Oct. 1-7

The 2022 NFL Draft class was billed as loaded at wide receiver, pretty heavy at offensive tackle and light on QBs. The class lived up to expectations with six receivers in the first round as well as six tackles, with only one QB and several expected passers falling well out of the first round (or through the draft entirely). 

Still, you can’t judge a draft class solely by Day 1. Where was the depth up and down the class? When it came time to cut to 53, what positions were best-stocked with players from 2022? To find out, we completed our annual Draft by the Numbers feature, in which we count the number of players at 18 positions (yes, even long-snapper) and count how many were signed to SRAs (to get a total sense of the draft pool), how many were drafted, how many signed post-draft, how many got tryouts (which returned this year), and how many made the 53 or practice squad. We posted our results todayaside our annual renderings going back to the 2015 draft class. Here’s what we found.

  • The highest number of players who made opening week rosters (53/PS) at a specific position was cornerbacks (66), followed closely by wide receivers (61). Of course, that’s because there are more receivers and DBs on a roster than at most positions, and they come in handy as special-teamers. On the other hand, the percentage of all cornerbacks signed to an SRA who actually made rosters was only 27.6 percent; similarly, wide receivers made the cut at a 20.5 percent rate. Better news: more than half (54 percent) of all receivers made it to a camp (drafted, signed as UDFA or tryout), similar to cornerbacks (53.6 percent). Since we started tracking opening week roster composition in 2018, corners or receivers have led the way by volume in each draft class.

  • There were more cornerbacks (38) drafted than any other position, but if you go by percent of draft class, tackles were the far-and-away leader with just under 26 percent of them drafted. Tight ends and running backs were the only other two positions to clear the 17 percent mark. 

  • Also – only tackles got deals (i.e., drafted or signed as UDFAs) at a better-than-half rate (55.6 percent). Centers, normally not especially popular, were next-closest at 44.1 percent. 

  • It’s probably no surprise that the positions in highest demand were on the offensive line. If you played tackle and signed an SRA, you had a 65.7 percent chance of going to camp (71 of 108 prospects, 65.7 percent) and a 40 percent chance of making a roster. No other position reached the 40 percent mark. The only position that went to camp at a higher rate was centers, who made it at a 67.7 percent rate. Centers also made rosters at a good rate (35.3 percent). Oddly enough, centers did far better than guards (only 19.5 percent made it to a roster). That’s an anomaly; last year, guards made it at a 48.9 percent rate as compared to centers, who were at 37.5 percent. It’s important to note, of course, that about four times as many guards signed with agents as did centers, so far more guards made it to opening week (25) than centers (12). 

  • It was a down year for tight ends, normally a very popular position with NFL evaluators and roster-makers. Only 33 made a 53 or PS this year, which represented 30.1 percent of the total tight end class. Last year – with a far smaller class – 26 tight ends made rosters (66.7 percent of the tight end class). In 2019, 47 tight ends made opening-week rosters (52.8 percent of the class).  

  • Outside of punters, kickers, long-snappers and fullbacks, the toughest position to place on an opening-week roster was inside linebacker. Only 23 made rosters, representing 19.3 percent of the class. It shows that last year’s showing – 14 made rosters, which represents 48.3 percent of the class – was an outlier. Truth is, last year was a great year for just about every position. More than two-thirds (67.5 percent) of defensive ends made rosters. Just behind defensive ends were tight ends (66.7 percent, as we already mentioned), tackles (66.1 percent), cornerbacks (63.6 percent) and outside ‘backers (60.3 percent). If you are a player who opted out of last year, only to be part of the ’22 draft class, we hope you made the right decision.  

  • No specialists – punters, placekickers or long-snappers – made it at a higher rate than 15 percent. Last year, six of 18 kickers signed landed on rosters. 

  • Quarterbacks are popular for scouts, teams and agents alike, but the ROI isn’t always there. Most seasons, between 20-25 percent of quarterbacks signed to SRAs actually make rosters. Once again, 2021 was a vast outlier (54.2 percent made rosters). 

There’s plenty more to pull from the numbers, and contract advisors would be wise to examine them fully before making signing decisions in December and January. Make sure you check out the grid here. 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: Carl Peterson spent 30-plus years in the NFL in addition to four years in the original, high-flying years of the USFL. We caught up with him last week.

  • Where are you living and what are you doing now? “I’m living in a couple places. One is a place called The Village of Loch Lloyd, a country club development south of Kansas City on a Tom Watson-designed course, and also The World Ship. The World Ship is a one-of-a-kind, privately owned cruise ship that continuously sails around the world. It’s got 160 condos with 124 owners, and we get on and off as you like the itinerary. We just got back from five weeks in Scotland and Ireland. I’ve been an eight-year resident on The World Ship. If you like to sail and like to travel, it’s the perfect combination, and that’s what I like to do. It’s one of a kind, and It works well.”

  • Do you miss the job? What do you miss most? “I had more than just a scouting job. I was the President, GM and CEO, so I wore a lot of hats. Certain aspects of it I do miss, the competition, the association with players and coaches and staff. I miss training camp. I always enjoyed training camp. We took our team to River Falls, Wis., for 19 of my 20 years with the Chiefs. I do not miss the second-guessing by the media and by some of the unscrupulous player agents out there that are only out there for themselves and not for their clients, and they’re pretty easily spotted, but you still have to deal with them to get your players into camp and onto the roster. I certainly miss a lot more than I don’t miss, but I’m not very active anymore. My seven years after the Chiefs, I was chairman of USA Football, all of the youth football in the United States as well as internationally accepted by the Olympic committee. That’s children playing flag and tackle from 7 to 19 years old, so Pop Warner through high school. I enjoyed that. We had a great staff. We were based in Indianapolis, and then after that, the commissioner had me on some committees, which I enjoyed, but that has lessened to zero at this point . . . There was always something about leaving the office on Tuesday, going out and spending time with those college coaches, then coming back on Friday and rejoining the team for the game. It was a good way to spend a career.”

  • Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues? “Yeah, I do. In fact, this weekend I’m going from Kansas City to Hyannis Port(, Mass.), to witness and enjoy the wedding of (former Chiefs executive’s) Bill Kuharich and his wife’s daughter. (Former Chiefs executives) Lynn Stiles and Terry Shea and their wives are still here in Kansas City, and Mike Davidson, our equipment guy. I don’t attend many Chiefs games, once or twice a year, usually the playoffs. The alumni weekend, I try to get back for that, but pretty much I have extracted myself from the Chiefs. I still have my toe in the water with the NFL with (Commissioner) Roger (Goodell) and some committees. He asked me to do a consulting committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame the last couple years, and I was very pleased to get my guy (former Eagles, Chiefs and Rams head coach) Dick Vermeil in this summer. It was also very exciting, as well, to see a “too short” linebacker by the name of Sam Mills who went on and distinguished himself and is posthumously in the Hall. (Former USFL and Saints head coach) Jim Mora did a great job with him and it was terrific. When I presented Dick, Jim Mora presented Sam Mills, and we had a great reunion. Dom Capers and Vic Fangio were there. We had a hell of a staff on the Stars. Four or five NFL head coaches and four or five coordinators, because of some great players.” 

  • Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)? “Like I said, I’ve been to a few Chiefs playoff games at Arrowhead, and I take a lot of pride in Arrowhead. We worked hard to refill that magnificent stadium. They had been down for so long and were so bad. But once in a while, there’s a college game that I might have an interest in. Then, K-State (games occasionally), and even Kansas this year. My goodness, they’re undefeated, and it’s been a long time since that happened. Also, once in a while, my alma mater UCLA, where I still have a lot of friends, and I have been involved in fundraising for their football facility. But not a great deal. I watch most games on television.”

  • Are there any players you love to watch and/or feel close to due to your work in the game? “Most of my players are all gone now. (Former Chiefs punter) Dustin Colquitt was my last Chiefs draftee. He stayed with them for 15 years and won a Super Bowl with them, which I was thrilled about. Today, mainly it’s coaches I know that are still coaching. There are some GMs that I still keep in touch with a fair amount, but I had a much larger job as general manager. The job of GM, and this dates me because it has changed so much since then, but I was hired by (Chiefs owner) Lamar Hunt to hire the head coach, and on the football side, resurrect the football side of it. To get the Chiefs back on a positive cash flow, if you will, to fill the stadium and make the Chiefs once again meaningful in Kansas City and the middle part of America, so I wore a lot of hats and met a lot of people.”

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.

Class in session: It was a big week of Zooms for us. Here’s a rundown of who we featured and what we discussed.

  • Tuesday and Wednesday: We kicked off our four-session name, image and likeness (NIL) Zoom class with Vantage Management Group’s Sammy Spina Tuesday, then continued the next night, going an hour-plus both times. Sammy went in-depth on recruiting and networking on Tuesday, then went over several of his campaigns and told the backstories on his challenges getting them done and the impact they had. All participants not only got to sit in and ask questions, but also got copies of the private video link for both sessions. Next week’s presentations cover what to look for in agreements (Tuesday) and how to build a sustainable NIL practice for the long haul (Wednesday). Here’s a recap of our takeaways from Tuesday from our blog, Succeed in Football. Like what you see and hear? It’s not too late to join us for next week’s sessions, and all four videos are included in the $100 entry fee. We’d love to have you aboard. 

  • Thursday: We welcomed Octagon Football’s Murphy McGuire for a wide-ranging session on the agent business aimed specifically at rookie contract advisors. Murphy started with how he broke into the business, then stuck around to discuss how to build a network of scouting contacts, how to deal with the challenges of a changing industry, how to relate to a client’s parents, determining the best balance of Zoom vs. in-person contact, and other tricks of the trade. It’s just the first of our monthly tutorials for new agents that we debuted last season. We’re tentatively planning to return later this month with a second session packed with guests and commentary from ITL’s Neil Stratton. All you got to do to join us is become a member of ITL. There are no costs beyond your $29.95/month fee. If you missed Murphy, we hope you can join us next time for these candid, often personal, non-recorded sessions. 

Voting continues: Last week, we kicked off voting for the 2022 BART List Awards, which this year includes stratified voting (we separated executives/directors from classic “on the road” scouts) and voting on pro scouts. We also limited voting on AFC and NFC scouts to their fellow evaluators in respective conferences. We hope it creates a better picture of who’s excelling in the industry. If you’re an active NFL scout, you just received a link to the ballot for this year’s voting. Please participate. Results will be announced at our annual seminar in March in Indianapolis. 

XFL update: After reaching out to XFL Senior VP of Player Personnel Doug Whaley this week, we have a few updates on the league’s coming draft and spring season. They include:

  • The draft will be held Nov. 16-17.
  • The league has identified 10-14 quarterbacks who will be targeted once the league irons out a few contract issues.
  • Offensive linemen are a priority as the league continues to add to its player pool.

For more on the XFL’s latest developments, check out Wednesday’s Rumblings.

Welcome aboard: This week – much earlier than normal – the NFLPA posted its full list of contract advisors, including those who passed this summer’s exam. As of today, the site lists 927 licensed contract advisors, about 60 more than last week. However, we won’t know the full size of the new agent class until we know how many others have been expelled due to the three-year rule or simply due to voluntary withdrawal from the business. We already took a brief look at this year’s class in Thursday’s Rep Rumblings, but we’ll have an expanded look at things on Monday. 

Next week: With the 2023+ Profile Reports for every FBS school now in the books, it’s time to move on to our annual fall feature, our Know Your Scouts breakdowns for each of the 32 scouting staffs. If you want to learn who’s covering what region, how long scouts have been in their current jobs, where they went to school and other need-to-know info, all in one place, make sure you catch all of them. It’s your first step to building a network if you’re a new contract advisor. Also, catch the following next week:

·      We’ll capture some of the better bits from Sammy Spina’s final two name, image and likeness classes and roll them into our Succeed in Football post for the week.
·      We’ll dig into the additions and subtractions to the NFLPA rolls and post our findings on the new class (as well as who departed) in Monday’s Rep Rumblings report.
·      We’ll talk to former Saints coach and scout Marcus Ungaro for our Catching Up feature in next week’s Friday Wrap.
·      Voting on the 2022 BART List continues, of course.

It’s go time. Let’s get it. Come join the team.