a guy and to me it is more about quality than quantity.  I get the list of draft eligible guys and start by school.  It takes about three hours on each side of the ball and I will spend a day on that team.  During the year I will cross check and if a guy made significant differences I will make the change to my reports.  If they are the same I just make tweaks.  I look at potential because it has to play a huge role such as his ceiling and is he maxed out.  You aren’t going to take a 6’6 290 pound guy with no production but he has to stand out even though he is raw in areas.  The guy who is raw is more intriguing than the guy who has production and is maxed out.  Players that are hard working and have upside are the ones you want to look at.  Those are the ones I like to look at.

JBS: Of all the players you have scouted who is the one who stands out the most and why?

Wes: I would go with either Sean Taylor or Larry Fitzgerald.  They had Robert Gallery too.  Just watching Fitzgerald you could tell he was not the fastest but his body control and coordination to locate the football and make plays down the field you could tell he was something special.  That ability to make plays down the field really stood out to me.  Then Sean Taylor the guy was put together like a linebacker and he could run like a corner back.  Sure he took chances early but you could tell he would become one of the elite players in the NFL one day.  He could play in the box and in center field as well.  He had a rare skill set for the position.

JBS: If you were the Rams who would you select #1 overall this year and why?

Wes: Oh Sam Bradford.  Granted he is not the best prospect in this year’s draft but neither was Matt Ryan or Matthew Stafford.  You can build around him. Say you take Suh you still need a quarterback and still won’t win more than five games.  You need a guy that can take you to the Super Bowl.  I think he is going to bounce back from the shoulder injury and will get stronger.  He is the guy I will take.

JBS: Who do you think is a real sleeper to become an instant impact as a rookie in the NFL this year?

Wes: The one guy I love on tape but I am scared to death of on character issues is Mike Williams.  I think he is one of the top guys in the draft.  He can go get the ball and he was polishing himself as a route runner.  Then he quit the team after a brilliant first half of the year.  As a character guy he grades out as low as you can but all the talent in the world.  We saw with Brandon Marshall that he cleaned up himself but fell in the draft.  If this guy gets it together he could be one of the top receivers in the NFL.

JBS: What is the most overrated drill or skill on the field that scouts look at for the next level and why?

Wes: The thing that drives me the most nuts is the release on a quarterback.  Sure you can have the Tim Tebow and Byron Leftwich ones the elongated ones but those who critique people like Rivers just didn’t have anything else to write about.  If the ball gets there on time it does not matter how it comes out.  Unless it is drastically detrimental to his performance I would say the release of the quarterback.  If he is on time he is on time.

JBS: Who is your top rated small schooler this year?

Wes: The Massachusetts kid Ducasse.  I like him.  I think he can play right tackle in the NFL and be a solid player.  If I am taking him I want him to be one of the elite guards in the NFL.  I am putting him inside.  He has the power and he is raw but he can become one of the better guards with his power, fluidity, and getting his long arms on defenders and running them out of the picture.

JBS: Who is your top sleeper among the small school players?

Wes: Probably LaMarcus Coker.  I like him.  I think he was ahead of Arian Foster when he was at Tennessee.  He gets from 0 to 60 well.  Another guy you have to worry about with character concerns.  I think he can make a roster and make big plays in the NFL as a third down type running back.

JBS: Are you going to the combine? What is the most important thing that teams get from the combine?

Wes: Yes I am going.  I think the most important thing is the feel that teams get from players in the interview process.  They know guys aren’t going to run their best possible times most of the time but looking them in the eye and asking them the tough questions.  If they don’t impress they can come off the board right away.

JBS: Have you started looking at the draft next year and if so who are some of the top players on your board?

Wes: I always do the top rated juniors before they declare or not.  I have Jake Locker evaluated based on tape and I had him as the top rated junior.  I will have him number one next year.  I have a decent feel on about 10-15 juniors that I thought would come back.  The first week of June I will start getting tape and go day by day and start chopping away.

JBS: How do you evaluate the small schools?

Wes: I do the big schools first and then locate players that intrigue me.  If you are not being absolutely productive at the small schools you aren’t going to be productive in the NFL.  Some guys are more productive as a junior than senior because people might stay away from them so there has to be elite production in the past.  Then I look at skill set and see how he runs, his size, and how he matches up in the past.  So like Jared Veldheer at Hillsdale 6’8, 315 pounds, physically going to run well, big weight room numbers, productive at the small school level so you see him and see a guy who is physically developed.  If they have the skill set and production I will look at the tape and see if they are worthy.

JBS: Are there any small schoolers on your radar for next year?

Wes: Not right now because I am still punching my way this year.  I feel like since the ones getting drafted this year I owe this class the time.

NON-FOOTBALL SIX-PACK

JBS: What is your favorite food?

Wes: Something Italian.  Veale Parmesan or a nice cheeseburger.

JBS: What is your favorite color?

Wes: Silver and Black.  It is the two.  Raider colors man.

JBS: What is your favorite movie?

Wes: I love Russell Crowe so will go with Cinderella Man, Gladiator, or Beautiful Mind.

JBS: What are your hobbies?

Wes: I like to fish.  I like hanging out with my fiancé’ doing nothing.  That is about it.  Those are my two favorite things.

JBS: Who had the biggest impact on your life?

Wes: I would say my parents.  My mom and dad.  They have always put everything they have done to the side to support me no matter what.  They have put their personal things aside to see me be successful.

JBS: What is the best advice you were ever given?

Wes: It was made famous by the “rock” but organically said by Ed Orgeron.  It applies to anything in life.  “Know your role and shut your mouth”.

JBS: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us and we hope to talk to you again soon!

Wes: Thank you!