We are with Sheldon White, very happy to be joined by this cheother's director of pro scouting. And before we launch into things I think for fans benefit, can you tell us what is the director of pro scouting? How does it differentiate between director of amateur scouting?
For example, Okay, there's a there's a pro, a pro director, and a college director. The college director will be focused primarily on the college guys that are coming into the NFL draft. The Pro director's primary responsibility is all of the players in the National Football League. So we have to have a great feel for everyone that plays in the NFL as well as everyone that wants to play
in the National Football League. So that includes the additional leagues like the Canadian leagues and the UFLS and some of those other leagues. We have to be on top of every player that wants to play in the National Football League as well as knowing the team the players that are in the NFL at the time.
Oh, is that all? So that sounds like a lot.
To spend a lot of time in the office.
Yeah, there is. So you have a free agent crop coming up, and I'm sure you're evaluating players, but have to evaluate players that fit into the Steelers system. Correct, So how do you evaluate a class of free agents when you're knowing, okay, people are reporting, hey, this is a great class for wide receivers or whatever, but maybe a player isn't a particular fit for the organization.
Before we even start that, we have to know our own football team. So like there's a complete evaluation and process of evaluating our entire football team. First, we have to know our players first before we go into what is available in free agency. Omar is big with saying who are Pittsburgh Steelers out of this group?
And then part of knowing your own rosters probably knowing which players are on the rise. The students have always done a great job of having somebody sort of waiting in the wings at a certain position that maybe fans haven't seen on the field, but the staff and the evaluators of those players know is ready to take on a larger role.
That is correct. And part of that process primarily is we will have a presence at practice, so you will see our staff around the pro staff, and we will be evaluating our players every day. After every game. We have watched every film of every game of every player that's played preseason, regular season, we've watched them, and then we grate them and evaluate them and meet on them to make sure that we know exactly who our players are before we head to that next process.
I think it's fascinating to watch and Stieler's in the last couple of years have been aggressive out in free agency. Are you looking for a combination of bigger moves like that and knowing that the team can be aggressive and has some cap space, but also maybe strengthening a position sort of maybe towards the bottom of the roster, a better depth player at a certain position, all of the.
Above, but primarily though, we're trying to find guys that fit within our structure of our salary cap on top of guys that fit within our locker room. So Deshaun Elliott was a great example of that. I mean, he was a great value for what we got him for and how he performed for us last year was phenomenal.
Yes, yes he was. He was a terrific player to watch. So at the what are you and your staff and looking to accomplish, because there's the college staff obviously evaluating the players for the draft, what are you looking to get done here? What's important for you and your staff to accomplish in Indianapolis.
For me, it's sitting in the interviews at night and listening to the players and learning the players. We have to start evalue our evaluation process right now because the majority of the guys that are here will be in the National Football League in some capacity, and we have to start that as soon as we can. College guys
are out on the road doing their thing. They have a good feel for We sit down with them and catch up, play some catch up, go to senior bow and do those things, and try to just make sure that by the time we get down here we have
a feel for who the players are. I'll personally sit in those interviews with our formal interviews to sit with our players and get to know them a little bit more and just start the process of learning who's gonna be playing because eventually they'll be pro guys, and when they're pro guys, we have to know them inside it out.
Yeah, I think that's important for fans to understand that when a guy hits free agency, you're not scrambling around here, Hey who's this guy? Right? Have you got to a dossier on these players that you can fall back on while you continue the present evaluation process as well.
That is correct, and and we'll start that process down here. By the time they get to the National Football League, we will evaluate our players like I mentioned, in the preseason, looking at them and practicing in the games, and then we'll send we'll we'll have guys out at preseason games to start the evaluation process there as well, and then once the season starts. We're evaluating these players every year.
My scouts will have a team every you know, every year, and you're evaluating every player that's on the football team. And then by the time they get to free agency, you know him really well. And if you don't know him really well, someone on my staff does because I saw him year one, two, three, l he's a free agent. But it's not just like, oh my god, who's who's available. These guys have been broke down and vetted to the best that we can do, depending on a number of staff.
And it has to be heartening to be able to find things that are gonna help the football team, whether it is at Patrick Queen and Isaac Ciamala, Deshaun Elliott, to help the team and move forward.
No doubt, those players have been great for us. They were great signings. You had to get to know them first as well, make sure they fit. Are they Pittsburgh Steelers? As Omar were always acts, is that guy Pittsburgh Steeler? If nothing, keep it moving, because whether you're the strengths or weaknesses in our classes or why these free agent classes, it's a matter where they can fit with us, and they're gonna help us win and fit in our locker room.
Yeah, Sheldon, thanks very much of the time. Really appreciate it. Yes, thank you.