Category Archives: ITL

2021 ITL Seminar: Three Reasons You Should Join Us

19 Friday Feb 2021

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The 12th annual ITL Seminar will be held Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. ET. This year, as you know, there’s no NFL Combine, so we’re going online. I hope you can join us! Here are three reasons you should tune in.

This is your chance to hear from football business leaders: There was a time when we brought in people from around the industry to talk about the football business. Among our list of previous speakers includes former Bears GM Phil Emery and former Browns GM Ray Farmer; we’ve also had panels with ex-scouts; analytics seminars; and we were even honored to host the contract advisor conference led by Peter Schaffer of Authentic Athletix in 2019. This year, I’ll give closing remarks based on pay and hiring practices based on what I’m seeing this year. So many people want to get into scouting; my goal is to give them tips and a look at where the industry is headed.

If you want to work in the business, you need to know what’s going on: We’ve had people like Saints AGM Jeff Ireland, Colts GM Chris Ballard and 49ers GM John Lynch on hand to accept awards the last three years, along with Bears scout Jeff Shiver and Arizona State Director of Athletics Ray Anderson, just to name a few. People are always asking me how they can separate themselves from the pack when they are job-seeking. Well, one way is to celebrate with the people who are being honored. If you attended our seminars the last three years — or really, the last 11 years — you had multiple opportunities to meet and congratulate the leaders in the game. Sending an executive a congratulatory text, email or tweet when their team wins a game is easy. Lauding him when he wins an industry award provides far more resonance.

We’ll have you out in an hour: Normally, when we’re in person, the goal is to keep everyone no more than an hour and a half. Of course, during a normal year, we also offer an open bar and plenty of chances to network, so people are more eager to hang around. With none of those attractions this year, we’re going to make it short and sweet. The idea is to bring you an hour of education and information, then let you get back to your life. 

We’ll be talking more about our program, and about the industry in general, in today’s Friday Wrap, that comes out this evening. You can register for it here.

I hope you can join us next week. As with everything since the virus changed our lives, this year’s seminar will be a little different. Still, I”m hoping we can preserve the spirit of things and honor some of the unsung heroes of the industry. See you Wednesday.

ITL College Week: Highlights from Our Three Speakers

24 Friday Jul 2020

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This summer has been a weird one, for sure, but at Inside the League, we’ve tried to turn lemons into lemonade. One way we’ve done that is by holding weekly Zoom sessions with different segments of the football world.

In June, we held the ITL GM Academy and hosted several scouts and executives with four ex-GMs giving presentations. Earlier this month, we held ITL Agent Week, and had four other league authorities serving up gold to dozens of NFLPA contract advisors. Finally, this week, we held ITL College Week.

Three speakers held court on Zoom for 90 minutes each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and the returns were very positive. “I just wanted to say that was one of the most unique and impactful experiences I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of,” wrote one participant in an unsolicited email. “I wanted to make a point to thank you for the opportunity to take in this knowledge. It means more than you know.”

Here are a few quotes from our speakers this week that I thought were particularly interesting.

Former Bucs GM Mark Dominik on getting lucky: “So anyway, (Tampa Bay) wound up hiring our (fourth) choice as head coach. We thought we were gonna get Bill Parcells, then he turned us down, and then we thought we’d get Steve Spurrier and that didn’t work out, and then Jimmy Johnson, so we got stuck with Tony Dungy. He’s everything you can imagine. He’s exactly who you would want him to be. I probably haven’t been in touch with him for four months, but if I texted him, he would text me right back tonight. That’s what kind of guy he is.”

Former Titans Director of College Scouting Blake Beddingfield on evaluating pass rushers: “Does he have a pass rush plan? Is he doing the same thing over and over? (Former Titans DE) Kyle Vanden Bosch was going 100 mph every play. He was the most intense player I knew, but he always set up his sacks. He was setting up the tackle the whole game to work his favorite (move), a chop on the outside, and he did that for a number of years and to make the critical play in the red zone. He was only 8-9 sacks per year, but they were big sacks.”

Former Rams GM Billy Devaney on passion: “It’s a pet peeve of mine, and especially with ex-players, they’ll say, ‘this coaching stuff is getting old,’ and the ex-player would say, ‘I don’t know what I want to do. I know I don’t want to coach. Maybe I’ll get into scouting.’ I’d think, you screwed yourself. ‘Maybe I’ll just do scouting.’ That would always burn my ass. I’m extremely partial to guys that want to make this a career. In an interview, I’ll ask, ‘what do you see yourself doing 10 years from now? Five years from now?’ And if they say, ‘maybe analytics, maybe coaching,’ I’m not gonna hire that guy. I’m gonna hire the guys that says, ‘I’m gonna be the best scout, then maybe work in the office as the director, then eventually be the GM.’ I want someone who wants to make this a career.”

There’s plenty more to talk about. Join us this evening for our Friday Wrap when we discuss this week, as well as what we have planned for the coming weeks. You can register for it here.

2020 ITL Agent Week: Highlights from Our Speakers

10 Friday Jul 2020

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As you may know, this week was ITL Agent Week, and we had four speakers talk to 30-plus agents on the nuances of how to build a scouting network, how to look at players, how to survive in the business without a bottomless bank account and plenty more. It wasn’t a good week — it was a great week. Here’s a tiny taste of what our participants heard this week.

Priority Sports’ Mike McCartney on why he became an agent: “In 1998, I got hired by the Eagles as the director of pro personnel, and I was basically Tom Modrak’s right-hand man. We went from 3-13 to two games from the Super Bowl while I was there. Anyway, we got beat by the Giants in 2001, and as I drove across New Jersey after that game, I took inventory of my life. I would never recommend taking inventory of your life after a tough loss, and it hit me like a ton of bricks that in 20 years I’d be asking who raised my boys. I prayed long and hard after that, and I had one of 32 jobs director jobs in world, and I was on target to be GM, but wanted to find balance in my life and be there for my children. So I decided to be an agent. I knew every agent, and I knew who the guys were that worked for their players and those who wouldn’t. I pursued Priority Sports. I never wanted to compromise my integrity, and I wanted someone with an excellent reputation, and someone with resources. It takes a lot (of money) to get guys ready for the draft. Anyway, I pursued Priority, and now I’m going into my 20th year, and my 29th in the NFL. I wouldn’t trade my experience. I mean, I’ve been able to raise my kids.”

Former Bears GM Jerry Angelo on finding sleepers hiding in plain sight: “There are a lot of prospects at those big schools that fall through the cracks because the scout is spending his time on high-profile players. When at Ohio State, that’s 15-16 players, and scouts are doing juniors and seniors, and it’s impossible to do it A-Z. I used to use this example with my scouts. When Ricky Williams was at Texas, and he won the Heisman, they had another running back who fell into undrafted free agency, Priest Holmes. Texas was a really good team then, but there had to be a time when they rested Ricky, and Priest must have had game tape, but when he was out of the game, the scouts quit looking at running backs. Priest Holmes was an outstanding back, and I told my scouts, at some point, there was film. You’re going to find players at those big schools. That’s’ where our sleepers come from today.”

Former Titans scout Blake Beddingfield on the changing parameters for quarterbacks: “At quarterback, the size traits are going away. You have Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, obviously Drew Brees are around 6-feet tall, so height is not as important as it used to be. Decision-making and accuracy are, and we’re talking about accuracy, not just completion percentage. Anything from plus-1 under, anything in the flats, they take that out and readjust their completion percentages, because they should be able to make those passes. It’s the other passes that are important, so when you’re looking at a player who throws a lot in the horizontal game, you take those stats away and look at plus-2 and better. He has to be smart, and has to be able to process all the info when the ball is snapped. These are important traits. Arm strength is important, but not the sole indicator of a QB. Accuracy and decision-making are the keys.”

HOF Player Representatives’ Greg Linton on what he told players during his early days when he still had a 9-to-5 job: “You have to know the player. I tell them, ‘you’re a grown-ass man. Do you need your hand held 24 hours a day? My job is to help you. I don’t need to hold your hand 24 hours per day. When you get to the team, you’re going to have a lot of free time, and no one is going to hold your hand. I’m gonna teach you to be a grown man.”

If you’re in the agent business, and you have any questions about how to succeed, I hope you’ll join us next year. It was a special week. We’ll discuss it more in today’s Friday Wrap. You can register for it here.

2020 ITL GM Academy: Highlights of Our First ‘School’ for Future NFL Execs

19 Friday Jun 2020

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Last night, we wrapped up our first-ever ITL GM Academy, and it was a smashing success. For one night each, we had a former NFL GM talk to several young risers in the NFL scouting industry, most of them directors of college scouting, on how to get and excel in the job of NFL general manager.

I can’t say enough about how open and transparent each of our GMs — Tim Ruskell (Seahawks) on Monday, Jerry Angelo (Bears) on Tuesday, Doug Whaley (Bills) Wednesday and Billy Devaney (Rams) on Thursday — was this week. They told stories that I wish I could tell here. “The week exceeded all expectations!,”  said one of the participants.

Here are a few nuggets from this week’s speakers.

On owners (former Rams GM Billy Devaney): “You get the job, you do need to develop a relationship with the owner. He’s gonna want access to you, but it’s gotta be a two-way street. If there’s a key injury or you get a chance to make a big trade, and your guy is on some yacht in southern France, you have to have the ability to have access to him. Set up a time every week to meet with him. I mean, over-communicate early with the guy. You want to keep reassuring him that you’re the right guy.

“There’s two kinds of owners: hands-on and absentee. I’ve seen it both ways. Don’t let hands-on owners be a negative. It’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but believe me, the positives far outweigh the negatives.”

On the value of networking (former Bills GM Doug Whaley): “The only reason I got the chance in Buffalo was, in ‘05-’06, the league had a masters program at Stanford and it was a week-long – I got a master’s from Stanford! — and had meetings all day, then at night they would break us up into five-man groups and have us work together. We had 3-4 questions to work on every night. I wondered, why are all of us doing the same questions? Why not all do one question, then we all talk about it afterward? And (Bills executive) Russ Brandon loved that, so when Buddy (Nix) became the GM, Brandon was really promoting me because of my work with Doug at the Stanford program.” Four years later, in 2010, Whaley was hired as the Assistant GM in Buffalo, and took over for Nix as GM in 2013.

On your most crucial hires (former Bears GM Jerry Angelo): “What do you do to offset your weakness, especially if it’s the cap? . . . The Bears let me hire a cap guy, and I hired (former agent) Cliff Stein. He was in my network. Intelligent and hard-working. I interviewed guys with a better resume, but I had a gut feeling on him.

“I wish my draft picks went as well as that hire. But you have to identify someone who is good with the cap.”

On working with your head coach (former Seahawks GM Tim Ruskell): “I had all the control, and it was an awesome responsibility. I didn’t take advantage of that. I always worked collaboratively with my head coach, and I feel you have to do that.”

If this kind of thing intrigues you, make sure you sign up for our Friday Wrap, which comes out this evening. We’ll have more about our work this week with tomorrow’s GMs in this evening’s edition. We’ll also talk about the next wave of GM candidates as told to us by people across the game. Here’s last week’s edition. I hope you’ll check it out.

Miscellaneous: Five Thoughts (Mostly) on Things We’re Working On at ITL

05 Friday Jun 2020

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I didn’t have anything this week that could hold up for an entire blog post, so today we’ll take you “into the lab” and touch on several projects we’re developing at ITL (plus a quick scouting observation). Here goes.

  • I’m really excited about the video my friend, Ric Serritella of NFL Draft Bible, made to help others understand a little bit about how we work to help people build their professional network in football. It’s here. We filmed it on location in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl and at the combine in Indianapolis. As always, I hope it conveys the right message to potential partners without being too self-promotional.
  • I’m also really excited about the first-ever ITL GM Academy, which is slated to take place later this month. We’ll have four former NFL GMs (Jerry Angelo, Billy Devaney, Tim Ruskell and Doug Whaley) who’ll be discussing the interview process and how to get the job; how to deal with the media; how to hire and build a staff; and building a relationship with the owner. Each of our experts will handle a 90-minute session on each of the four nights.
  • There’s a lot of concern among scouts that they won’t be allowed into schools this fall, and that’s very possible. But here’s how to maximize your chances: be the guy who sends thank-you notes with Batman and Wonder Woman stamps. I had a lengthy phone call with a longtime scout who is obsessive about sending personal notes to all the people he talks to on his school visits. He stamps them and writes the addresses before he even gets to the school, then writes a short note when he’s killing time waiting for practice or between film sessions. Then he mails them as he leaves town. He even adds flair by using stamps depicting cartoon characters and movie stars. That is all-star level respect for the people in the game.
  • Sent the manuscript for my next book to my editor today. I think I’m going to call it ScoutSpeak: Earning, Doing & Thinking About the Job of an NFL Evaluator. It will be about 150 pages, and Saints Assistant GM Jeff Ireland wrote an absolutely superb foreword for it this week. I can’t wait to get it published, hopefully later this month. I think I counted stories and quotes from more than 30 NFL scouts, past and present. This is my tribute to the industry.
  • I’m kicking around the idea of starting a podcast. I don’t have a name yet, but the idea would be to talk to some of the most influential people in the industry about how they see the business evolving and their own personal stories of how they broke in.

OK, that’s five. We’ll have a lot more in today’s Friday Wrap, that comes out later today. If you haven’t already, register for it here.

2019 Personnel Symposium: Who Do NFL Teams Want?

01 Thursday Aug 2019

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On Monday, the ITL team will be speaking to hundreds of college football personnel professionals at the 2019 Personnel Symposium. We’ll be talking about how to climb the ladder in the football personnel business, and specifically, how to get a scouting job in the NFL, for a half-hour, starting at 4:45 p.m. CT.

On Tuesday in this space, we wrote about the experts we’ll bring to the J.W. Marriott. I’m confident they’ll make points, tell stories and bring experiences that any aspiring NFL scout will find beneficial. Still, before a person begins seeking out a new job, it’s important to know what people are getting those jobs. That’s why we looked at the nine scouting assistants who were hired by NFL teams this summer, pulled from our list of all the scouting changes this spring and summer, to get a sense of what and who teams are seeking. Here’s what we found.

Do teams want former NFL players?: Not necessarily, or at least, it’s not a deal-breaker if a candidate hasn’t been a pro player. We counted four of the nine that had played NFL football, and most of them were strictly camp invitees. Based on our research, NFL playing experience was strictly a bonus.

Do teams want former college players?: The answer sure does appear to be ‘yes.’ Eight out of nine scouting assistants hired this term played in college, though it’s certainly not mandatory that it be at the Power 5 level. I’d estimate that at least half of those who played came out of FCS football or lower.

Do teams want people with college personnel experience?: Surprisingly, the answer is no. Though the growing college personnel departments seem like the perfect “farm team” for hires, two-thirds of this year’s hires had never worked in personnel at either the college or pro level. Maybe that’s just a one-year blip, maybe it’s a trend.

Do teams want people with NFL personnel experience?: Again, the answer is no. Six of the nine hires has never worked for an NFL team before.

Based on what we found out, it seems like who a candidate knows is more valuable than what he’s done in his career. Though that might not make much sense to the casual observer, it jibes with what we’ve always believed, and it’s one reason that we’ll talk about networking, relationship-building, and turning an acquaintance into a contact Monday night in Nashville.

I hope you can join us and hear our speakers. You can register here. However, if you can’t, maybe you can join us afterward for a drink. More details on that Thursday.

 

 

Building a Network

08 Friday Mar 2019

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At Inside the League, we encourage people that want to work in the football business to get their knowledge from volunteering, building relationships and soaking up football any way you can. On the other hand, we don’t encourage trying to get it from a classroom. You have to go where football people go, shake as many hands as you can, and even pass out business cards to anyone that will take them.

Of course, you have to start by going where football people go, and the NFL Combine in Indianapolis is obviously one of those places. Here’s a look at some of the people you could have met if you were at the XFL Hospitality Room (Suite 125 of the Indiana Convention Center) last week (and oh, by the way, we had free sandwiches, too):

  • Craig Redd: Craig is the co-founder of the College Gridiron Showcase, a game I serve as a partner. I’ve spoken in the past about the high regard I have for everyone associated with the game, and that goes especially for Craig and his co-founder, Jose Jefferson. But the most important thing to know is that all-star games are always looking for volunteers, and we can even offer college credit for the work done there. If you were in Indy last week, he’s a key contact you could make. Craig is incredibly friendly and accessible, and always looking for good workers.
  • Doug Whaley: You might think that the Senior V.P. of Football Operations for the XFL, a former NFL GM (Buffalo), would be far too busy for ordinary people. After all, he’s building a new league from scratch. However, I’ve known Doug for about a year, and he’s always treated me as an equal. Doug is the kind of person who sees everyone as having something to offer. If you’re looking to get into scouting, you should know that XFL teams won’t have a full scouting department, and will follow more of a college football model. That means if you aspire to be a scout someday, here’s your shot at volunteering in evaluation. You could have gotten started on that if you were at our suite last week.
  • Kevin Dunn: Kevin owns TEST Football Academy in New Jersey, and besides being the sponsor of our suite and a longtime friend, he’s a perfect example of a guy who built a sports practice from the ground up. Most everyone I know who’s got a combine prep facility in the north is struggling, but Kevin isn’t. Not only did he approach me months ago about sponsoring our suite, but he’s also got stacks of sponsors and a full gym. That’s a real accomplishment in a business as difficult to navigate as football is these days.
  • Ric Serritella: Not only is Ric connected in the football world; not only is he a noted NFL Draft expert; and not only is he incredibly talented when it comes to video production, but he’s incredibly friendly. And like Craig, Doug and Kevin, he’s not too big to talk to people just getting started out in the business.

If you weren’t in Indy this year, make plans to be there next year. If you read this blog, and you’re serious about working in the business, you need to get serious about being where opportunities are.

Want to learn even more? Don’t forget to register for our weekly newsletter, the Friday Wrap. You can do that here.

The ITL Scouting Dept. Looks at a Few Early-Entry NFL Draft Prospects

04 Friday Jan 2019

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At Inside the League, we work with people across the football spectrum and provide a number of services. One of them is providing reports written by former NFL scouts to agents, parents, wealth managers, schools and others interested in finding out what professionals really think about draft prospects.

This year, we used Blake Beddingfield (Titans), Ryan Hollern (Bills, Saints), Matt Jansen (Texans, Ravens), Bob Morris (Browns, 49ers) and Josh Washburn (Titans) to write our reports. Now that college football is all but over and dozens of underclassmen are declaring for the draft by the day, we wanted to take a look at which players are making good decisions and which ones maybe aren’t.

Here are eight players that have already thrown their hat in the ’19 ring, or who are expected to, and what they might expect in late April, based on what our scouts saw.

  • Clifton Duck, DC, Appalachian St.: Writing about him before the season, our scout wrote that he’s a “late-round draft choice or PFA if he decides to enter the draft” after 2018. 
  • Joe Giles-Harris, OB, Duke: A solid player who should be a blue-collar NFL player who contributes in sub packages and on special teams. “Lots to like but I don’t see a high ceiling athletically, which caps his draft value,” our report reads. He has third-round possibilities but probably figures more in the fifth round.
  • Trysten Hill, DT, Central Florida: Though we see him as a fifth-rounder, there is something strange going on here. “This kid started 26 games prior to the 2018 season, but is a non-starter and rotational player now?,” asked our scout. “Possibly correlates with new staff, but he clearly is better than starters and the players he rotates with. (Teams) must know the reason” before they draft him.
  • Elijah Holyfield, OH, Georgia: Holyfield has submitted his name to the draft review board, but he’s not likely to get good news. “I view him as more of a two-down back, with upside in the inside run game whether zone or gap scheme, but not a three-down RB,” wrote our scout. “I wouldn’t recommend him leaving early.” If he does, he’s probably a fifth-rounder.
  • Josh Jacobs, OH, Alabama: Jacobs doesn’t get the big headlines because he’s part of a job-share in the ‘Bama backfield, so maybe he blossoms into something special on the next level. On the other hand, our scout wrote “I view him as well-rounded and a really good all-three-down depth player and serviceable starter, but not an elite-type player.” He’s probably a fourth-rounder.
  • Dax Raymond, TE, Utah St.: This is another player who’s mostly unknown, but who could win fans over the next four months. “Needs to get stronger, and needs work on some lower-body strength to help with contested balls,” wrote our scout, but “I like his upside.” Fourth round maybe, fifth round probably.
  • Saivion Smith, DC, Alabama: If he chooses to come out — we’re hearing that Smith’s leaning toward staying — he could be a second-rounder. “Will be a backup and special teams player in Year 1, but can be a starter in Year 2,” our scout wrote.
  • Preston Williams, WO, Colorado St.: Our scout wrote that he sees him “as a solid possession-type WR with size/length who can operate in the slot” and who is reminiscent of former Saints great Marques Colston. We see him as a third- or fourth-rounder.

Want a few more looks at juniors as evaluated by former NFL scouts? We’ve got forecasts for seven more players — Iowa St. WO Hakeem Butler, Stanford OG Nate Herbig, Duke QB Daniel Jones, Mississippi TE Dawson Knox, Oregon WO Dillon Mitchell, Alabama TE Irv Smith Jr. and Vanderbilt DC Joejuan Williams — in our Friday Wrap (here’s last week’s). Thousands of people across the football business read it every week. You should, too! Register here.

 

Introducing Our New Book, Moving the Chains: A Parent’s Guide to the NFL Draft

09 Friday Nov 2018

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Today’s a day that’s been years in the making.

When you get into the business of helping people succeed in football, you get a grass-roots understanding of the problems they face. When I launched Inside the League in 2002, the idea was to root out and expose the bad agents in the business as well as cracking the scouting code and figuring out why some players make it to the NFL and others don’t. We’re pretty much 0-for-2 on those goals, but there’s something we have gotten pretty good at: helping parents and their sons negotiate the obstacles of the NFL Draft process.

The parents of players like Giants DE Connor Barwin (2/46, Texans, 2009), Cardinals WO Christian Kirk (2/47, Cardinals, 2018), Dolphins OC Travis Swanson (3/76, Lions, 2014), Jaguars DT Taven Bryan (1/29, Jaguars, 2018), Redskins OT Morgan Moses (3/66, Redskins, 2014) and many more have read our newsletter during the run-up to their sons’ respective selections in the draft. Many of them have been kind enough to give us testimonials.

I think they’ve found our series helpful because it breaks down what NFL scouts do, how all-star games work, what you should expect from an agent, who gets invited to the NFL Combine, and a number of other topics. You can get an overview of our series here. For five years now, we’ve cold-called the parents of rising seniors and pitched them on our free newsletter. We’ve gotten some interesting responses for sure, but enough people took us up on our offer that we’re still reaching out to parents even today.

However, there’s more to the topic than can be covered in four weeks, so we expanded our newsletter into a book, and today, we introduce Moving the Chains: A Parent’s Guide to the NFL Draft. If you’ve read our newsletter, the first quarter of the book will look very familiar to you. However, in the rest of the book, we develop all the things we touch on and really tell stories, provide numbers, and share nuggets that we just can’t provide within the bounds of a newsletter series.

Maybe you’re the parent of a young man who will be eligible in this or a coming draft cycle. Maybe you’re an aspiring NFL player who’s still a few years away, or you’re close to someone who is. Maybe you hope to be an agent someday, or you’re a college student majoring in sport management and thinking hard about being a contract advisor or scout. My book is something you should read. We go inside the process in a way that I always sought before I launched my site. And believe me, all of this matters. You can learn it the hard way, but why would you?

Here’s the best part. It’s just $12.95. It’s about the cost of a burger and fries at your favorite fast-food joint, or a piece of pie at one of those fancy dessert places.

Here’s the next-best part. It’s only 150 pages. You can read it in a couple hours. I mean, come on, it’s football. Our idea of a big word is “substantial” or “Indianapolis.” You can handle it. If your wacko uncle starts going off about politics at the Thanksgiving table, you can excuse yourself, read our book, and by the time you’re done, he’ll be sleeping off the turkey. You’ll be all set.

Want to learn more? We’ll talk about it more in today’s Friday Wrap, which comes out at 7:30 p.m. EST. It’s free, and you can register for it here.

Who Did The Best In The ’18 NFL Draft? Here Are Five Candidates

02 Friday Nov 2018

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Last year, we asked the question, why doesn’t anyone reward the team with the best NFL draft class? When we couldn’t come up with an answer, we decided to step up and do it ourselves. After holding a vote with only current and former NFL scouts voting, we presented the New Orleans Saints with the first-ever ITL Best NFL Draft Class Award for 2017 at our annual combine seminar.

We’ll do it again in February at our 10th annual seminar. But who will voters choose? It’s still too early to tell, but since we’re at midseason, it’s time to take a look at the possible finalists for the award. Here’s who we’re considering with half the season left to go, in no particular order.

  • Browns: It’s been an up-and-down season for the top pick in the draft, but QB Baker Mayfield deserves the benefit of the doubt so far. At worst, he seems to give Cleveland a passer the team can build around. Meanwhile, DC Denzel Ward looks like a keeper, as well, and we’ll know more about OH Nick Chubb by the end of the season as the team shipped out OH Carlos Hyde a week and a half ago. WO Antonio Callaway has provided glimpses of ability, too, as has OB Genard Avery.  Right now, the Browns look like the early leaders for best draft.
  • Colts: First-round OG Quenton Nelson has been solid, but the real find so far has been OB Darius Leonard, a true difference-maker the Colts found in the second round out of South Carolina State. The team also found a starter at right tackle, Braden Smith, one pick later, and fourth-round OH Nyheim Hines has been a threat as a rusher and a receiver.
  • Giants: Running back Saquon Barkley has been as-advertised, an undeniable talent and the leader in the Offensive Rookie of the Year race. Also, DT B.J. Hill looks like a building block, or at least part of the solution on defense. As for the rest of the team’s draft class, the grade has to be ‘incomplete.’ Guard Will Hernandez is learning on the job for a weak offensive line but there’s hope he’ll come away from the season as a bright spot. We may find out sooner rather than later what the team has in QB Kyle Lauletta, though there’s plenty of uncertainty surrounding DT R.J. McIntosh.
  • Broncos: Denver struck it rich twice, once in the first round with DE Bradley Chubb and once after the draft, when it landed UDFA OH Phillip Lindsay. We could see a lot more of WO Courtland Sutton in the second half with fellow receiver Demaryius Thomas now in Houston, so their draft could look even better in the second half.
  • Jets: So far, QB Sam Darnold has had his problems, but he’s the starter, no questions asked, so presuming he stays healthy, he’s got a chance to learn from his mistakes and make the Jets’ draft class look really good. In non-franchise QB news, the Jets also got a starter on the DL in the third round (DT Nate Shepherd) and fourth-round TE Chris Herndon is tied for the team lead in receiving TDs with three.

There are several other teams that could edge their way into the top five, and we’ll look at five more of them today in the Friday Wrap.

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