Random Scouting Thoughts

19 Tuesday May 2015

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After a few conversations with scouts, here are a couple of observations about the business and how, perhaps, to land a position in scouting and, once you’ve got it, how to keep it.

  • One scout told me the biggest part of his job is getting a GM, head coach or other superior to see what he’s seen and likes. In other words, when the scouting staff is watching film, it’s important the team sees film of a prospect not when he’s hurt, but when he’s healthy. If a team looks at a player when he’s coming off an ankle injury, or has a bum shoulder, or whatever, the opinion of his ability will be very different from when he was at full strength. This scout takes a personal interest in seeing that such film is what goes on the screen. I know of another scout who got a player drafted because he went back to the player’s junior-year film, when the young man was playing his best position, rather than focusing solely on what the player was doing as a senior. That scout received a promotion this year, and it was well-deserved. That’s way more than just doing the minimum. You’ve got to make sure the player is seen in his best light. That’s how you find stars that are off other teams’ radars.
  • In talking to agents, I hear a lot about how a player’s off-field issues don’t matter or at least don’t matter as much. In speaking to a scout recently, he made it clear off-field is as important as on. It’s because getting to class, getting to meetings on time, taking the steps to stay healthy, learning the playbook, being where you’re supposed to be, and everything else ‘outside the lines’ is what keeps you successful inside them. It shows maturity and a successful personality. Coaches in the NFL lack the bandwidth to be on a kid all day every day just to make sure he does what he’s supposed to.
  • I know of a scout who’s looking for a helper, an assistant, and he said he’s made a point of looking for someone who has paid his dues, working for free at times and changing places (jobs, schools) in his campaign to get to the NFL. “That guy isn’t going to expect anything to be handed to him,” my friend said. “He will know that he must work hard without me telling him.”
  • Believe it or not, scouts are not given carte blanche by some agents, and certainly by many college teams. I heard today of an agent who told a high-level scout he couldn’t have access to a draft-eligible player. “Tell me what you want and I’ll get it from him,” this agent told the scout. It’s no surprise his client went undrafted despite being among the top prospects at his position. If you represent a player, do everything possible to satisfy requests made by NFL teams. Don’t do anything to have your client taken off the board, as this agent’s client was.

The End

18 Monday May 2015

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I’m often accused of being too blunt, too cold, too hard in this space. Well, here I go again, I guess. Today I want to talk about the 2015 NFL draft class, and I’m speaking more of all draft candidates rather than just the ones that have been chosen.

If you are a player who was draft-eligible the first weekend of May, I’m sure it was absolutely crushing if you were not selected. It’s the sudden gravity of the situation and the realization that there will be no miracles. Well, today is really the day that marks the official end of NFL dreams for members of the ’15 draft class.

How come? All but six NFL teams had their rookie mini-camps the weekend following the draft, followed by the 49ers, Chargers, Redskins, Saints, Titans and Chiefs, who worked out their new players this past weekend. At these rookie mini-camps, teams welcomed mainly draftees, undrafted free agents and tryout players.

The difference between undrafted free agents and tryout players is poorly understood, but it’s really pretty simple. While teams can only draft or sign 90 players, they can bring in as many tryout players as they want. Some teams brought in 20 or 30, though for the most part these tryout guys are strictly bag-holders, guys to take the reps so the draftees don’t get too tired. One scout I spoke to called them ‘cheap labor.’ These guys are in camp, yes, but their odds are quite long. They do make rosters sometimes, though it’s not very common. But hey, at least they got to wear an NFL helmet for a weekend.

At least 1,000 players who signed with agents didn’t even make it to a tryout. This has meaning because I’ve seen dozens of pictures of players signing SRAs, their parents beaming proudly behind them. Sometimes they turn it into an event and have cookouts built around signing with an agent. Bottom line, they feel that SRA makes them NFL prospects. Not true. Many of these folks don’t make that realization until this weekend, when camps are closed and they understand no one’s calling.

Of course, many agents get the boot around this time. This is often because the player can’t come to grips with this reality. But it’s no less true.

Let me give one last disclaimer: there are always players that are passed over in the draft and even in undrafted free agency that wind up spending at least some time on an NFL roster. Still, if you just completed your last year of college football and still haven’t heard the phone ring, I encourage you to start thinking in terms of your life’s work.

Cold, hard reality

15 Friday May 2015

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I got a phone call from a friend on Wednesday. Before he would go forward with the call, he made me promise I wouldn’t disclose where he got the information he was about to tell me. That’s not unusual, and I gave my word.

As you know if you read this blog regularly, this is the time of year when scouts get fired. Despite what some people claim on Twitter, it’s not a knee-jerk reaction to some missed picks on draft weekend. In most cases, these changes were planned months ago, when there was a shift in power due to a new GM, a newly empowered head coach, a team looking to cut back, or whatever.

Anyway, my friend told me one of the 15-20 scouts who’s been shuffled out the door in the last couple weeks has a serious medical condition. It’s a brain tumor, in fact. I don’t have any details — I don’t know if it’s operable, or whether or not the scout has a contract that will pay him for another year(s) with attendant health insurance. All I know is that it’s a man with a family and serious medical questions clouding his future. My friend was beside himself.

“I mean, they knew he had a brain tumor,” he said. “They let him go anyway. It would have been so much easier to say, ‘we’re going to make a change, but we’re going to work this out.’ But they didn’t do that.”

My friend then told me I could do what I want with the information. I gotta say, I don’t quite know what to do.

First off, I don’t know the scout, and given that this is pretty sensitive information, I’m just not sure that it would be right to expose this. If we’re talking about a situation that can be handled quietly, it’s probably better to leave it alone. If it becomes widely known that he’s suffering with this condition, it probably makes him unemployable.

On the other hand, a team that would do something like this, well, it probably deserves to be exposed. But that’s hard to do given that I have one source on this, and really lack the fundamentals of the story. Without the team’s side of things, it’s hard to pick on them. What if they did take care of him? What if my friend lacks some key details?

So I’m in a bit of a quandary, but for what it’s worth, I don’t doubt what I was told. Scouts are generally seen as disposable. It’s a business, pure and simple, and just one more reason to choose wisely if you’re considering evaluation as your career path.

A Closer Look at the ’15 Draft Class

14 Thursday May 2015

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We just finished examining the entire 2015 draft class, and we’re starting a breakdown of the players who were eligible to be selected two weekends ago. I find it a lot more illuminating to look at every single player who was hoping to hear his name called that week, rather than strictly the ones the media was touting. It just gives you a clearer, bigger picture of the entire draft. Here are a few thoughts.

  • We identified 1,989 players who signed with agents this year. We arrived at that number by taking the 2060 players the NFLPA listed as being draft-eligible and signed to a standard representation agreement, then eliminating all the repeat listings, veterans sorted in with draft prospects, misspellings that created incorrect listings, etc.
  • Also, I would estimate that the actual number of players who signed such deals is at least five percent, and maybe 10 percent, higher than 1,989. We had to go through and add 105 names to the list that had been omitted, and this was based solely on the tryout and UDFA players we know were part of this draft class. At any rate, almost 2,000 players is a big number when you consider that most teams only have around 100-150 on their boards as draftable.
  • Counting the number of players signed to undrafted free agent deals, as well as those invited in for tryouts, is notoriously hard because (a) some teams like to hide this from the media and (b) there are still six teams that will hold camp this weekend and don’t yet have their rosters and invitations set.
  • With that said, we’ve counted 489 tryout players and another 437 signed as undrafted free agents. The number will be slightly higher by the time the six teams wrap things up this weekend, and we hope to gather those names to add to our totals. Still, statistically speaking, only about five percent of those invitees will actually be offered contracts. Of those who are offered contracts, only about eight percent (one in 12) will actually make it to the 53 or a practice squad.
  • Figure that every one of these players that made it to a tryout, as well as those who signed as undrafted free agents, went into the draft as at least a solid bet to go in the seventh round. Having spoken to agents this spring, the cost of doing business for a player with a draftable grade is about $10,000 per player (counting training, food, lodging, etc.). That means that agents spent, all told, about $1 million training players that have, at best, an eight percent chance of making even a practice squad.
  • And for those that don’t know, the NFL doesn’t allow contract advisors to bill players on practice squads, so those fees are eaten, as well, unless the kid gets elevated onto the 53.
  • Of course, more than half the players that signed standard representation agreements didn’t even make it to a tryout, and we all know many of those players got paid training, as well. So determining the amount of money that went up in smoke at the end of the draft is really pure guesswork. I’d estimate that number to reach at least $1.3 million to $1.4 million.

I’m just getting started on these numbers. There’s still a lot of polishing that will go into them, and we’ll divide them up by position, school size, and a number of other factors next week over at Inside the League. This has been a wildly popular breakdown when I’ve done it in the past.

At any rate, I’ve provided today’s analysis just to give a little perspective, a peak behind the curtain. I think it provides a snapshot of the draft class and the odds players face in making the league.

WSW: Give Peace A Chance

13 Wednesday May 2015

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If you follow ITL on Twitter, you’ve been reading about the numerous hirings and firings by NFL teams over the past week-plus. It’s as much a part of this season in the NFL as swimsuits are to summer.

First, a quick aside for a pet peeve of mine: I hate it when I read a story from the sports media with the ‘it’s all just a game’ premise. You most often see this when a player’s child is stricken with a serious illness, or when a team soldiers on in the face of great regional turmoil/natural disaster, or whatever. First, it’s a lame, lazy premise. Second, all the people working in this ‘game’ depend on it to provide food, shelter, college expenses, etc., not just to themselves but to their families (and often extended families). Most often, their stay in this ‘game’ is also short, very short.

OK, I think I’m over my rant now.

Anyway, over the past 8-10 days, I’ve done a lot of writing about scouts who have been pushed out as new GMs have taken over, or for whatever reason. One of them, about a day after I posted his dismissal, sent me an email that said this:

“I saw where you posted the other day that I may be heading to (an NFL city).  Not only is that inaccurate, but I was also trying to keep it quiet while I transitioned to another job.  Other reporters reached out to me and had no problem holding the story.  I understand you have a job to do, but please at least make sure all of the facts are right.  Thank you.”

No. 1, getting emails/calls/texts like this is part of the business. No. 2, this is about as even-handed, courteous and respectful as these communiques get. No. 3, I’m very sensitive to what it means when someone loses his job. In many (most?) cases, it’s the last NFL job a person has. I understand all of this (which is why the ‘just a game’ stories really dig into me).

I responded by explaining that my speculation, which I believed credible, was well-meaning. I also thanked him for his even tone. My response read, in part:

“If we ever get to know each other – I know several of your friends – you will see that I’m not a bad guy. . . I’m always going to try to put a positive spin on transactions in this business because I, for one, know how hard it is. I don’t consider myself a journalist. I consider myself a football guy. There’s a big difference in my mind.

“My cell is on every email that goes out (including this one) so if you still feel I haven’t heard you out properly, you may call and let me know. Good luck in your next venture and I hope your time out is short.”

He responded with this:

“Thank you for the clarification and response.  Look forward to meeting you at some point.  Take care.”

So here’s my point. This business, every business, is about wins and losses. That’s perhaps more true on the field than off, but there are still real-world consequences to what’s happening. Some people treat football, and sports in general, as mere entertainment and folly. Well, to some degree that’s true, but it’s much larger than that. I encourage you, as you go forward in this game, to treat others with the same respect you give the game itself. I promise it will pay dividends.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

08 Friday May 2015

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This week, on our Twitter page, we’ve broken several stories of scouts hired and fired. Let’s take a look at the potential downsides and risks of a career in evaluation.

It’s who you know: Unless your last name is the same as an NFL owner, you’ve got an uphill battle. Nepotism is rampant in personnel evaluation and team administration circles. If you don’t believe it, look at the front office page on a couple team websites (here’s one glaring example). With few exceptions, you’ll find that these jobs are not purely merit-based.

Beating the odds: Of course, not every NFL scout or high-level executive had a dad who worked in the league, but no two employment stories are the same. I remember asking an NFL GM once how a young person gets hired as a scouting assistant. His response: “Why? You know somebody?” It’s very strongly referral-based in most cases. On the other hand, the Titans, for example, ask applicants to pursue scouting assistant jobs through the HR department, which is a great way to make it fair and balanced but also makes it doubly hard to stand out. And once you make a team, it’s like you’re always on thin ice. I work with one young person who’s a scouting assistant in the league. We talk all the time about how tenuous his position is. He wants to climb the ladder, but he knows how lucky he is just to be on the ladder.

No backup plan: Lots of scouts build a 20-year career, then one day their boss gets fired, the team cleans house, and he’s on the street. Now this scout’s probably middle-aged and has spent almost his whole life watching football games and evaluating talent. That’s an extremely limited skill-set, and only 32 organizations in all the world are willing to pay a true living wage for it. This means you spend your whole life trying to get back in. I remember about five years ago I tracked down a scout that had landed a job as an assistant o-line coach at a small school after getting sacked the previous May. My idea was to pay him a couple bucks, maybe $50, to get his thoughts on any potential NFL prospects he saw that season. He laughed at me, and was pretty dismissive about it when I finally reached him. I mean, I looked at it as a chance to throw him an extra tank of gas or a bag of groceries in exchange for a helpful conversation. He was looking at it as me trying to exploit his life’s work for milk money. At the end of the day, he was still waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse and save him, restore him to the life (and job) he once knew. Five years later, that still hasn’t happened.

No scarcity: Maybe 20 years ago, being a scout was an incredibly popular idea for a young person. However, in the last 20 years, with the rise of fantasy football as well as the multiple scouting websites and analysts around, I’d guess the demand has doubled or tripled. Everyone feels he’s qualified, and can use all the buzzwords. Then there’s the proliferation of sports management programs at universities across the land, as well as some services that prey on young people, teaching them that there’s a certain certification they can earn that will enhance their chances.  All this means that young folks are tripping all over themselves, willing to work for free in many cases, for a chance to get aboard a team. They are probably far more qualified than ever before, but it’s still a numbers game.

Changing fortunes: Let’s say you work your way up to GM, and you start getting plaudits as a boy wonder. Or maybe you come from the right GM ‘tree’ or ‘family,’ and you are hired and attain instant success. Then your team misses the playoffs once or twice, maybe due to injuries or bad breaks, and suddenly your evaluation power is stripped from you. Where do you go from there? You don’t have the tools to prove yourself again, and you’re not doing the one thing that’s most rewarding in the business, so you either play out the string and try to hold onto what you have, or you resign and hope someone else is willing to give you another shot. Once again, very tenuous.

As I often say in this space, the rewards of working in football are great, and there’s nothing like pursuing your passion. Still, know the risks and the potential downsides.

WSW: Blame Game

06 Wednesday May 2015

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When a young man’s dreams come crashing down abruptly, as they did for hundreds of young men this weekend, things can get crazy. Here’s one of the craziest examples of this that I’ve seen in years.

Shortly after the season was completed, probably in November, I got an email from a draft hopeful for ’15. He played an unglamorous position at a small school, but he was eager and I liked his attitude, even though I feared he was a bit of a self-promoter and maybe a little unrealistic about the challenges he faced. He wanted me to feature him in this space and help him along the path to the draft. I told him I do this for lots of young men and that I run a for-profit venture, and offered to help if he’d come aboard briefly. No surprise, I never heard from him again.

It was maybe a month later that I got a text from one of my agent clients, an incredibly hard-working and driven new contract advisor who’s been in the game a short while. This young agent wears his emotions on his sleeve and lives and dies every day for his clients. He will not be denied, and takes on a lot of long shots in an effort to get ahead. I cautioned him that his time was/is valuable, and his efforts promoting this young man might not lead anywhere. Still, my friend pressed on, pitching him to a scouting expert who is a mutual friend.

The scout told my friend about what I had told him — that his NFL chances were exceptionally long and that it was probably not worth his time to work with him. My friend wouldn’t hear it, and instead sent him to a special trainer that worked on his flexibility and movement in addition to the usual combine prep. Days before the draft, my friend was really encourage and hopeful of his client’s chances, as most agents are. I shared his enthusiasm, and even started to believe that this young man might beat the odds. Apparently, his family and friends were absolutely certain that he would.

Then the draft came and went with no calls. Saturday night came and went with no calls. This did not go over well with the player’s family, and so the phone calls started to my friend. Over and over, different members of the young man’s family called. They blamed the agent for his predicament. They told him he had ruined the young man’s chances of going to the NFL. They called other people, trying to get them to tout the young man in an attempt to embarrass my friend, who was only guilty of believing in an against-the-odds player. On Saturday night, I told my friend to fire the player. This was hard to do, because it would leave the young man high and dry, but it would also formally end my friend’s chances of reclaiming his several-thousand-dollar investment in him.

My friend got a phone call at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning. It was the player’s brother “waking him up” so he could start calling teams and cajoling them into taking the player. At that point, I became more adamant that my friend fire this young man. As of today, the young man still has no job, but as far as I know, my friend still represents him.

The player got some interest from well-meaning but less-than-credible websites and he did several interviews and got some attention, and he accomplished a few things in workouts that got him acclaim. But none of this was going to overcome his shortcomings on the field.

If you’re aspiring to represent players in this league, understand that what happened to my friend isn’t entirely a fluke. Someone has to take the blame when a player’s dreams don’t come true. Most often, it’s the agent. That’s why I encourage you not to take on hopeless cases, expecting gratitude. More often than not, you won’t get it anyway. Find the best player you can, but don’t take on reclamation projects and don’t take on hopeless cases. In the end, it’s only going to create heartache, probably before and definitely after the draft.

Here Comes The Broom

04 Monday May 2015

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On Twitter, there’s been a lot of attention to some of the teams that are making scouting changes this week. It’s a pretty normal, seasonal thing, and not a reaction to what happened last weekend.

To give an example, this is our grid from last year showing the various behind-the-scenes changes that took place in scouting departments across the league. It was actually a pretty normal year, nothing like the 2012 offseason when about double the number of changes took place.

Anyway, here’s the list from last year. If you’d like to see the complete changes from 2013, click here, and for 2012, click here (warning, they’re pay links):

Name Former team Former position New team New position
Aligo, Scott No. Colorado Defensive ends coach Browns Player Personnel Associate
Anderson, Alan Lions Pro personnel asst Lions BLESTO scout
Anderson, Darren Lions BLESTO scout Lions Regional scout
Bailey, Charles Jaguars Pro Personnel Director (2008) Browns Senior Player Personnel Associate
Biehl, Mike Chargers Asst. Director of College Scouting Bucs Director of College Scouting
Blaylock, Brent Browns Area scout TBA
Boller, Dave Jets Area scout TBA
Bollinger, Russ Rams Area scout (2012) Falcons Player Personnel Scout
Boyd, Malik Cardinals Western Regional Scout Cardinals Asst Director of Pro Scouting
Bradway, Mike Eagles Regional Scout Eagles Asst. Director of College Scouting
Brown, Morocco Redskins Director of Pro Personnel Browns Vice President of Player Personnel
Canty, Zac Cardinals NFS scout Cardinals Area scout (Northeast)
Chapple, Colton Browns Scouting assistant Browns BLESTO scout
Colombo, Marc Dolphins Offensive tackle (2011) Cowboys Scouting assistant
Culmer, Chris Cardinals Area scout (West) Cardinals Western Regional Scout
DeLuca, Sam Eagles Pro personnel intern Browns Player Personnel Associate
DePaul, Bobby Sacramento (UFL) Director of Player Personnel Browns Senior Player Personnel Associate
Devaney, Billy Rams General Manager (2011) Falcons Player Personnel Scout
Dixon, Gerald The Citadel Assistant coach Bills Pro Scout
Edgerly, Frank Browns Senior Pro Scout Browns Assistant Coach
Forsyth, Brad Bills Area scout TBA
Gaine, Brian Dolphins Assistant General Manager Texans Director of Pro Personnel
Glenn, Aaron Jets Pro personnel asst Browns Assistant DBs coach
Hagen, Mike Toronto (CFL) Director of Player Personnel Browns Area scout
Hastings, Joe Dolphins Player (2013) Eagles Pro Personnel Assistant
Hill, Ron NFL offices Vice President of Football Operations Browns Senior Player Personnel Associate
Ireland, Jeff Seahawks 14 draft consultant TBA
Jauch, Jim Seahawks Area scout TBA
Kelleher, Joe Lions Regional Scout Lions College Scouting Coordinator/Regional scout
Kirkland, James Titans Pro Scout TBA
Kuharich, Bill Chiefs Vice President of Player Personnel Browns Executive Chief of Staff
Lindsey, Matt Eagles Scouting intern Eagles College Scouting Coordinator
Lohman, Rob Lions College Scouting Coordinator/Regional scout Lions Assistant Director of Pro Personnel
MacPherson, James Pima CC Asst coach Chargers Area scout
Manocherian, Matt Browns Area scout TBA
McCalmon, Miller Lions Asst. Director of Pro Personnel Retired
McCloughan, Scot Seahawks Senior Personnel Executive TBA
McKinnie, Silas Lions Area scout Retired
Mueller, Rick Eagles Player Personnel Executive Eagles Director of Player Personnel
Munsey, Bret Eagles Area scout Redskins Offensive assistant
Murphy, Mike Dolphins Regional Scout TBA
Myers, Ryan Eagles Pro Scout Eagles Area scout (Northeast)
Nunn, Bill Steelers College Personnel Deceased
Obee, Brad Eagles Area scout (Northeast) Eagles Area scout (Southwest)
Palko, Luke Cardinals Area scout (Southeast) Cardinals Cross-checker (East)
Pitcher, Dan Colts Scouting assistant Colts Pro Scout
Rager, Cody Dolphins Area scout TBA
Ritcher, Harrison Browns Scouting intern Browns Player Personnel Associate
Ritcher, John Cardinals Area scout (Northeast) Cardinals Area scout (Southeast)
Roberts, Daron Browns Defensive quality control Texans Pro Scout
Robinson, Jon Patriots Director of College Scouting Dolphins Director of Player Personnel
Rogers, Kevin Jr. Colts Assoc. Director of Pro Personnel Colts Director of Pro Personnel
Rosenberg, Jake Eagles Manager of Football Administration Eagles Director of Football Administration
Sandusky, Jon Browns Director of Player Personnel Browns Player Personnel Associate
Schoen, Joe Dolphins Asst. Director of College Scouting Dolphins Director of Player Personnel
Scobey, Josh Cardinals Pro scout Cardinals Area scout (West)
Shaw, Jon Colts Pro Scout Colts Pro Scout/Special Projects
Sheridan, Justin Buccaneers Area scout Chargers Area scout
Speyer, Andy Eagles Area scout Bucs National Scout
Stephenson, Jamaal Vikings Asst. Director of College Scouting Vikings Director of College Scouting
Stigall, Johnathan Browns Area scout Jets Area scout
Stokes, Eric Buccaneers Director of College Scouting Dolphins Assistant GM
Studwell, Scott Vikings Director of College Scouting Vikings TBA
Turner, Seth Buccaneers Area scout Jets Area scout
Wright, Larry Texans Pro Scout Texans Assistant Director of Pro Personnel
Young, Theo Bills Area scout TBA

 

Shifting Winds

01 Friday May 2015

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As the NFL Network’s broadcast kicks off and I sit here among unpacked bags, exhausted from a return trip home but excited for what lies ahead over the next three days, I’m in a bit of a reflective mood.

Today, my reflection turns to how quickly things can turn, especially when it comes to an NFL player’s value. I think there’s value in weighing the way things have turned out, especially for people considering making the NFL their profession. First, a story about this year’s draft.

Tuesday night, my wife and I were fortunate enough to be invited to a get-together in Chicago hosted by the Sports and Entertainment Division of Morgan Stanley. It was wonderful, casual yet upscale, in a perfect setting at a classy bar at the Dana Hotel downtown. There were probably 300 people there, including people from all around the football industry: agents, financial planners, trainers, parents and relatives of players, and of course, players. It’s always fun to meet with players in a relaxed setting, especially when the hay is in the barn, so to speak, just days before the draft. Among the players there was LSU OT La’el Collins. But first, let’s flash back to earlier in the week.

On Sunday, I gotten a call from a source who’s very connected in Baton Rouge. He told me police were interested in talking to Collins regarding the murder of a young woman Saturday night. My source said Collins was the father, and hinted that it looked like a Rae Carruth situation. He urged me to investigate further.

That was a tough task for me. I have a small shop and a limited bandwidth, so I couldn’t put resources toward a wild goose chase through law enforcement and legal channels Monday and Tuesday, hoping for a scoop. While it looked like a juicy tip, and I couldn’t dismiss its veracity, it just wasn’t something I could act on. There was also one question I had: if a player wanted a former lover murdered, wouldn’t the killer make sure the baby didn’t survive?

Fast forward to Tuesday night. I didn’t get to speak to Collins, but I did exchange pleasantries with his agent, Deryk Gilmore of Priority Sports. It’d been a bumpy ride the past couple months for Gilmore and he looked relieved to be finishing up the lunacy of the annual draft hype-fest.

Less than two days later, the world of Collins, Gilmore, and everyone associated with them has been turned upside-down in a way no one could have foreseen as recently as a week ago. In a time when Aaron Hernandez’s conviction is still ringing in the ears of team officials, umerous reports indicate Collins has been removed from numerous draft boards.

Obviously, it will be a long time before all the facts of the case have been decided and all voices heard. However, Collins’ potential fall is perhaps the most meteoric of any player I can remember in a long time.

Keep the names of Collins and Johnny Manziel, another player whose fall from grace is measured in seconds, not years, in mind as you decide whether the fish bowl life of the NFL is for you.

Mike Murphy: Three Scouting Observations

27 Monday Apr 2015

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As we close in on the 2015 NFL Draft, I wanted to pass along a few interesting thoughts I got by interviewing Friend of ITL Mike Murphy last week. Mike has been with the Seahawks, Cowboys and Dolphins, giving him insights on the way the Packers (Ted Thompson), Saints (Jeff Ireland), Redskins (Scott McCloughan) and Cowboys (Jerry Jones) will be doing things this week, given the executives he worked with during his NFL days.

Mike was recently hired as the Director of Player Personnel at the University of Colorado, where he evaluates players in the recruiting process. I’ll pass along his thoughts and then provide my own thoughts and feedback.

  • Mike on signing and paying undrafted free agents: “(Senior Personnel Executive) Scot McCloughan and (Vice President of Football Operations) Ted Thompson ran the process then, and you were allowed to offer up to $5,000 and if you wanted to go over that, you had to go to Ted. I was on the phone with a kid and (GM Mike) Holmgren said, ‘Come on, Murphy, let’s get let’s get this thing done.’ I had an agent who wouldn’t budge, so he said, ‘Give me the phone.’ And Holmgren said, ‘how much is it gonna take to get this kid? $15,000? Done.’ Then he said, ‘See? This is how it’s done,’ and I said, ‘Give me $15,000 and I’ll get it done.’”
  • My takeaway here is that much of the money for undrafted players is pretty cut and dried. If you read my post last week discussing the player who lost out on a roster space because his agent passed on an initial offer from a team, you know you don’t want that to happen to you. Be very careful if you want to negotiate and ‘play agent’ during those 2-3 hours after the draft.
  • Mike on teams’ draft boards: “Some teams have 600 guys on their draft board. . . We only had 120-125 guys on the board in Miami, and more guys in Seattle, but some of it was window dressing. It’s all going through the same Ron Wolf theory. You have to have a formula you use. If you’re drafting in the top ten, you need 10 guys on the board, and as you go later, you have to have 80-85 percent of the guys possibly drafted at that pick in that round entering the draft. You have a tall running back on the board, he’s a good player but who maybe doesn’t fit your parameters. It’s window dressing.”
  • I used to think NFL teams had every draftable player on their boards, just in case, so they could have a full picture of the draft class. That’s not the case at all. Once you get down to it, there are only so many players that a team feels can make its roster in any given draft class. Once again, the NFL is not for good players, it’s for great players, or at least those that project as possibly great.
  • Mike on the influence of the media: “I think the media put the pressure on NFL owners and executives and they need to satisfy the media. You got to be strong and not listen to it, and do what you feel is right for the team, and the media isn’t in your draft room. They don’t know.
  • To me, this means if I have a player that has gotten plenty of media attention — maybe he was a try-hard QB on a great college team, or maybe he’s had drug or legal issues that the press doesn’t know about — I sell him hard to the teams with GMs or head coaches in tenuous positions. I put the media and its expectations to work for me.

If you’re interested in reading more from Mike — and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re a first- or second-year agent — click here.