Chip Kelly Draft Philosophy - Scheme, Fit, and Talent In That Order

Chip Kelly has shown us his draft philosophy through his movements of the last three years.  Chip Kelly and his personnel men starting with Ed Marynowitz employ a draft philosophy of position specifics for each position on the field.  Position specifics aren't new to the NFL as Bill Parcells and Nick Saban employ very similar position specifics for their teams and it's why they always fielded big teams. Chip goes a little further though and is interested in what kind of person he's going to bring into his locker room. The NFL allows 30 draft visits to your facility to "interview" draft prospects and per Beau Allen, Kelly is very interested in your off-field pursuits. College graduates as you've read (you do read the links I hope) are most likely to be successful in their chosen profession and why should it be different in football.  The interview at the Eagles' facility gives the Eagles coaches a viewpoint into what kind of person the prospect is and how hard the prospect will work if they are selected to be a member of the Eagles. Kelly mentioned that Nelson Agholor, who was drafted in the first round of 2015, had a growth mindset and not a fixed mindset and it's exactly the type of players he wants on the Eagles. 

Kelly as we've seen is all about bringing the right people on his team and I've discussed position specifics, college graduates, and growth mindsets but there is one last topic that brings the philosophy home is he involves the whole team of scouts and coaches in the pursuit of adding prospects to the team. This philosophy is not new as Pittsburgh has employed this system with Bill Cowher, Kevin Colbert and the Rooney's. It's a winning philosophy as the prospect when drafted will have by that time met the scouts, Czar (Kelly), position coaches, and executives. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this dive into Chip Kelly and his draft philosophy, hopefully there is more of an understanding of the process and less blind faith.

"Educated fans are the best fans and destroy blind faith fans!"