Episode 8 of ‘The Agent’ is tonight (10E/9C). The show covers the first three rounds of this year’s draft, and have plenty of intrigue and behind-the-scenes pageantry and byplay.

Here are three things I thought worth noting.

• The players spotlighted tonight all have major family parties complete with guests, food, and people crowded around a TV set. This is very common, very tempting, and in my mind, a big mistake. The draft is an incredibly vexing and unpredictable event. You’ll notice that the agents don’t attend any of these events, and there’s an obvious reason why: they don’t want to be the focus of everyone’s ire if (when?) things go wrong. If you’re like me, you’re going to be especially sympathetic with Kentucky DT Za’Darius Smith, who winds up getting pursued by an irritable broadcaster that absolutely insists his selection is imminent . . . until the picks pass by and it’s not. Smith is a really patient and engaging young man before he finally hides from the guy.
• One note on the sports media: when I worked in newspapers, we would occasionally get phone calls from people that wanted to settle a bet. I remember, in ’95 or ’96, I was working at a paper in Lubbock and some guy called, asking us who the best QB of all time was (my vote went to Marino; everyone else said Montana). The point is, there’s some perception that sports writers/reporters/etc. know more than the rank-and-file fan. These days, I’m not sure that’s true. They may have a few more connections, and may have some insights they don’t share with readers, but for the most part, the wide variety of information sources and deeper analysis means fans don’t have to take a backseat to media these days. The guy who keeps bugging Smith is pretty much Exhibit A.
• One more note on the media: often during the run-up to the draft, you’ll hear that a certain player interviewed with 7-8 teams at the combine. This is always spun as the teams that have the most interest in the player. That’s not true. It’s often the teams that have the least interest in the player, because they didn’t even get basic interviews done during the draft process; they’re just covering their bases, nothing more. This manifests itself tonight when the agents list the teams they expect to draft their clients. In most cases, they’re dead wrong. Teams have become quite adept at hiding their true intents, and often, the teams an agent lists as having the most interest are actually the teams where the agent has the most contacts. He’s talked up his clients with his buddies on those teams, and therefore, he feels his client has an excellent chance with them. But really, it means nothing. Watch for this tonight.

Make sure to join me for more insights tonight on the ITL live-tweet.

If you watched last night’s episode of ‘The Agent,’ you saw me have an uncomfortable conversation with Ed Wasielewski of Philadelphia-based EMG Sports (well, actually, two difficult conversations).

As Ed and I discussed his client, Houston DT Joey Mbu, he casually asked me where I saw him going. I gritted my teeth and told him sixth or seventh round. He countered that he expected him to go in the fourth. As the workout went on, Ed spoke to a Texans scout who had Mbu as an undrafted free agent. This meant Ed had to do the difficult chore of letting Mbu and his mother know there was a good chance no team would pick him on draft day. Which happened.

It made me wonder, what made Ed think Mbu was going fourth round? I had spoken to five scouts and all five had him as a bubble draftee and most likely a priority free agent. That’s not the kind of return Ed was seeking. Today, I had this text conversation with an agent who had kicked the tires on Mbu last year.

Agent: The trick is to know it before you sign the player. I knew Joey would sink, that is why I backed off.

Me: The question I have is, why did Ed think he was going fourth round? Who thought that?

Agent: Multiple scouts did. A lot of people I talked to said they liked the size and arm length. Sr. Bowl invite. And the school was selling him hard to NFL teams. I went against what I was hearing after multiple games and not seeing what I needed to out of the athlete. Some good scouts that I trust liked him early and off junior film.

Me: That really puzzles me. When I called around (scouts) crapped all over him. I guess it shows how quickly a star can fall.

Agent: What time of year was it you had talks?

Me: mid-Feb

Agent: Got you. My talks were in the summer and July and August. Also as you know people see guys very differently.

Me; Yup.

Ed didn’t make a mistake based on terrible information or lack of scouting contacts. It just goes to show that scouts are fallible, too, and often a prospect in December is a non-factor on draft day. It’s just one more reason this is such a volatile business with no guarantees.

Tonight is Episode 7 of ‘The Agent’ on the Esquire Network at 10E/9C. Here are a few things of note in tonight’s show.

• I think there’s a perception that all players aspiring to the NFL are guaranteed an equal and fair shot at performing their best. I think this is especially true among today’s players, who often see expensive combine training programs as almost a right. Not true. Not true at all. In fact, in tonight’s episode, we see pro day workouts on the campuses of Washington State, Cincinnati, Grambling, Houston and Massachusetts. Only two of these schools have indoor practice facilities, and one school’s workout area is practically underwater, prompting an agent to claim it’s “unfair,” and maybe it is. Well, scouts don’t care about fairness. They’re trying to get confirmed numbers on literally thousands of players in a short time frame, and if one school doesn’t have optimal conditions, well, it’s on to the next one. That may not be fair, but it’s reality. A lot of players lose this perspective along the way.
• Here’s another thing many aspiring agents don’t understand: your client is your boss. Even if you’re in your 50s, have decades in the game, and he’s 21 or 22 years old. This means that even if you pour $10K-$20K into preparing your client for his pro day, if he’s not feeling it that day, and chooses to skip a portion of the workout — that’s it. You can jump and stomp your feet all you want, and hope that he understands that a window is closing that might not open again, but that’s all you can do. As players begin to see their teammates go through the draft process, they start to trust themselves more and their agents less. This is a tough pill for many agents to swallow, and understandably so. You will see a bitter example of this tonight.
• At some point, all agents ask scouts, team executives, and analysts like myself where they see their clients going in the draft. Very often, this is hard news to deliver. Scouts are people, too, and they don’t want to rain on an agent’s parade. Often, a scout will muddy the waters by being vague or just telling an outright ‘white lie.’ In tonight’s episode, I personally have such an experience when I’m interfacing with a longtime agent client who’s also been a friend and supporter for a long time. Fans and people outside the game like to think that the game is made up of cold logic and detached analysis, but you can’t take the human element out of the game. Sometimes that’s good, but other times it’s very hard.

Just four episodes left of the first docu-series to truly show what the agent business is like. Make sure to check out our live-tweet, as well. See you tonight.

Episode 6 of The Agent is tonight at 10E/9C on the Esquire Network, and features the four agents as they work with their clients at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last February. Here are a few things to watch for:

• I think there’s a perception that agents have all these connections, that all doors are open when you’re ‘in the game.’ That’s true to some degree, but then again, agents will always be agents. That means some people will try to keep them at arm’s length, no matter how established they are. Tonight, you get a good illustration of that in Indianapolis when all four agents profiled watch their clients run the 40 from a screen in a hotel room or hospitality suite. Agents don’t get to go into Lucas Oil Stadium. Not yet at least.
• It’s hard to walk the line between seeing a client as a friend/business partner and as an investment. We see this when Sunny Shah of Paramount Sports has to ‘encourage’ his client to train for his pro day like never before after he’s tested poorly in the 40. You can tell that Sunny is trying to control his frustrations, and wants to really let his client have it, but he can’t. If he does, the player may unconsciously give less than his best effort or even fire him. And poof! There would go any hope of recouping his $15,000 investment.
• If you’ve got a player projected in the first 2-3 rounds, you can get plenty of attention from NFL teams. If not, that access may be limited. In tonight’s episode, we see a long conversation between Peter Schaffer of Authentic Athletix and several members of the front office of the Cowboys, including Executive Vice President Stephen Jones. That’s the only interaction between teams and agents that we see, but most likely not the only contact the show’s producers sought out.

Tonight’s episode gives viewers an inside look at one of the most intriguing parts of the football business. Now, with Hard Knocks over, make sure to check it out. And make sure to tag along with us during our live tweet. See you tonight!