NFL Practice Squad Projections

With my league-wide 53-man roster projections complete, I'm going to turn my attention towards each team's practice squad. The practice squad, also known as the scout team, is a popular destination for late-round draft picks and undrafted rookie free-agents. It's also common to see highly athletic players with raw football skills be signed to the practice squad to develop their skills and potentially contribute in a season or two.

I find it important to note that teams are going to sign players to their respective practice squad who have been cut by other teams. However, because there will be hundreds of players released come late-August and all 32 teams looking to fill out their final roster and practice squads during that time, I choose to project the ten-man practice squads based on the players who are currently on each team's roster. For example, when I publish my piece on the Arizona Cardinals' potential practice squad roster, it will consist only of players who are currently on the team.

My process in deciding which players are likely destined for the practice squad is quite simple. I look at who was on each team's practice squad last season and the odds of those players making the leap to the 53-man roster this year, whether or not he's eligible for another year on the practice squad, and/or if he has enough upside to beat out his competition for a spot on either roster. Then I look at the late-round draft picks and undrafted rookie free-agent signings for each team -- What kind of numbers did they put up in college? Did they play in a tough conference/against elite competition? If they went to a small-college program, did they dominate their competition? What did the scouting reports say about these players? Who's currently listed ahead of them on the depth chart? What's the recent on-field buzz surrounding each team's rookies? Those are the kinds of questions that I answer with the help of websites such as Sports-Reference, Ourlads', NFL.com, and Bleacher Report. Thank you all for viewing my 53-Man Roster Projection series as well as my other posts!