Each year, the NFL holds a draft of eligible college players for teams to select player to be on their team. The NFL has held this draft for decades, but recently NFL have used more data to make sure they get the best players from college. Back in the early days, drafting college players was solely the eye test (looking at the player playing in the game and trusting your gut on a player). This produced an almost blind guess of players and how the they will perform. When you compare the 1950 NFL draft to the 2010 NFL draft there is a big difference in the outcomes for the the first 32 players taken in each draft.
If you look at the 1950 draft, only 9 of the first 32 players selected played 5 years as a starter on their teams and only 16 made it to at least one pro bowl (the all-star Game of Football). In 2010, 20 of the 32 draftees played 5 years as the starter at their position and 17 made at least one Pro Bowl. This shows how the NFL has grown in scouting players.
In 1982, the NFL instituted a centralized location for the draft eligible players to be given objectives tests to help the NFL teams evaluate players. These test are as simple as height, weight, speed and even intelligence. This all goes into how front offices think about a player. All of these tests make it an easier pick for teams on who could be there next star player of their team.
Relates Stories
https://operations.nfl.com/journey-to-the-nfl/the-nfl-draft/the-history-of-the-draft/
https://www.profootballhof.com/football-history/nfl-draft-history/
https://www.nfl.com/news/sidelines/the-history-of-scouting
https://operations.nfl.com/journey-to-the-nfl/the-next-generation-of-nfl-stars/nfl-scouting-combine/
