Oct. 29-Nov. 4
The voting is over for the 2022 BART List – more on that later – but the balloting is not complete for the honors we’ll be handing out at our annual seminar at the NFL Combine. In just over four months, we’ll fete the sixth winner of the Best Draft Award. The 2022 winner will join the Saints (2017), Colts (2018), 49ers (2019), Bucs (2020) and last year’s winner, the Broncos.
As we approach Week 9 and the season’s halfway mark, let’s take a look at the contenders for the 2022 trophy, in alphabetical order.
Bears: Despite only being a fifth-rounder, OT Braxton Jones (5/168, Southern Utah) has gotten positive reviews at the all-important left tackle spot for an improving Chicago offense. In the secondary, twin second-rounders SS Jaquan Brisker (2/48, Penn St.) and DC Kyler Gordon (2/39, Washington) have solidified things. Brisker leads the team in sacks (3) and is third in tackles (37) at the midway point. Also, KR Velus Jones Jr. (3/71, Tennessee) has helped out on special teams.
Giants: New York has surprised in no small part due to the team’s first-round duo, OT Evan Neal (1/7, Alabama) and DE Kayvon Thibodeaux (1/5, Oregon); here’s hoping Neal’s MCL sprain won’t cost him significant time. Also productive but now injured is TE Daniel Bellinger (4/112, San Diego St.). Josh Ezeudu (3/67, North Carolina) started his first game at guard last week and WO Wan’Dale Robinson (2/43, Kentucky) looks like a threat that will be put to good use by head coach Brian Daboll.
Jets: Success didn’t come overnight for GM Joe Douglas’ crew, but things are progressing nicely now on the strength of a sterling ’22 draft class. First-round DC Ahmad Gardner (1/4, Cincinnati) is already in the conversation among the top corners in the game, and WO Garrett Wilson (1/10, Ohio St.) already has two Rookie of the Week awards under his belt at the season’s halfway mark. The team’s third first-rounder, DE Jermaine Johnson (1/26, Florida St.) has been a key part of the d-line rotation, and if not for a knee injury, OH Breece Hall (2/36) might be on track for a 1,000-yard season.
Lions: OK, Detroit has given up at least 24 points in every game so far and more than 30 three times. Still, you have to start somewhere, and the team’s defense-heavy draft has provided some bright spots. Detroit’s first pick, DE Aidan Hutchinson (1/2, Michigan) has been inconsistent but, at times, dominant (three sacks vs. Washington), while FS Kerby Joseph (3/97, Illinois) and OB Malcolm Rodriguez (6/188, Oklahoma St.) have shown talent and provided plenty of starts. If WO Jameson Williams (1/12, Alabama) provides a spark upon his arrival, this could be the draft class that turns things around for the Lions.
Patriots: Could New England have found its quarterback of the future in the fourth round? That’s what some are asking with Bailey Zappe (4/137, Western Kentucky) acquitting himself extremely well in relief of Mac Jones. He’s led the team to two wins and ignited speculation that he may be the next backup who seizes the reins in Foxboro. Meanwhile, DC Jack Jones (4/121, Arizona St.) has been a big-play machine, OG Cole Strange (1/29, Tennessee-Chattanooga) has been a Day 1 starter and several others have played meaningful snaps for the Pats.
Seahawks: Seattle made improving its offensive line a priority entering last spring’s draft. Based on early returns, mission accomplished. Both OT Charles Cross (1/9, Mississippi State) and OT Abraham Lucas (3/72, Washington St.) have been instant starters and solid protection for QB Geno Smith. They’ve also cleared a path for OH Kenneth Walker(2/41, Michigan St.), who’s got a shot at a 1,000-yard season after stepping in for the injured Rashaad Penny. But that’s just one side of the ball. On defense, the ‘Hawks have been buoyed by the play of corners Coby Bryant (4/109, Cincinnati) and Tariq Woolen (5/153, UTSA).
Other contenders: The Saints have a keeper in WO Chris Olave (1/11, Ohio St.) and DC Alontae Taylor (2/49, Tennessee) has been surprisingly effective with Marshon Lattimore on the shelf. No. 1 pick Travon Walker has shown flashes in Jacksonville, while OB Devin Lloyd (1/27, Utah) has been a tackling machine. Receivers Romeo Doubs(4/132, Nevada) and Christian Watson (2/34, North Dakota St.) are getting plenty of reps in Green Bay and, if they mature quickly, could propel the Pack’s offense the way Quay Walker (1/22, Georgia) has on defense. In Baltimore, OC Tyler Linderbaum (1/25, Iowa) has earned plaudits and the healthy return of OB David Ojabo (2/45, Michigan) could mean big things for the Raven offense; DT Travis Jones (3/76, Connecticut) and TE Isaiah Likely (4/139, Coastal Carolina) have also played well.
Clearly, there are several contenders for the award, and we look forward to seeing which five teams emerge as finalists over the second half of the season.
Here’s a look at what else we saw, heard, read and said in the business of college and pro football this week.
Zoom, take 1: Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET, we’ll have our third Zoom session aimed directly at the contract advisors who passed this summer’s exam. The topic is recruiting, and we’ll be joined by Alex Campbell (certified in 2019), Rasheeda Liberty (2021) and George Holley (2021), each of whom will tell their stories about getting players on NFL rosters in their first year as contract advisors. Their stories are essential for new player reps. If you’re a new agent and you’re part of the ITL family, the Zoom link will be in your inbox Wednesday afternoon. And if you’re not an ITL client . . . .
Zoom, take 2: We’re getting a lot of questions about the XFL Draft, the XFL player pool, the number of rounds in the draft, salary details and much more. We don’t have the answers, but XFL officials Doug Whaley and Russ Giglio do, and they’ll join us on Zoom Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. You’re invited, too, if you’re an ITL client. Just let us know you want in and we’ll send you the Zoom link Thursday afternoon. See you there.
Give ‘em a hand: Last week’s edition of the Friday Wrap was one of our biggest in years, and it was all due to NFL scouts’ recognition of the best NFL liaisons working today. In fact, we got a tremendous amount of input from scouts that we didn’t want to throw away, so we plugged it all into a lengthy post at Succeed in Football. If you work in football at the NCAA level, make sure to check our post to make sure you or your friends aren’t listed. We’re excited to play a part in recognition of the people who help make scouts’ jobs easier.
Scouting Changes Grid: In the course of doing our Know Your Scouts update, we uncovered a few scouting moves we had missed. Here’s what we found:
· Jacksonville’s Dave McCloughan also has a new title, we think. The Jaguars made other moves, too.
Catching Up: Jeff Diamond, 69, spent 23 years with the Vikings, rising from an entry-level role in public relations and operations to GM, then another five years with the Titans as President/COO, during which time the team went to the Super Bowl in 1999. We caught up with him this week.
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Where are you living and what are you doing now? “We moved back here from Nashville about four years ago, so we’re back in the Twin Cities, for better and worse when winter comes. I got involved with The Institute for Athletes (IFA) when Blake Baratz started the firm, and I have been working with IFA for about 10 years now, helping them with strategic planning and working with our players on what the expectation is from a team perspective. We’ve got a lot of good guys in our firm, including (Washington DE) Jonathan Allen, (Vikings WO) Adam Thielen, about 35 guys around the league. It’s been fun to stay involved with our group. I do a lot of media work covering the Vikings, covering the NFL, and I do a podcast every week that’s kind of Vikings- and NFL-related. I also do a weekly show on the ESPN station here and the Score North website, which is more of a weekly Vikings-related show following the Sunday game. Then also some writing for a Vikings website. I also do college speaking on management, leadership, that kind of thing. So I’m staying busy and having fun.”
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Do you miss the job? What do you miss most? “To a certain extent. I had a great career in the NFL, and was very fortunate to be able to work for my hometown team for 23 years. That doesn’t happen very often. Then we had a fun run in Tennessee. I had a really good NFL career and have had opportunities to go back, but it wasn’t with the right team or right owner. What do I miss? Game day, the draft, there are certain things you miss, and playoff games, of course, and the excitement. I had a lot of those in my career. Now, unfortunately, it can be heartbreaking at times, like when we lost to Atlanta (in ’98). But there are also parts of the job you don’t miss, like training camp, preseason games and worrying about players getting hurt, negotiating injury settlements, having to go to a player and ask him to take a pay cut. Those are the things you don’t miss. But there are parts I do miss, especially game day. That’s the competitor in anybody that has worked in the business for a long time.”
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Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues? “I think certainly camaraderie is a big part of what I miss. I’ve kinda kept a lot of those relationships through my work, and we had a big reunion (recently) of our Vikings team that went 15-1. It was fun to see those guys. Those things are part of the job that you do miss.”
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Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)? “I’ve been to a few Vikings games, and have been to a few other games around the league with the agent firm, visiting our players, so I do attend games from time to time. But I don’t necessarily seek it out, because to be dealing with traffic, parking, to give up the whole day . . . and part of it is, because of the shows I do, particularly the Monday night live radio show, I have to focus in on the game. But I’d just as soon be able to watch it at home and really be able to concentrate and not be in the stands and not have to watch the game on tape. But I do go occasionally. I more enjoy going to MInnesota Wild hockey games. My son has season tickets, and we’ve always been a big hockey team, so that’s where I get my live games fix.”
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Are there any players you love to watch and/or feel close to due to your work in the game? “There are a lot of players I love to watch. I pay very close attention to (Vikings WO) Adam Thielen and (Washington DE) Jonathan Allen and other clients (at The Institute for Athletes) such as (Vikings OH) C.J. Ham and Khari Blasingame, a fullback for the Bears. I like to watch those guys when they’re playing. There are a lot of guys I like to watch. Around the league, there are obviously guys I enjoy watching. I know (Vikings WO) Justin Jefferson fairly well, and I love watching him play, and I also love watching (Chiefs QB) Patrick Mahomes play, his creativity and his abilities. Those are some of the fun people to watch. And even here in Minnesota, it’s fun to see (DE) Zadarius Smithhave the comeback year he’s having, the fire he brings to that Vikings defense. When you think about guys like Mahomes, that’s pretty universal for anyone that likes the sport, that you enjoy watching the premier players. And then comeback stories like (Seahawks QB) Geno Smith, that’s kind of an amazing story. Reminds me of in ’98, when (the Vikings) had (QB) Randall Cunningham and it was toward the end of his career. I had signed him to be a backup quarterback, and he had had a lot more success (over his career) than Geno had, but Brad Johnson was our starter, and he got a high ankle sprain in Week 2. By the time he was healthy, Cunningham was rolling and the coaches didn’t want to put Brad back in the lineup and Randall was All-Pro. People didn’t have that expectation of Geno, and wow, is he having a great year. I love to watch (Bengals QB) Joe Burrow, too. A lot of fire and passion and great ability. He’s a fun guy to watch, too, especially during that playoff run last year.”
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.
Next week: We’re back on the Zoom next week as the season winds its way toward the close and all-star games begin the invitation process. Here’s what’s ahead.
· We’ll have four Rep Rumblings reports as recruiting gets serious and the seat gets hotter for college and pro head coaches.
· We’ll dive into the scouting stories and backgrounds of the evaluators populating the front offices of Packers, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders and Rams as part of our Know Your Scouts series.
· We’ll have two Zoom sessions, with our Rookie Agent session set for Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and our Pre-XFL Draft Zoom session with Doug Whaley and Russ Giglio Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. If you’re a new agent and an ITL client, you’ll get the Zoom link Wednesday afternoon. If you’re an ITL client and interested in joining us Thursday night, let us know.
· We’ll have highlights from our Zoom slate in next week’s edition of the Succeed in Football blog.
The season is fun, but the offseason is maybe even more fun. Make sure you’re ready for it by joining us.
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