Football junkies we may be, but there are limits. Rookie minicamp is one of those limits. As anxious and eager it might be to get first reports on the Pittsburgh Steelers rookie class, trying to evaluate talent at minicamp is a dangerous game to play. It’s basic installs of the offense and defense, no one is in pads, and it’s a bunch of players just trying to survive their first NFL weekend.
So how can a player stand out? I put that into three buckets. They’re not aspects easily seen by those who are there (and we aren’t, to be clear) but this weekend’s rookie minicamp is a good chance to talk about its value and how you “win” the weekend, especially for tryout players hoping to catch a contract.
1. Be Highly Conditioned
The most important rule. “Football shape” might be harder to achieve considering there’s been no practices or games for months. But even in a relative sense, don’t be the guy who looks like he hasn’t played football since, at the latest, January. If you’re not in shape, if you’re not conditioned and huffing air to finish practice, it’s a bad first impression to make. The team isn’t even in the middle of training camp when it’s at its hottest and most humid that really tests the conditioning of all players, even seasoned vets. It’s something coaches notice almost immediately, and something Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald quickly pointed out in his rookie first round pick Byron Murphy II.
The better shape you’re in, the more reps you can take, the more chances you have to impress the coaching staff. This isn’t college anymore with Saturday night ragers. This is professional football and your body better be ready to compete against the 0.1 percent of football players in the world.
2. Make One Mistake – Not Two
Be coachable. That’s the point. You’re new and/or a rookie. Everyone makes mistakes. Just don’t make the same one twice. Take to coaching during a drill and between practices. If you can quickly adjust your technique or avoid the same problem after just being told about it, you’re someone the coaches can teach.
Some talented players have been cut because they struggled with the mental aspect. Linebacker Matthew Thomas, so athletic the team tried him as a gunner on punt team, once had to repeat a drill several times because he kept screwing it up. He didn’t make it in the league.
3. Make A Play
Though the premise of this evaluation and “tape” isn’t the most critical aspect of the weekend, it sure doesn’t hurt to have a splash moment. A memorable rep that flashes what you can do. A speedy wide receiver burning a corner or making a spectacular catch. WR Marcus Tucker, invited on a tryout basis, once told me about making a great downfield catch and believing that play “caught his contract,” signed by the team to the 90-man roster. A linebacker who shows sideline-to-sideline range, a lineman who shows a good rep in pass protection (it’s hard to evaluate run game without pads), a kicker or punter who has an A-plus rep.
Plant that seed in the coaches’ mind about what you’re capable of doing in your best moments, and it might separate you from the rest of the group.
