INDIANAPOLIS – Matt Russell’s first scouting assignment from the New England Patriots nearly two decades ago was to evaluate players at Colorado State, Montana, Montana State, Eastern Washington and Washington via a driving trip.

For someone who grew up in Texas devouring Dave Campbell’s annual football magazine and spent spare time during his CU playing career reading up on future Buffaloes prospects, it had come to this: Backing out of his driveway and waving goodbye to his wife, Sonja, not sure where his career would go.

“I have this image of my wife standing there in the driveway and I don’t think either of us knew what we were getting into,” Russell said with a laugh during an interview inside his second-floor office at the Broncos’ facility.

What Matt and Sonja were getting into was the life of a pro football scout — long trips and short weekends at home, lousy fast food and terrific experiences. It all led to Russell’s current post as the Broncos’ director of player personnel. He serves as the chief sounding board for general manager John Elway.

Russell spent four years with New England and three with Philadelphia before joining the Broncos in 2009 with then-coach Josh McDaniels as director of college scouting. Elway promoted Russell to his current role in 2012.

Before the Broncos’ traveling party of nearly 50 traveled to Indianapolis for the NFL Combine, down from the usual 70-75 because the team’s assistant coaches did not attend, Russell popped the figurative hood to discuss the mechanics of how the front office prepares for free agency and the draft.

And what an important offseason this is for the Broncos. After failing to make the playoffs the past four seasons, including three consecutive losing years, the franchise believes it has the right quarterback (Drew Lock), momentum from the last two draft classes, upward of $75 million in salary cap space and five draft picks in this year’s first three rounds.

“There’s a lot of optimism in the building,” Russell said. “We feel really good about the roster. We have some holes to fill and we’ll be aggressive in trying to fill those. (Elway’s) made that point clear to all of us: We have a lot of resources and a lot of draft picks and the information we’re providing is critical.

“We’ve all been challenged by John and everybody is ready to step up and fill the remaining holes.”

Making a list, part 1

A majority of NFL teams are connected with Blesto and National Scouting, which allows them to share baseline information regarding prospects. The Broncos, though, fly solo, feeling their system fits them well and allows their data to remain proprietary. The team’s area scouts started generating their 2020 draft list last spring.

“By June, we have a good idea of our list entering the fall,” Russell said.

The Broncos’ approach is to write an evaluation on every senior starter in college football, sometimes as many as 2,000 players. Some of the reports are basic because the player isn’t deemed draft-worthy. In the fall, the Broncos begin evaluating and writing reports on underclassmen who they expect to enter the draft.

During the 2019 college season, Elway and Russell attended only one game (Penn State at Ohio State), meaning they lean heavily on their scouting staff to fan the country.

“We hit that game on the way to Buffalo (for the Broncos’ game) and there were a lot of guys on the field that we liked,” Russell said. “It’s beneficial to a degree and it depends on the position. When we went to the Missouri game against Arkansas last year with (Lock), there are certain positions you want to see them interact on the sidelines, you want to see them talk to their coaches — all of those interactions.”

Director of college scouting Brian Stark and college scouting coordinator Dave Bratten are based in Denver and organize the area scouts: Eugene Armstrong (Southwest/lives in Houston), Scott DiStefano and Bryan Chesin (Midwest/Chicago), Frantzy Jourdain (Southeast/North Carolina), Darren Mougey (West/Arizona) and Nick Schiralli (East/Florida). Also based in Denver are college/pro scouts Rob Paton and Deon Randall and scouting assistant Eddie Simpkins.

The Broncos believe they have built momentum from the 2018-19 drafts, when the focus shifted to former captains and players with more experience. Thirteen of the 16 picks from those two drafts remain under contract and as many as six could be 2020 starters, led by Lock.

“We have really made a concerted effort to get guys who are good citizens, captains, coachable, driven, want to win and are competitive and I think we’ve done that,” Russell said. “In these last two drafts, we have really challenged our scouts to collect as much information as you can and diving into it and learning the players. We tell our scouts, ‘Be an expert in your area.’ They’ve done a fabulous job of presenting information so we know who to go after and who to stay away from.”

Interviews key component

The interview portion of a prospect’s week in Indianapolis generates the second-most attention after the on-field workout. During their media sessions, players are asked if they have met with Team A and if it was informal (quick hello at a local hotel) or formal (18 minutes).

Teams used to receive 60 slots for 15-minute interviews in previous years, but it was changed to 45 slots for 18-minute interviews this year.

The Broncos intend to use all 45 of their slots. Before the combine, teams submit a list of players they would like to visit with and officials send back a meeting schedule. One day this past week the Broncos wrapped up a set of interviews at 2:40 p.m., and then returned to the stadium for a single interview session at 10 p.m.

In the room this year were Elway, Russell, Bratten, coach Vic Fangio, director of team administration Mark Thewes and the area scout who first evaluated the prospect.

“We look at areas of need, guys we’re intrigued by, maybe a junior we don’t have as much information on that we like and we generate the list,” Russell said.

The interview is relatively boiler-plate, but far from the only important part of the week.

Character issues: “We’re looking at the degree of the mistake, his track record, if they were repeat offenders, their level of recidivism, those types of things,” Russell said. “There are certain things where we realize, ‘He was 19 years old and made a mistake.’ But if we figure out, ‘There have been problems over the course of his career,’ that’s somebody we’re going to stay away from.”

Medical concerns: “I would say we probably have more character flags than major injury flags,” Russell said. “(Director of sports medicine Steve Antonopulos) does a great job of getting the guys looked at and it provides us with a book and we have a medical grading system and (we know) the guys who are a higher level of risk.”

Wonderlic: Each player takes a 50-question test (12-minute time limit). “I’ve seen great, instinctual football players with low test scores,” said Russell, who added he scored a 28 back in the day. “I’ve seen book-smart guys who, when the ball is snapped, have a hard time playing from an instinctual standpoint.”

Making a list, part 2

Fangio’s office is on the other side of the building at Dove Valley, but he is a frequent visitor to Russell’s area. On a recent morning, he popped his head in to briefly talk about the previous night’s USC-Colorado basketball game he attended with running back Phillip Lindsay.

“I’ve really done (the pop-in) everywhere I’ve been and Matt’s been really receptive to it and I do the same thing with John,” Fangio said. “If I have something on my mind or a question, I’m not afraid to run it by him or I may see a guy (on tape) and I’ll go in and talk to him about.”

Multi-tasking is critical for a personnel executive. Russell has three computer monitors set up on his L-shaped desk. The first shows research information like statistics and articles about a player. The second allows for Russell to pull up the Broncos’ scouting “system.” And the third is for watching game clips, which also transmits to a theatre-type screen on the front wall.

As the combine preparations continue, the Broncos are also evaluating free agents. During a reporter’s visit, Russell was watching video of a recently-released veteran player.

“Our video guys are awesome,” said Russell, referring to the Broncos’ five-person staff led by Steve Boxer. “When I started in this business, I would sit at a TV with two Beta machines and we had rooms filled with tapes, like a library. You would make ‘hit’ tapes on players but you had to sit there putting it together. Now, I can hit a button for a guy’s sacks or a corner’s targets.”

By the end of the regular season, Broncos director of pro personnel A.J. Durso, with pro scouts Jordon Dizon and Patrick Walsh, have graded the entire league.

“They’re driving the free-agent situation,” Russell said. “I’m going in between pro and college and (Elway) spends a lot of time during the fall watching the college guys and he’ll transition, as will I, after the Senior Bowl and really dive into the free agents.

“A.J. does a terrific job getting everything set up for us so when we make that transition, he and the pro department have set up the board so we have a good idea of who’s available and they sort through injured guys, guys who they feel are too old and then into areas of need and guys we’re interested in.”

The Broncos, the same as every NFL team, evaluate the draft prospects as if they will encounter multiple free-agent scenarios. Responsible for the Broncos’ day-to-day efforts, Russell’s task is making sure Elway and Fangio have all of the important information on-hand.

“Matt gets better every year and I try to give him more responsibility every year,” Elway told The Post. “He does a great job with the scouts. He’s been a big help to me.”