OT what is an NFL BLESTO scout?

[swish7]

A friend's friend is the 'BLESTO' scout for the Steelers. For the life of me I cannot figure out how the job is different than a regular scout. Any thoughts on this? Just curious.

Steelers Scout Mike Butler Explains What BLESTO Does

I think fans know, or at least can surmise, the basic job of a pro or college scout. A pro scout studies the NFL, watching other games to create a rolodex of names for cutdowns, waiver claims, trades, and free agency. A college scout studies the college game, creating reports on upcoming...

steelersdepot.com

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

So basically, the BLESTO is working on the 2024 draft from March 2023 - February 2024 and then starts on the 2025 draft once everyone else fully shifts their attention to in-person evaluations for the 2024 draft.

 

[SUFaninNJ]

Um, he scouts all the best BLESTOS, duh!

 

[swish7]

So basically, the BLESTO is working on the 2024 draft from March 2023 - February 2024 and then starts on the 2025 draft once everyone else fully shifts their attention to in-person evaluations for the 2024 draft.

Thank you.

 

[Cusefan95]

So basically, the BLESTO is working on the 2024 draft from March 2023 - February 2024 and then starts on the 2025 draft once everyone else fully shifts their attention to in-person evaluations for the 2024 draft.

So basically their job is exactly what it said it was in the linked article, right?

 

[LeMoyneCuse]

So basically their job is exactly what it said it was in the linked article, right?

I was summarizing

After I posted, I did ask someone who would know better than I, and I want to amend my statement. He said BLESTO is the NFL's program, not an individual team. So it informs who is invited to the combine.

 

[Cusefan95]

I was summarizing

After I posted, I did ask someone who would know better than I, and I want to amend my statement. He said BLESTO is the NFL's program, not an individual team. So it informs who is invited to the combine.

Yeah BLETSO was an acronym for the original teams (Bears, Lions, Steelers Talent Organization), with more having joined since then.

I wonder what happens if a BLESTO scout sees a player who was totally off the NFL radar that he thinks could be a good late round pick - is he obligated to share that info through the BLESTO structure, or can he keep it within his own organization? It'd be really interesting to see a deep dive article into how this is organizationally structured.

 

[swish7]

I was summarizing

After I posted, I did ask someone who would know better than I, and I want to amend my statement. He said BLESTO is the NFL's program, not an individual team. So it informs who is invited to the combine.

Yeah, I couldn't follow what was said in the linked article, in terms of what was different about a BLESTO vs a regular scout. It wasn't laid out clearly.

Like, I know that a scout evaluates players.

It seems like a BLESTO (a term I had never heard before) is evaluating players too, but specifically the class before the current graduated class, and doing it on behalf of multiple teams.

Just more mental gymnastics than I was willing or capable of doing.

 

[Cusefan95]

Yeah, I couldn't follow what was said in the linked article, in terms of what was different about a BLESTO vs a regular scout. It wasn't laid out clearly.

Like, I know that a scout evaluates players.

It seems like a BLESTO (a term I had never heard before) is evaluating players too, but specifically the class before the current graduated class, and doing it on behalf of multiple teams.

Just more mental gymnastics than I was willing or capable of doing.

I agree, the article isn't exactly clear on the specifics of what a BLESTO scout does - its just enough to have a very superficial understanding of the role but dozens of questions about the specifics.