Oct. 15-21
In the fall of 2020, for the first time, former Titans executive Blake Beddingfield joined about 30 contract advisors on Zoom and discussed 50-plus players he felt were NFL-worth but lacking in attention. He saw them as sleepers, players who could show up on Day 3 or even Day 2 if things broke right. He included a few underclassmen who could leave early, but mostly limited his insights to draft-eligible seniors.
Last year, he did it again. The number of participants grew, as did the list, with 56 players from multiple positions and schools making the cut. Thursday, he joins Zoom to discuss a new batch of players he sees as developmental late-rounders who could turn into reliable NFL players if not franchise players.
We asked Blake to preview this year’s list for us. Here’s what he told us.
Midway through the evaluation process for the upcoming NFL Draft, it has become apparent that there will be a number of positions that will carry their value throughout the seven rounds of the draft.
I define value as a player acquired through the draft or in undrafted free agency who has an impact in Year 1. Impact can be on the field as a rotational piece, as a special-teamer, or as a backup player on the two-deep.
This year the strength of the draft that will carry into Day 3 are at tight end, wide receiver and along the defensive line. The quarterback class has a chance to be strong at the top, and that will push higher-rated signal-callers down in the draft, even though their draft grade would normally rate a Day 2 selection.
It’s common to see players at positions like tight end, running back and quarterback fall in the draft, because of the need teams put on premium spots like offensive and defensive line as well as positions like cornerback and wide receiver, due not only to their positional value but also the value they create on special teams. This draft has a chance to be very strong at many positions as prospects take advantage of opportunities created by the transfer portal or the extra year given during the pandemic. There will be many players selected this year with either three years of college football or even six years of playing college football.
Here are just a few of Blake’s hits, all from last year’s session:
· Amare Barno, DE, Virginia Tech: Blake listed him as a possible fourth- or fifth-round pick in November of last year. He wound up going 6/189 to the Panthers.
· Troy Andersen, OB, Montana St.: Blake had Andersen as a late-rounder, but after a great spring, Andersen went 2/58 to the Falcons.
· Roger Carter, TE, Georgia St.: Blake saw him as a PFA, and that he was. He signed as a UDFA with the Rams, and today, he’s on Los Angeles’ practice squad.
· Devin Cochran, OT, Georgia Tech: Blake had Cochran as a PFA, and again, he nailed it. Today, Cochran is on the PS in Cincinnati.
· Tanner Conner, WO, Idaho St.: Blake gave Conner a PFA grade, and sure enough, he was signed post-draft by Miami. He’s now on the Dolphins’ 53.
· Dawson Deaton, OC, Texas Tech: Blake identified him as a 7/PFA, and he went 7/246 to the Browns. He’s now on the Browns’ injured reserve.
Virtually all of the players on Blake’s list last fall (56 in all) made a 90-man roster, but about a third (17) are still on NFL rosters or practice squads. That’s a pretty good hit rate on prospects you couldn’t find on any first-round mocks last fall.
We’ll get started with Blake’s session at 8 p.m. ET, and we’ll go a little more than an hour. Cost is $40 plus tax. If you can find anywhere else that a seasoned former NFL evaluator provides players no one is placing in the first round, but who could be solid late-round picks, we hope you take advantage of it. However, join our session, too. You won’t be sorry. By the way, if you miss it, the recording and an XL file with all of Blake’s picks will be available for the same price.
By the way, Thursday’s session isn’t our only meetup next week. As we discussed in this week’s post at Succeed in Football, we’ll have our second session aimed specifically at first-year NFLPA contract advisors Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. We began our rookie agent Zooms last year, and they were exceptionally popular as we went into detail on the issues facing them – how to identify a worthy player, how to contact players, what to say to them, how to set a training budget, how to contact all-star organizers and promote a player, what to say to parents, and dozens of other topics. Our first Zoom was earlier this month (Oct. 6), when we welcomed Octagon Football’s Murphy McGuire to talk about his career in player representation (check out his “origin story” here).
As always, our rookie agent sessions are completely free as long as you’re an ITL client. Keep in mind that these sessions are not recorded – we find it allows everyone to be a lot more transparent and candid – so don’t miss it, then hope to catch it later. Led by ITL’s Neil Stratton, we think it’s a not-to-be-missed opportunity if you just passed the exam this summer. If you’re not already an ITL client, try us out and see.
We really hope you’ll join us. In the meantime, here’s a look at what else we saw, heard, read and said about the business of college and pro football this week.
Catching Up: Lynn Stiles, 81, spent more than two decades coaching and scouting with the 49ers, Rams, Chiefs and Eagles, working alongside Bill Walsh, Dick Vermeil, Carl Peterson and many of the game’s greats (plus many years in college coaching, as well). We caught up with him this week.
· Where are you living and what are you doing now? “We’re living here (outside Kansas City). We’re retired, just enjoying this life to the best of our ability. Right now, we’re in the process of selling our house and so we’re getting that pleasure and finding another place to hatch. Dick (Vermeil) hasn’t called me yet for the next job, I mean, come on (laughs). But (former 49ers head coach) Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil were great friends. I talk to them all the time. It was really great for me to have the opportunity. We’re in Kansas City, Leawood(, MO.), a really nice area. Actually, Carl lives 10 minutes from me. If he’s in town, we get together every week, tell stories and talk about things.”
· Do you miss the job? What do you miss most? “Well, to be honest, the recruiting and drafting and all of that was needed, and I was a pretty good recruiter in college. I enjoyed that. But my love was coaching . . . You know, I have the bug (to work again), though, and it’s tempting. Where I would be interested would be as a consultant, and if I had that opportunity, I might look at that, but the other part of it is, as much as I’d want to, you know, it’s for the young guys, even though I work out every day. I could do a lot of pushups for an old guy (laughs).
· Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues? “Oh yeah, mainly on the phone. Both coaches and players. But once you’re out of it, they’re busy, and justifiably so, you know. You don’t want to pester them or anything. I will call and say good game or whatever the case might be.”
· Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)? “I watch TV, for the most part, and I’m a fan. I’ll discuss (the game) with Carl Peterson when we have lunch together every week.”
· Are there any players you love to watch and/or feel close to due to your work in the game? “Well, I like our QB here (Patrick Mahomes). Unfortunately, we had a bump in the road this week (a 24-20 loss to the Bills), but they will come back. We’ve got great coaching here, for the most part. Actually, ditto to (Bills QB Josh) Allen. I like to watch him. He’s a great player. We had two great ones playing last week.”
Review the latest from other former NFL scouts and executives by accessing our Catching Up archive here. Want to hear from a former scout, or know someone who may be interested in being interviewed? Let us know.
Know Your Scouts: Each year, when we review each teams’ front offices for our Know Your Scouts series, we turn up a few changes we weren’t previously aware of. Here’s what we found out of Arizona this week.
· Adrian Wilson is now VP of Pro Personnel after serving as Director of Pro Personnel last year.
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Stephen Wise is a new scouting assistant for the team. Technically, he’s not new – he joined the team in August 2021, per his LinkedIn page – but he wasn’t listed in the team’s media guide or on the website until recently.
· As for the Browns, Colton Chapple, who was a scout last year, elected to leave the team and is now working in private business.
All these moves have been added to our Scouting Changes Grid, which is now just under 290 moves this past offseason. Make sure you’re keeping up with our daily reports on NFL front offices here.
Agents by Total Clients: In this week’s look at the representation landscape for October, there weren’t a lot of changes at the top except the move of Wasserman’s Doug Hendrickson’s into the top 10. He’s tied with Rep1 Sports’ Chase Callahan with 34 clients, per NFLPA rolls. New York City-based Sportstars and L.A.-based CAA are the leaders with four agents each in the top 20; in all, 12 agencies are represented in the top 20. In all, 118 contract advisors have at least 10 active NFL clients (again, per NFLPA rolls). Give our entire list a look here.
Another try: Speaking of agents, we heard today that several would-be contract advisors who missed on their respective second attempts at passing the agent exam will get another shot due to the massive technical issues that plagued so many test-takers in July. We congratulate them on the outcomes, and applaud them for seeking redress during the 30-day window all applicants had after being notified of the results by the NFLPA. We’re here to help as they work to make their third time the charm. When you’re ready to get started again with exam prep, click here.
Next week: We’ll be getting lots of face time with the ITL nation this week with two Zoom sessions, but when we aren’t hanging out with the community, we’ll be generating content as usual. Here’s a look at what’s ahead.
· Now that we’re caught up on our Know Your Scouts teams, we’ll have five more next week. They include the Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles and Falcons.
· With our Agents by Total Clients list posted for the month, we’ll follow that up with our Agent Changes for October next week, possibly on Wednesday.
· Voting continues on the BART Lists for the AFC and NFC this week, with polling continuing until Halloween (Monday, Oct. 31). If you’re an active NFL scout, you just got the ballot link in your inbox. Please fill it out.
· The Rep Rumblings roll on, with more notes on hirings, firings, agency movement, all-star game notes, front office changes, NIL info and more.
· Just over the horizon: our Zoom session with Doug Whaley and other officials from the XFL with the league’s draft about three weeks away.
