Category Archives: NFL draft

New Agent Zoom IX: The Highlights

08 Friday Dec 2023

Posted by in Agents, Getting started, ITL, NFL draft

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As we move closer to the end of the year, we’re getting close to wrapping up our series for 2023, so we have a lot to get in.

Wednesday night, we had three speakers, including John Karaffa of ProSport CPA, Michael Quartey of the FCS Bowl and Tropical Bowl, and Greg Linton of HOF Player Representatives. Each of them brought something different to our hour-plus Zoom session. Here are a few highlights.

John Karaffa: John’s company, ProSport CPA, doesn’t dabble in athletics; John and his staff solely work with professional athletes in all sports, with a major emphasis in football. Tax preparation is no picnic for most people, but for athletes, it’s a major chore, given their ancillary incomes from marketing opportunities, as well as the fact they have to pay taxes in every state a game is played. When you figure in the NIL money that today’s college player is making, it’s just smart to have a tax expert around. That’s why I wanted John to introduce himself. He’s a key resource for players, especially rookies. 

Michael Quartey: The NFL has thrown its share of hurdles at college all-star games this year, and the biggest impact of their new rules has fallen on the College Gridiron Showcase and Tropical Bowl. That’s why I wanted to bring on Michael, the founder of “the Trop,” to discuss the game, its changes since last year, and the fact that players must fund their own travel and hotel costs. I also made it clear that Michael’s game is a legitimate opportunity for players and embraced by NFL teams. There’s so much contradicting information from all quarters and it’s easy to get confused. I think Michael was able to clear a lot of that confusion up. 

Greg Linton: This is the third straight year I’ve brought “Tripp” in because he’s so candid. A few of his points: 

  • Stay away from wide receivers; try to sign offensive and defensive linemen.
  • Walk away from a player who is getting a crazy training package from a competitor; know what the player is worth and stick to your guns.
  • Don’t sell an unworthy player to a scout or you risk losing all credibility forever.
  • If a player rejects you for more money form a competitor, then tries to return when things don’t work out, don’t sign him. He’ll always be looking for a better deal.

He had plenty more to say, and as always, he was a huge hit with all the first-year contract advisors on the Zoom.

We’re nearing the end of our Zoom series for a while — we always take January off, then resume in February — but we’ve still got at least one session left before we take a break for Christmas. It’s not too late to join us. All you have to do is sign up for ITL. It’s easy to be an agent in October and November, but the big decisions take place in December. We’d love to work with you.

 

 

 

New Agent Zoom VII: Our Questions for Mike Delle Donne

20 Monday Nov 2023

Posted by in Agents, combine prep, Getting started, NFL draft

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Seems crazy that tomorrow night will be our seventh Zoom session aimed at helping inform the 2023 NFL Agent Class. We’ve covered so much so far, but we’re far from done.

The next two sessions, including tomorrow’s, are focused on helping rookie contract advisors ascend to the next level. One way to do that is by joining an established firm, which gives you clout and validation that is hard to find in Year 1 (or Year 2, for that matter). 

Our guest will be Mike Delle Donne of UA Sports. Mike is smart and capable, naturally, but he’s also been very good about building bridges and helping agencies understand the value he brings, which is one reason he’s been certified just over two years and has already served with two good firms. It doesn’t hurt that he already represents the kicker for an NFL team, New Orleans’ Blake Grupe, who signed as a UDFA out of Notre Dame last spring.

Here’s a list of the questions we’ll have for Mike.

  • How did you approach getting certified? What was your background?
  • Were you ever independent? What challenges did you face as an independent agent at first?
  • Is it intimidating to work for a firm that’s already established and already has NFL clients? 
  • How did you come to be associated with Roche Sports Representation? How did it help you in Year 1?
  • Would you consider yourself a person who networks well with agents? Is that a goal of yours? If so, has it been beneficial?
  • Why did you ultimately decide to move to UA Sports? How has it been beneficial? 
  • Did you bring clients with you to UA Sports? How was that handled?
  • Do you anticipate staying with UA Sports long-term? Would you ever be independent again? 
  • Tell us about recruiting and signing PK Blake Grupe. Did you expect him to be one of the 32 NFL kickers in his rookie year?
  • What’s the hardest part of being an agent? The best part?

Our special training guest Monday will be Jordan Luallen of X3 Performance and Physical Therapy. The results Jordan has gotten for players who didn’t get invited to the combine has been phenomenal. Few trainers have been able to move undrafted free agent prospects into draft range better than Jordan. He’ll introduce himself and talk a little bit about his service. He’ll be the fourth trainer to have joined us on Zoom, with more to go. 

I hope you can join us. Sign up here for ITL and we’ll send out the Zoom link Monday afternoon.

New Agent Zoom Session VI: Here’s What We’ll Ask CGS Co-Founder Jose Jefferson

16 Thursday Nov 2023

Posted by in Agents, NFL draft, Scouts

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Last night, we had our fifth Zoom session aimed directly at the newest NFL agent class. For almost two hours, we went into depth about the five major games that will take place in January and all the relevant details. We were joined by Brandon Stroupe and Mason Hays of APEC Fort Worth, one of our training partners. It was fun and, I hope, informative for everyone.

Tonight, we’re at it again, and this one won’t be as specific to new agents; in fact, we’ll have several veteran contract advisors as well as a few wealth managers sitting in. It makes sense. The College Gridiron Showcase, which will have its 10th edition in January, has changed up its format a bit. We’ll have CGS co-founder Jose Jefferson on to discuss what’s ahead and how this year’s event will differ from previous editions.

With the NFL restricting teams from evaluating all-star games that don’t adhere to their strict new rules announced this spring, changes were inevitable, and the CGS won’t be the only one affected. Here’s what we’ll ask Jose tonight.

  • The CGS was one of the first legitimate all-star games to share costs with the players in the game, as well as their representation. How have the NFL’s new rules changed this? What, if any, costs will be associated with this year’s event?
  • In the past, the CGS was a five-day affair. This year, it will be over a weekend only. What’s gone? Has anything been added?
  • The CGS has always brought in 200-300 players for evaluation. Will that be the case this year, as well?
  • The NFL has granted underclassmen access to three all-star games. The CGS isn’t one of them. Is there any way around this rule?
  • This spring, the NFL mandated that all all-star events must have an end-of-week game. Will the CGS have one? Is it even possible to have one under such a tight schedule?
  • The CGS has always been known for its interview session, which has been especially popular to NFL scouts. Will this year’s edition still include the hours-long interview availability session that other editions have included?
  • NFL teams have always showed up in big numbers for the CGS. Do you expect this year’s game to be every bit as popular with scouts as in previous years?
  • Where are we in the invitation process? 
  • Will there be any kind of spring league orientation to the CGS?
  • There are a lot of all-star games. What would you say is the main selling point for the CGS?

These 10 questions are the ones we’ll pose to Jose tonight. If you’re in the industry, you probably should join in. To do that, all you have to be is an ITL subscriber. You can sign up here, and we’ll get you registered ASAP as well as supplying the Zoom link for tonight. But hurry — things kick off at 8 p.m. ET, and we don’t want you to miss a thing. 

 

 

Here’s What Players NOT to Sign If You’re a New NFL Agent

09 Thursday Nov 2023

Posted by in Agents, Getting started, NFL draft

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Due to a pretty full schedule this week, I didn’t schedule a Zoom session for new agents. It’s the first week in about the last four that I haven’t huddled with new contract advisors, and I guess I feel like I’ve let people down.

That’s why I wanted to write a piece today that, hopefully, serves as a kind of substitute for a Zoom. Given that we’re mere weeks away from the end of the season for many teams, I thought I should look at recruiting. So, today, let’s look at the positions where players seem to have the least success making 90-man rosters and, even more, making it to the 53-man roster.

Center: If you follow what we do, you know we’re big advocates for signing offensive lineman, and that used to extend to centers, as well. I have learned the hard way that the guys in the pivot are just not as highly valued as tackles, definitely, and even guards. Only about a third of centers (technically, 36 percent) who signed with agents for the 2023 draft class actually made it to a 90-man roster via draft or signing as a UDFA. If you sign a center, you absolutely must sign one who has playing experience from guard to guard, and, even better, some time at tackle. Otherwise, you’re taking a big risk.

Cornerback: Signing a corner is really attractive because it’s a premium position, and if a player blazes an impressive 40 time, teams are going to at least take notice. If you’re an agent, it’s easy to talk yourself into signing a player who, if he has one special trait, has a chance at making a team. The issue is that there are an overwhelming number of people in the world who are between 5-8 and 6-2, and when they play football, very often, they play defensive back. If you’re playing the numbers, you better get a really good player at that size because there’s so much competition at that body type. You’re usually looking at 38-42 percent of all corners signed by agents actually getting to a 90-man roster (it was 38.08 percent in 2022). If you look at some other positions, the percentage is closer to 50 percent.

Wide receiver: Wide receiver is very similar to cornerback when it comes to scarcity. In 2022, 35 percent of receivers made it to a 90-man roster. Once again, if you get a really fantastic receiver, great, but if you merely sign a “good” one, odds are it’s going to be tough to get him on a roster. 

Kicker/punter: Training punters and kickers is a lot cheaper than regular position players. They usually spend a week with one of the kicking services, and it costs pennies on the dollar as compared to those who have traditional combine prep. However, teams simply rarely draft them. Yes, they are taken on draft day at times, but by and large, they are signed post-draft. Also, teams don’t carry backups at these positions, so you really must have an exceptional player to actually get him on a roster. One other issue: most teams use their special teams coaches to do their scouting for kickers, punters and long-snappers, so you can’t even appeal to scouts to get workouts, etc., as you do with all other positions. 

We’ll be back with two Zoom sessions next week. If you’re a first-year agent, or just an agent who is still learning the craft, why don’t you join us? We’ll have more details in the Friday Wrap. You can register for it here. 

Here’s Why the ’23 Draft Class Will Challenge New Agents

26 Thursday Oct 2023

Posted by in Agents, Getting started, NFL draft, NIL, Scouts

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Tonight is our third Zoom session aimed at helping “coach up” the 2023 NFL Agent Class. In our first session, we interviewed David Gregory of BullRush Sports, who was the only independent rookie agent to have a player drafted in 2023. We discussed that Zoom session in this post. In our second session, our guest was Houston Texans beat writer Aaron Wilson, who discussed the relationship between the media and the agent community. We discussed his session in this post. Tonight will be different, however.

Tonight, we’ll have no guest, and I’ll be the one doing the speaking. We’ll talk about recruiting your first client; managing state registration costs; weighing registration with schools; the all-star invitation process; figuring out what kind of commitment to make to name, image and likeness (NIL) and more. We’ll also have a couple special guests. It’s going to be a jam-packed, highly informational night.

We’ll also discuss the special challenges faced by the 2023 agent class due to the market forces affecting the ’24 draft class, which are plentiful. Here’s my take on why this year’s rookie agents will have a higher bar to clear.

This is the year the NIL/transfer portal/Covid bonus year creates a very top-heavy class. One reason there’s no NFLPA Collegiate Bowl this year is due to the difficulties the game had in populating its rosters for the ’23 game. My friend Kalyn Kahler at The Athletic did an excellent story this spring on the amount of players who skipped the ’23 draft for NIL dollars. Most of those players have already expended their Covid bonus year, so they’ll be in this year’s draft pool. That’s among the reasons there are, legitimately, six or seven QBs in the discussion for Day 1, and there are equally talented players across the board who would normally be first-round shoo-ins who’ll be drafted later. That’s going to have a cascading effect on the later rounds. My guess is that the bigger firms will still roll the dice on the would-be Day 2 types that wind up getting drafted in the fifth and sixth rounds, gambling that they’ll still have productive NFL careers. Maybe they won’t — maybe they’ll say a sixth-rounder is a long shot, regardless of the year. Time will tell, but my guess is that the major and mid-major firms will get their fill, as usual.

This was a bigger agent class than in recent years. We counted 163 new agents this year. That’s about 60 percent larger than the normal agent class over the last 2-3 years. That means a lot more competition for the usual 7th/UDFA prospects that rookie contract advisors normally battle for. 

FBS schools have robbed many FCS-and-lower schools of talent. The liberalization of the transfer rule means big schools are more often recruiting for new talent from mid-majors and sub-FBS schools. This means the talent a new agent might have been able to find at a smaller local school isn’t going to be there anymore. It’s also important to note that once a player attends an FBS school, there’s a certain expectation for pre-draft training and other amenities, regardless of his merits as an NFL prospect.

Scouts are being asked to evaluate more players than ever before. Because there’s been such a migration of talent to the big schools, NFL scouts are being asked to evaluate more players than ever. When a scout arrives at a school, typically, the pro liaison gives him a list of 8-10 players to evaluate. More and more, they’re being given lists of 20-25 prospects. The upshot of this is that there will be fewer “diamonds in the rough” that got overlooked in this draft class. This is important to note. And again, even if you’re signing a guy who only a rotational player, if he played at a Big Ten or SEC or ACC school, he’s not going to be a cheap signing. That’s just the way it is.

The all-star game schedule has been reduced. We’ve already seen the previous No. 3 game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, go away. We’ll also see format changes for the two games just below it (the Collegiate Gridiron Showcase and Tropical Bowl) that were forced by new, restrictive NFL policies. This means fewer players will have a platform to impress NFL evaluators.

If discussion of these matters interests you, and you’d like to join us, it’s not too late. Just register for ITL, and I’ll share the Zoom link. If not, but you’d like to stay abreast of what’s going on in the agent community, make sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter, the Friday Wrap.

Dogra’s Exit Headlines NFLPA Agent List Update

05 Thursday Oct 2023

Posted by in Agents, Getting started, NFL draft

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Ben Dogra is no longer an NFLPA-certified contract advisor. That’s one of the biggest revelations of the NFLPA’s updated posting of the current representation class for NFL players.

The Players Association refreshes its list of all licensed contract advisors in October after the deadline for dues payment passes on the first of the month. This year’s update brought news of several key exits and other highlights, but none is bigger than the departure of one of the first true titans in player representation. 

For those of us who have followed the business of the game for the last two decades, it’s hard to believe Dogra might not be at its forefront. When I launched ITL in 2002, Leigh Steinberg and David Dunn were fighting it out over their respective roles in the growth of Steinberg Sports, which had become a behemoth in the field of player representation. Soon, however, Steinberg, Dunn and others in the industry had a rival at the top in Dogra. By the time he had risen from an intern at SFX in the late 90s to one of the faces (along with Tom Condon) of CAA, Dogra was not just respected, but feared. I remember having a conversation with one of the top contract advisors in the game when Dogra was at the height of his powers, and I was struck by the awe in my friend’s voice, as well as his desire not to cross Dogra. From the stories of Dogra’s near-fights (literally) with NFL executives to tales of his magic tricks (again, literally) performed for friends after several late-night beverages in Mobile, Dogra cast an oversized shadow over the industry.

When Dogra was dismissed by CAA in 2014 for cause, the impact across the industry was seismic and, ultimately, began his descent. He even briefly lost his certification, and though it was restored in 2017 (and though he won a big arbitration judgement against CAA over his termination), his career never regained its luster. Still, at one time, he represented Adrian Peterson, Patrick Willis, Mario Williams, A.J. Green and countless others, and for that decade from about 2004 to 2014, if there was a black player slated for the top 10 in the draft, Dogra was the agent to beat. His last first-rounder was Ohio State’s Damon Arnette (1/19, Raiders, 2020), and per the latest NFLPA rolls, he has no active clients in the league today. In the history of player representation, no list of truly great NFL agents is complete without Dogra’s name.

If you’re an aspiring agent hoping to one day break into the league, Dogra’s rise from unpaid intern at SFX to the NFL’s mountaintop in about a decade’s time should inspire you. On the other hand, if you’re an established NFL contract advisor regularly representing the NFL’s best, his disappearance from the limelight should be a reminder that nothing is forever, especially in pro football. 

There’s a lot more to be learned from the new NFLPA list of 1,026 contract advisors. We’ll be talking more about who’s out, who’s in, and what the latest list tells us about the state of player representations at Inside the League in our Rep Rumblings and in our weekly newsletter, the Friday Wrap. You can register for it here.  

How Do NFL Teams Use Expanded Practice Squads?

15 Friday Sep 2023

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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The NFLPA has been successful in not only increasing the number of practice squad slots available to NFL teams, but also taking off any limitations meant to give younger (i.e., cheaper) players opportunities. 

It’s not that teams have dumped the idea of growing and improving players. We’re still seeing youth and development prized across the league as 48.6 percent of all members of practice squads are from the 2022 and 2023 draft classes. However, there’s no doubt we’re seeing the PS go from “pool of developmental players” to “old-school taxi squad.” But how much? Here’s what we found out based on the opening-week makeup of all 32 teams’ practice squads.

  • The Giants are carrying a 13-year veteran, RB Taiwan Jones, on their practice squad, but they’re not the only team with a 10-year vet on the PS. The Bengals opened the season with SS Michael Thomas (2012 draft class) and the Rams had PK Brett Maher (2013) on the practice squad. Four teams had members of the 2014 draft class around for practice. Sixteen players with nine years of NFL experience are also on squads around the league.
  • NFL teams may have up to six players on their practice squads with no limitations on experience; they could all be 20-year veterans, and no one can say a word. The Jets are the only team to take full advantage of that provision; they have six players who are entering at least their sixth seasons, respectively, in the league. The Bills, Panthers and Niners each have five such players. The Broncos, Chargers, Dolphins and Eagles have four each. It’s no surprise to see that most of these teams are veteran-heavy on the practice squad — they’re all Super-Bowl-or-bust teams trying to hoard injury replacements — but it’s interesting that the Panthers and Broncos aren’t holding more spots for rising players.
  • By the way, the Cowboys, Packers, Texans, Jaguars and Steelers have just one player with five-plus NFL seasons on their respective practice squads. 
  • Of the 31 NFL teams’ practice squads (we aren’t counting Dallas, which only lists two members of its PS), the Bucs have the youngest at an average draft class of 2021.43, followed closely by the Packers at 2021.41. Rounding out the five youngest are Jaguars, Raiders, Titans and Bears.
  • The Bills have the oldest at 2019.75, with the Panthers just behind at 2019.93. That’s really interesting and, to me, shows that the Panthers see the NFC South as wide open and winnable. The Niners, Rams and Patriots, in order, are the next three oldest.

If you enjoy digging into the numbers to learn how teams develop their strategies, or you want to know more about which teams are best on draft day, make sure to check out today’s Friday Wrap. In it, we look at which teams have the highest percentage of their draft picks still on rosters since 2014; which teams have the most former draftees on 53-man rosters across the league; and which ones have the most former picks that are active, on practice squad, or otherwise stashed on a list somewhere in the league. You can register for it here.

 

 

Ask the Scout: Can Docu-Series Help in Evaluation?

01 Friday Sep 2023

Posted by in Agents, NFL draft, NIL, Scouts, Uncategorized

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You won’t find a scout who doesn’t cite film as the foundation of his job. You gotta watch the tape to find out what a player offers. There are other ways to measure a prospect’s worth, of course, but it all goes back to film.

Of course, there are different kinds of film, and one kind we’re seeing more of is the kind you might find playing on ESPN, the NFL Network, HBO, or any number of networks that aim to bring behind-the-scenes action to fans eager for more exposure to the game they love. For example, the series “QB1: Beyond the Lights” featured such well-known passers as Justin Fields, Spencer Rattler and Jake Fromm long before they had reached the NFL (or are near reaching the NFL, as Rattler is). The next season offers two of this spring’s first-rounders in Bryce Young and Anthony Richardson. 

It doesn’t stop there. Netflix’s popular “Last Chance U” prominently featured two future draftees in Dakota Allen (7/251/2019, Rams) and Jermaine Johnson (1/26/2022, Jets). And lest you think this is some new phenomenon, back in the spring of 2005, the game show “Super Agent” aired on SpikeTV. It pitted nine agents against each other as they vied for USC DT Shaun Cody, who went 2/37 to the Lions in the 2005 draft. 

This is all to say nothing of how name, image and likeness have changed the game for players like USC QB Caleb Williams, who’s appearing in Wendy’s commercials these days. It begs the question: is there value in mining these series for tips on what kind of players these prospects will be under the bright lights of the NFL? We asked some friends in scouting, and this is what they told us.

  • “I think you can glean some information from those docs and reality shows from a personality standpoint. I don’t know if you remember the QB1 documentary, it was a camp . . . do you remember the one with (South Carolina QB) Spencer Rattler? It really showed him as this bratty, cocky, demeaning (guy) when he was ripping on the other quarterbacks there, and he came across as a real jerk. You hear some of these schools talking about how he was on school visits, so I think there’s something you can get from those documentaries as far as personality.”
  • “I think it can be helpful. It does give you insight to the person that is being featured. . . You just need to make sure it is valid and not just a spin piece. It really can show you how a player interacts with teammates and other staff.”
  • “No questions these shows help get inside the true person. Just like the combine has always taped interviews, it is a window into the person’s thoughts and lives without actually having to be there. . . Reality shows catch them with their guard down.”
  • “Sure they are. If scouts are willing to do the extra work, there can be all kinds of background information – family and support system, influences, maturity, life skills, attitudes, motivations, work ethic, goals, etc.”
  • “You get a snapshot of the character of the young man and his family. A lot of times you can see who are needy parents and who are good parents. Family background tells you what these players are really playing for and how to coach/motivate them. Some parents are (pains in the ass) and some are cool. Our head coach always wants to meet the parents at pro days to feel them out. Important to learn who shapes these young men.”

Every aspiring NFL player needs to understand that scouts are always watching, and they have more to watch these days than ever. If you’re a draft prospect, or you’re close to one, do them a favor and remind them of this, especially if a camera is nearby.

For more discussion of the draft and player evaluation, make sure to check out our weekly newsletter, the Friday Wrap. Register for it here.

Ask the Scout: A Sneak Peek at Blake Beddingfield’s Summer Sleepers

14 Wednesday Jun 2023

Posted by in Agents, NFL draft, Scouts

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Several years ago, my friend Blake Beddingfield, who spent two decades on the Titans’ scouting staff, began getting on Zoom in October to discuss 50-plus rising players who were still off the grid with NFL draftniks (and even some NFL teams).

It got pretty popular and we had dozens of agents join us. We even had a few friends with NFL teams join us, just to make sure they weren’t missing anyone. It’s become a pretty popular feature and a regular part of what we do pre-Thanksgiving. The value is in the hidden gems Blake uncovers; everyone knows the 100-odd players who will go in the first couple rounds, but it’s much harder to predict the players who will make up players 150 to 250, plus the hot undrafted free agents.

It’s really hard to ask someone to provide names of players who are just good enough to be drafted, but not so good that they’ll be drafted before the fourth round. This is where you really have to have an eye for evaluation. Here are a few highlights from last year’s list:

  • Blake provided a list of 58 players. Only seven entered the draft and didn’t get drafted or signed. Of that seven, five went to one or more rookie mini-camps.
  • Of the 58, 21 went back to school, no doubt after being offered fat NIL deals. Can’t blame them for that.
  • Of the 30 remaining players, Blake accurately predicted all but 5-6 to go on Day 3 or to be signed post-draft. Of the other half-dozen, all went in the second or third round. 
  • Blake recommended four players who would be invited as tryout players, then earn UDFA deals during rookie mini-camp. They included Ball State DC Jaquan Amos, who recently signed with the Ravens; Arkansas FS Latavious Brini, who signed with the Jaguars; La.-Lafayette DC Eric Garror, who signed with the Titans; and UCF OH Isaiah Bowser, who signed with the Bills. There were only 24 players, total, who went from rookie tryout to UDFA deal, and Blake predicted four players who would pull off that difficult task.

This year, we’re going to put out a preseason list. Blake will present 50-plus players Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on Zoom. Cost is $40 plus tax, and anyone can join us. Everyone that participates will get a copy of the video as well as Blake’s XL list. We’re expecting dozens of contract advisors and even a few friends of mine in professional evaluation. 

Like everyone else, I’m eager to see Blake’s list. “I tried to focus a lot on OL,” Blake told me. “Pass rushers and some other good PFAs and a few players that didn’t play as much last year, but may be big risers this year.”

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the players Blake will discuss Thursday night.

  • Logan Brown, OT, Kansas — Has the size and traits for the NFL, but needs to add strength and experience. Has character issues.
  • Reggie Grimes, DE, Oklahoma — Rising player with good bloodlines. Developing as a pass rusher. 
  • Willie Lampkin, OC, Coastal Carolina  — Very competitive player in camp who needs to continue to enhance his quickness, speed and athleticism.  
  • Joe More, OT, Syracuse — Four-year starter at Richmond who is hoping to prove he can compete on the FBS level this year. 
  • Zion Logue, DT, Georgia — The latest defensive line project out of Athens isn’t on the Jordan Davis/Jalen Carter level, and has been mostly a reserve to this point, but has interesting upside.

I hope you can join us Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I can hardly wait to see the players Blake has on his list. Cost is $40 plus tax, and you can register here.

Interested in Scouting? Here’s How to Use ITL

16 Tuesday May 2023

Posted by in NFL draft, Scouts

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Here’s something I’m told pretty frequently: “Hey Neil, you post a lot of good stuff about scouting on your Twitter account, but I don’t know if your site would benefit me.” Fair enough. We’re at the height of scout hiring-and-firing season, so I thought this would be a good time to explain why I think our site is especially useful for people hoping to start a career in NFL player evaluation.

The most important aids are our Rep Rumblings posts. Most of the year, we’re talking about the agent world, all-star game developments, rookie mini-camp dates, NFL pro day dates, NIL stuff, etc. However, from the end of April pretty much until the end of June, we’re talking about how NFL teams are staffing their front offices. For example, last week, we posted information on the teams that have had scouting assistants for at least two years; most SA terms last two years, so it’s likely those teams will have turnover. If you’re looking to break into the game, this kind of info is vital.

On the other hand, if you’re a little further along in your journey and have made a few contacts, you need to know where key people are headed. We predicted two moves the day after the draft that came true (or, at least, mostly true) by the end of the week. 

So, anyway, our Rep Rumblings are positively vital. But there’s more that’s pretty much equally helpful.

  • Our Know Your Scouts series is where you need to start unless your plan for employment is simply casting resumes aimlessly at every team’s general email address. Getting hired is always about personal connections and your network, and you can’t build a network until you know which people have a similar story to yours, or an alma mater, a fraternity, etc. We break down year hired, years in the league, alma mater, official title and more for every member of every NFL scouting department.
  • Don’t know how to contact a scout? Start with our email frames, which give you the email structure for all 32 teams.
  • For the last 12 years, we’ve tracked every move — hires, dismissals, reassignments, retirements, etc. — in every NFL front office in our Scouting Changes Grid. If you want to study how teams build their staffs, this is need-to-know information.
  • If you’re really aggressive, knowing when NFL teams hold their rookie mini-camps is important. Most teams wait until after camp to start pruning their staff and making changes. We always post our list before anyone else; this year, we had it up the Monday of draft week. It’s the kind of thing that can make a difference if you know how to take advantage of it.

Still not sold? Maybe an unsolicited testimonial from a current NFL scout is in order.

“I think the scouting movement was extremely valuable for me trying to get in. . . I saw your (tweet) on (an NFL scout) leaving (his team) last year. I got a hold of (their GM) and the rest was history. Wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for you work and it’s greatly appreciated!”

We provide free trials and we have a special rate for people hoping to be in the Next Wave of NFL scout hires. Hit us up if you’d like to know more. DMs are always open. If you want to be the next Howie Roseman, John Lynch, John Schneider or Brandon Beane, we want to help.