McGinn actually goes off what the scouts he has access to say (and his network of scouts probably extends further than any media folks). Bob doesn't do the evaluations himself. Most of the "scouts" you speak of aren't scouts that have an NFL job, and there's a lot of group think.
I think we were having this same converation last year regarding Damarious Randall.
"There's a lot of interest in the draft. It's great. But quite frankly, most of the people that are commenting on it don't know anything about what they are talking about."--Ted Thompson
What Harvey said.
I am not a fan of McGinn's own opinion pieces, but I have always respected what he does concerning the draft. It seems that over the years he as managed to gather enough dirt or something on actual team scouts that they are willing to give him rather detailed opinions, and he filters through their conflicting remarks to achieve a combined analysis that has earned him great respect in the media. ESPN and other places refer to his draft pieces quite regularly, and he has won many awards for having the most accurate first round predictions.
As much as I dislike the bulk of McGinn's work, he really shines for a couple weeks before the draft, when he is not using his own analysis but the combined works of an apparently large and quite competent network of individuals who scout the college players for a living.
...The Packers fielded calls from teams looking to acquire their choice. "We didn't ever get into a position where we wanted to pursue that," said Thompson.
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck
Sometimes you can see the work he does to balance opinions when you see the disconnect between the headline/lede paragraph and the ranking. One of the position rankings he put out this year was three paragraphs of doubt about a guy and then in the rankings he was listed first.
You have to remember even a 1,500 word article is leaving a lot out.
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.