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Feb. 21-28
The 17th annual 2026 Ellison Kibler at Merrill Lynch Inside The League Combine Seminar was our largest crowd yet, as we highlighted dozens of award winners to individuals who have had a positive impact on the great game of football.
If you were in attendance at Room 205 at the Indiana Convention Center, chances are you left with more contacts than when you arrived. Hundreds of NFL executives, scouts, agents and industry professionals from the football community gathered for the hour-long session. We thank you for attending and hope to see you for next year’s event.
Now, onto the winners (as voted on by NFL teams) . . . .
Nominees for the 2025 Best Draft Award included the Panthers, Bears, Browns, Patriots and Giants. However, when the final votes were tallied, the winner was the Saints. It was a highly impactful rookie crop for New Orleans as the team landed a potential QB of the future in Tyler Shough, a franchise left tackle in Kelvin Banks and multiple other starters and key contributors amongst their nine selections. It was the second time the Saints have been honored with the award after they previously won the first-ever trophy in 2017.
“To be honest with you, the process has really not changed since I’ve been here,” Saints assistant general manager and college scouting director Jeff Ireland told the Times Picayune. “We’ve used the same process that we’ve always used. I think the addition of the (then-new coaching) staff and their energy and their enthusiasm in the process helped, for sure. They gave us great vision for what they were looking for, and that’s important. We went after high makeup, high character, highly intelligent players that had production in college.”
The winner of the 2026 C.O. Brocato Lifetime Service To NFL Scouting Memorial Award was Raiders Senior National Scout Andy Dengler, a veteran of more than 30 years in scouting. Dengler began with National Football Scouting (1995-98) and would later go on to serve in the Jaguars front office at many levels for 23 years (1998-2021) before joining the Raiders in 2022. The Circleville, Ohio, native joins a prestigious list of prior honorees that include Jeff Shiver (Bears) in 2020, Alonzo Highsmith (Patriots) in 2021, Mark Gorscak(Steelers) in 2022, Jeremiah Davis (Giants) in 2023, Scott DiBenedetto (Broncos) in 2024 and Chuck Cook (Commanders) in 2025.
From there, attention turned to the BART List, ITL’s annual rendering of the top scouts in three divisions (Next Wave, Road and Executive) as voted on by active NFL scouts and named in honor of former Rams evaluator Danton Barto. Winners were as follows:
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Road: Brian Fisher, Bills; Marcus Cooper, Giants; Ryan Florence, Seahawks; Dom Green, Jets; Chris Nolan, Jets; Steve Rubio, 49ers; Chas Stallard, Ravens; and Dan Zegers, Packers.
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Next Wave: Blaise Bell, Giants; Tom Bradway, Bears; Hayden Frey, 49ers; and Jack Green, Seahawks.
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Executive: Tokunbo ‘Tumbo’ Abanikanda, Falcons; Tariq Ahmad, 49ers; Matt Berry, Seahawks; Justin Chabot, 49ers; Bryan Chesin, Broncos; Ed Dodds, Colts; Alonzo Highsmith, Patriots; Anthony Patch, Raiders; Jon-Eric Sullivan, Packers (now Dolphins); and Matt Terpening, Colts.
Several individual NFL scouting awards were also handed out, including Best on a School Visit to Buffalo’s Fisher; Best at Gathering Character, presented to Brian McLaughlin of the Bucs; and Best Running a Pro Day, won by Sae Woon Jo of the Broncos.
A handful of NFL teams were also selected for awards, including the Best Pro Department, which went to the Rams, Colts and Seahawks, in addition to Best Analytics Department, won by the Ravens, Eagles and Cowboys.
ITL’s awards also extend into the collegiate level. Winners were divided into Power Four and Group of Five categories for the Best Strength Coach and Best Pro Liaison awards. Winner in the P4 division was Texas A&M’s Tommy Moffitt, while Toledo (now Connecticut) coach Brad Bichey took home G5 honors. In the pro liaison category, the P4 award went to AJ Wessel of Cincinnati, while Blake Moore of Memphis was presented with the G5 plaque. Finally, Most Improved Visit recognition went to USC, represented by team executive Max Stienecker.
But that wasn’t all. Friday was reserved for the 2026 Dropback ITL Symposium. Two panels (Will Scott, A&P Sports; Miles Jordan, Jordan Sports Group; Chris Gittings, One West Sports; James Blanchard, Texas Tech; Rashad Elby, Virginia Tech; and Caleb Davis, San Diego State on Panel 1, with Shane Costa, Generation Sports Group; Luke McMurtrey, Range Sports; Red Miller, PM3 Sports; Raj Murti, Oklahoma State; Billy High, Tennessee; and Tyler Barnes, Iowa) fielded 10 questions each over a two-and-a-half hour presentation. Among the takeaways:
- Both agents and general managers were generally complimentary of the January portal window, especially because it was the only one (no longer winter and spring windows). Tech’s Blanchard (who liked the new format) said that though his Red Raiders were in the playoffs early in the two-week period, he felt most evaluation work had already been done.
- College GMs were accepting of the “soft cap” nature of revenue-sharing, which allow for multi-media rights deals and other ways around the numbers. On the other hand, at least one GM expressed a desire to either design a “hard” cap or no cap at all.
- College officials expresses a general misunderstanding of the dealings of the College Sports Commission and sought better communications with the body, which most agreed had the potential to restore some level of sanity to the portal period and college salaries in general.
- Iowa GM Barnes expressed a desire for a cap on salaries for high school players, especially given the difficulty of determining their value and their lack of snaps early in their respective careers.
- Panelists generally expressed a desire to stay away from more hard-and-fast rules and instead deferred to relationship-building as the best way to govern college football in an era where change is a constant and it’s hard to determine the direction of things.
- Most college officials were satisfied with the agent community and expressed a general sense that player representatives were getting better, more knowledgeable about the game and the market, and reliable communicators. Agents, on the hand, were generally dissatisfied with the response time (or, at times, if there was a response at all) of most college GMs.
- One college official estimated that 90 percent of his team had representation, and few disputed it on their own respective teams, though Barnes asserted that the Hawkeyes have one future first-rounder who refuses to hire an agent.
- Most of the panelists expressed doubt that a code of conduct for agents and personnel specialists would be adhered to.
- The response was mixed regarding how much contact college administrators had with their peers. Most, however, said they had a way to compare and verify salary numbers, especially within the conference.
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No one (agents or GMs) on the second panel (when the question was posed) had any problem with agents representing coaches as well as players. They even saw it as a possible strength given the intel that could be gathered by an agent representing a coach who also represents good players.
- No one on the panel expressed a belief that the NCAA would have any chance of enforcing a ban on tampering, despite the body threatening penalties and renewed attempts at enforcement earlier this week.
Attendees also listened to a brief presentation by Dropback, the event’s title sponsor; Dropback founder Luke Bogus co-hosted the symposium with ITL’s Stratton. The nearly 400 members of the college transfer portal community then stayed around almost two more hours afterwards, trading stories, cell numbers and business cards. Everyone in attendance seemed to grasp the value of in-person contact and relationship-building, a common theme from the panelists.
We at Inside the League were proud to have played some small role in bringing the industry together. It’s our hope that events such as our symposium lead to greater understanding and camaraderie, which can only enhance conditions in the game. Naturally, we’ll be back and our events will be bigger than ever next year. If you joined us, we hope you found it fruitful, and hope you’ll return. If not, we hope you can make it next year.
Now let’s take a look at what else was happening in the business of college and pro football with Ric Serritella of All Access Football.
NFL evaluators debate ‘best’ prospect: A trio of FOX insiders polled a group of NFL executives to find out which player the league thinks is the best prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. Upon reviewing the survey results, even top decision-makers have no clear consensus. There does seem to be unity on one point: that Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is the top QB. "Everyone is going to have their own definition of ‘best’ this year," one NFC scout said. "It’s hard to go against a quarterback, but if we’re being honest, [Mendoza] probably isn’t the best player or prospect. He’ll have the biggest impact, sure, because of his position. But other players are better." However, opinions vary, with one assistant GM placing Mendoza atop the class. "If you need a quarterback, he’s the best player, no discussion," he declared. "He’ll have the biggest impact and plays the position where the good ones are hardest to find. I wouldn’t compare him to any other position. Those guys are always in a class of their own." Notre Dame OH Jeremiyah Love is another name frequently mentioned. Despite the surge in running the ball in recent seasons, NFL front office personnel remain hesitant to invest a top overall pick in the position. "I wouldn’t take him No. 1 because the supply of running backs far outweighs the demand," one front office executive stated. "But he has the most high-level traits for his position than anyone else in the draft." Other candidates mentioned also land at ‘devalued’ positions, which could create a conundrum for teams selecting in the top five. "Arguably, some of the best players in this draft are maybe at non-premium positions," said Chiefs GM Brett Veach. "When you look at the Ohio State linebacker [Sonny Styles], the Notre Dame running back [Love], the safety from Ohio State [Caleb Downs], those are really, really good players." The article also discusses draft philosophy. "Every team has their own philosophy," Ravens GM Eric DeCosta told reporters at the combine. "So, you could interview every general manager here, and they would probably have a different belief and need versus BPA, or ‘best player available.’ I learned under Ozzie Newsome and we’ve always been a best-player-available team. That’s important to me. That’s in my DNA. It is something I believe in.”
Bigger better for Bengals: Traditionally known for having an undersized front office, the Bengals expanded their personnel department last summer under de facto GM Duke Tobin. The team added three new members in Josh Hinch and Tyler Ramsey as well as new scouting research analyst Trey LaBounty. All three individuals arrived with prior NFL experience, as Hinch previously worked with the Buccaneers and Patriots, while Ramsey had experience with the Panthers and Seahawks (LaBounty was previously an analytics intern with the Bills). A larger staff means more voices in the room, something that Tobin acknowledges and also evaluates. “Every organization comes down to very few voices,” he said. “They get input but it’s going to be one, two, three, four voices that are really driving it. I trust the guys that we’ve got. You have to evaluate the evaluators, and I've done that, and I like the fact that I know our evaluators and I know how they look at players and how they grade and I know what their grades mean.” Injecting fresh voices into the war room has also resulted in tweaking their scouting philosophy. “We've got a pretty complex and robust scouting system now that we have built from the ground up over time and they've elevated it to another level that gives us all the resources we want when our scout is looking at the guy, needs the comparisons, needs the background on the guy, needs everything to evaluate the guy correctly,” Tobin added. “I've been very pleased with the new additions that we've had.”
Mum’s the word In Minnesota: This week’s NFL Combine comes with a different dynamic from the norm for the Vikings. The organization has taken an unorthodox approach in replacing GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was fired in January. Rob Brzezinski, who brings 33 years of NFL experience, has been dubbed interim GM to lead the organization through the draft process. In Indianapolis, Brzezinski was asked on multiple occasions if he desired the role in a full-time capacity. He demurred, choosing to focus on the task at hand. "I am just focused right now on the next two months or whatever's ahead of us into the draft," Brzezinski said. "It's an awesome responsibility. I've been here a long time. I know what this franchise means to our fans and just want to be a small part of one day delivering that championship. And so whatever steps we can take in the next couple of months, we're going to do that to make that happen. And that's what I'm focused on right now." Vikings owner Mark Wilf has directed that the search for a permanent GM will begin following the 2026 NFL Draft, and that the first item on the agenda is assessing whether anyone in the building is able to handle the job. He has also made it clear that he prefers a front office configuration which allows "extremely heavy input" from the head coach, something that began to shift early on during the Adofo-Mensah era (both head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores have had significant influence inside the war room in past drafts). When asked if would like more power in decision-making under the soon-to-be announced regime, O’Connoll also played it coy: "I want ultimately what's best for the organization under the direction of our ownership." The decision looms large for the franchise as Wilf seeks to create continuity. Upon purchasing the team in 2005, he kept previous GM Rick Spielman on the job for 16 seasons (from 2006-2021). Ironically, Brzezinski was the VP of Operations prior to the arrival of Wilf and Spielman. In fact, Brzezinski would appear to know this team better than anyone, placing him as one of the favorites to land the permanent position. For more perspective on the situation, click here.
Combine crossover. Back in 2010, then-Alabama defensive back Kareem Jackson attended the NFL Scouting Combine as a top-rated cornerback. This week, he returned to Indianapolis, trading in his T-shirt and shorts for a notebook. The former first-round pick now serves as a southwest regional scout for the Broncos, an organization he spent five seasons with during a 15-year playing career. The move comes after Jackson spent last spring working under Broncos GM George Paton in an undefined role; a positive impression led to Jackson landing a full-time role. Drafted by the Houston Texans, Jackson also played for the Buffalo Bills, spending time at both corner and safety, after a highly successful collegiate career, which included a BCS National Championship in 2009. Jackson now seeks to hone his craft along the scouting trails, a path that many NFL players attempt following their playing days.
Pioneering on the plains: Texas Tech GM James Blanchard took a Dr. Frankenstein approach in the portal last year, assembling a Red Raiders squad from parts he found in the portal. His gamble worked as the team won the Big 12 in dominant fashion on the way to a berth in the College Football Playoffs. He joined the Scouting the League co-hosts Rodrik David and Neil Stratton this week to talk about his philosophy and what the future holds for the team from Lubbock.
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On why he values “getting in the room” with people across the industry (3:04): “I think, just so people can see your energy, and you can feel theirs. It’s one thing to send a text, and for you to see my Twitter profile, all these guys DM-ing me. It’s another thing to hear somebody’s voice, hear the passion in them, to feel it. Shake somebody’s hand. Even simple, primitive things. Look at their stature. Are they looking you in the eye? Things like that.”
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On the risk of assembling a team aggressively in the portal (6:29): “Until you have that proof of concept, you don’t really know. We did something so Christopher Columbus-like, pioneer-like, with the transfer portal, and the investment we made in it, bringing in a bunch of talented young men from all walks of life from various programs, a lot of people said it couldn’t be done. I was the idiot standing on the balcony saying, hey, it can be done, and (Texas Tech head coach) Joey McGuire was right there backing me. It took a proof of concept, because it was just a theory. . . man, I had questions. I’m human. I’d like to sit here and tell you I knew it from Day 1, and I wasn’t worried at all, but there was many a night I didn’t go to sleep.”
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On his satisfaction with the game despite the calls for change (10:13): “Overall, I think college football is trending in a good direction. There’s never been more partity. Goddang, Indiana just won the national championship! For the longest (time), I didn’t think anyone outside of Georgia or Alabama could win that thing.”
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On how the team came to assemble a dominant defensive line in 2025 (13:43). “It was definitely a priority. . . (in the 2024 season), the Philadelphia Eagles were just dominating teams with how they were beating the hell out of people up front. The defensive line was just so deep and so talented, some games they didn’t even have to blitz. Man, that’s really what it was for us. I remember talking to Coach (Joey) McGuire, man, the best team in football right now is the Philadelphia Eagles, and they have the best D-line in football. We’re gonna go attack this portal, but above everything else, we’re gonna build the best, we’re gonna go build the best D-line in college football.”
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On how some G5 teams are coping with the times (19:43): “I was super-impressed with whatever Toledo did. They got (FS Emmanuel McNeil-Warren) to stay. They had a slot wide receiver that was super-talented, Junior Vandeross. Whatever the culture is in that building, from the head coach to the coordinators to the GM, they got those guys to stay.”
The outspoken Blanchard never ducks a question, which is one reason he returned as a member of the ITL symposium panel. Make sure to check out his insights and thoughts in this week’s edition of the Scouting the League Podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Catching Up: Scott Aligo, 43, spent seven years in the league scouting for the Chiefs and Browns before venturing into the college personnel space. We caught up with him this week.
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Where are you living and what are you doing now?: “Myrtle Beach, SC. General Manager of Coastal Carolina Football.”
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Do you miss the job of scouting for an NFL team? What do you miss most?: “I definitely miss parts of it. The draft process is unlike anything else. I miss the school visits and the opportunity to get to know prospects beyond the film, learning about their background, character, and support system. I also miss building the draft board, stacking position groups, cross-checking reports, and working through evaluations with the staff. There's a unique and special energy in that collaboration, and the excitement of draft day is hard to replace, especially seeing months of preparation come together in real time. At the same time, many of those same elements now exist at the college level, which is what I enjoy most about my role. Recruiting, evaluating, building relationships, and assembling a roster follow a similar process. The stage may be different, but the foundation is the same, and that competitive drive to build and develop players is just as rewarding.”
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Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues?: “Yes, I absolutely keep in touch with former colleagues. Throughout my career, I have either served directly as the pro liaison or worked closely alongside that role at the colleges I worked at. Because of that experience, I have maintained strong, ongoing relationships with former colleagues. across the industry. Staying connected is important to me for collaboration, idea sharing, and supporting opportunities for our programs and student-athletes.”
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Do you go to any live games besides Coastal (HS/college/pro)?: “My dad still coaches at Baker University, so I try to make it to at least one game each year when schedules allow. At the high school level, it can be tough due to the NCAA rule that prevents non-countable coaches from traveling in the fall, but I've had the opportunity to go on the road when coverage was needed because of staff vacancy. On the NFL side, I try to take my family to games at the closest NFL stadiums to wherever we are living at the time.”
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Do you find yourself rooting for the NFL team in your region, the one you grew up rooting for, or the one with the most people you’ve worked with?: “I tend to follow the teams I previously worked for most closely. There's always a personal connection there because you've invested time, built relationships, and poured into the program, so you naturally want to see them succeed. Beyond that, I also keep a close eye on players from the colleges where I recruited or worked at. It's rewarding to watch their growth and see them compete at the next level. At this point, my rooting interests are driven more by relationships and shared experiences than by geography.”
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: With so much on our plate leading into Indianapolis, we fell behind on a few basic seasonal features here at ITL. We’ll spend next week playing catch-up.
The Combine is (almost) over, and the seminar and symposium are in the rear-view mirror, but the football never stops. Just come and see.
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