Jan. 29-Feb. 4

As any scout, agent or even draft fan knows, quarterbacks are special. The selection and development of a talented passer can change a team’s fortunes almost overnight. The challenge for teams needing QBs this year is that there’s not a prospect on the level of Marino, Manning, Elway or even Luck, for that matter. We detailed that on Dec. 3, when we got scouts’ early impressions of the signal-callers in the ’22 draft class. 

This week, Phase 2 of the evaluation process, all-star play, wrapped up in Mobile, Ala. With the combine and pro days still ahead, here’s a prospect-by-prospect look at what NFL evaluators saw this week as told to former Falcons scout Rodrik David, listed alphabetically.

Sam Howell, North Carolina: One scout said succinctly after Wednesday’s practice that “Sam has helped himself this week, in both meetings and on the field.” The ball comes out with zip; it’s noticeable when he needs to drive the ball. He can also speed things up and change his arm slot, playing the position naturally and seemingly never straining, whatever the throw. I cannot help but see shades of Baker Mayfield.  

Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh: With the hand size question still on everyone’s mind, there were some scouts disappointed with his throwing in the elements. “Kenny controls the ball well, but there are times it looks like he gets underneath it, which results in high throws,” said one evaluator. One scout picked up on some of the subtle changes to his delivery and release he has made during combine prep, which might explain some of the bumps, along with the usual lack of cohesion with receivers during any all-star week, plus the wet conditions. Despite this, he was described as “killing” the interview process, really separating himself from the group when it came time to talking ball, big picture and having the QB intangibles. That may be enough to have cinched QB1 status.

Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati: While scouts have not been disappointed with Desmond, there were some who wanted to see more. Some teams have expressed concerns about Ridder’s inability to elevate his game against Georgia in the College Football Playoffs, and Ridder didn’t do anything to put those thoughts to rest. His delivery was very repeatable, but one scout said every throw looked about the same, and when there was a need for a throw with zip or movement with urgency, it wasn’t quite there. 

Carson Strong, Nevada: Strong was a guy who necessitated a little more pushing when it came to seeking comment on his play; he just was not on the tip of any scout’s tongue. He has a big arm that can load up and fire it, but does not appear to see and understand the big picture all the time. His athleticism isn’t superior, which sticks out compared to the rest of the group.  Will make some good throws, but didn’t stand out.

Malik Willis, Liberty: His arm strength continued to impress, and if you are going off just on-field traits, he separated himself, just a little, from the pack. The zip on intermediate throws, along with the ability to get into a drop and get through his motion, is not only the most athletic, but the fastest as well. You can see the wheels turning at times as he is being asked to do things that are not ‘normal’ for him, but he showed more comfort with what he was being asked to do each day, which should say something about his developmental ability. 

Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky: Coming off a record year at WKU and a stellar collegiate career between WKU and Houston Baptist, Zappe has been about what scouts expected. Scouts are all over the map on him. Some call him a borderline NFL starter that can win some games, while others see him in a backup role and still others don’t see him playing much in the NFL.  Zappe does everything right, but sometimes looks like a small fish in a big pond. Interviews were good.

If we’ve whet your appetite but you still want more, check out Rodrik’s work in this week’s piece for New Orleans Football. In it, he discusses the players at positions the Saints may address in the draft who impressed this week. By the way, if you’re a Saints fan and you don’t subscribe to Nick Underhill’s site, are you even part of the Who Dat Nation? 

Here’s a look at what else we saw, heard, read and said in the business of college and pro football this week.

More from the Senior Bowl: The ITL team spent four days in Mobile this week after missing last year’s game and, like everything else, found things to be a bit different from the way they were in 2020. How so? We discuss in today’s piece in Succeed in Football. We also applaud the efforts of a handful of CGSU participants that made it to game week; salute the new Assistant GM in Las Vegas; pass along agents’ respective takes on the NIL era and more in today’s post. You can take a look at all our posts going back to June 2014 here.

Catching Up: Charley Armey, 77, spent more than three decades in scouting with the Bills, Packers, Falcons and Patriots before finishing up with the Rams, where he played an instrumental role in the career of a player recently featured on the silver screen (“I thought the movie was good,” he said of American Underdog, the life story of former NFL QB Kurt Warner, “except I was a little disappointed it didn’t include what he did for Arizona, but . . . it’s a great story and one that will never be duplicated”). We caught up with him last week.

  • Where are you living and what are you doing now?: “I live in Sun City West (in Arizona), and I have one grandson who lives here and a daughter that lives here, and another daughter moving here. I’m just enjoying my family and enjoying retirement. My wife and I and I travel a lot. We’ve been married 58 years, and we do a lot of traveling. We just try to keep our heads above water, though Covid has slowed us down a little bit. We’ve done a lot of river and ocean cruises, including the Panama Canal (recently), but nothing lately. I’m a Navy veteran, so one June 6, we went to Normandy. That was really great.” 

  • Do you miss the job? What do you miss most?: “Actually, you miss the relationships you develop and the players you find who go on and become a great player. You miss that, not for yourself, but for them, just developing in the league and in their lives. Guys like (former Rams QB) Kurt Warner. I went over to Amsterdam and signed him to an NFL contract. I miss the part of seeing the development and the satisfaction of seeing them afterward. (Former Rams receivers) Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, guys like that. Every team, you had guys that made you feel good, and others that didn’t, it wasn’t working, but it’s that way in any life.” 

  • Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues?: “I don’t have much contact with them at my age, but not a lot of them live out in this area. But I miss that part. I miss the part of being around the people, too. Norm Pollom, who I started working with at the Bills, he’s (passed away). (Former Bills head coach) Chuck Knox is gone, too. The ranks are thinning out. (Former NFL scout) Mike Ackerley and I coached together at Colorado State, and we’ve been friends for years and years. (Also), one thing I like about (former Bears GM) Jerry (Angelo), he’s a very honest and direct person and that’s important. Any profession, it doesn’t matter if it’s football, baseball, accounting, some guys have high character, and some guys you put up the warning signs on. Jerry was one of those guys you knew you could always count on to do what he said he was gonna do, and would always answer the question.” 

  • Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)?: “I haven’t been to a live game for a while. It’s a little harder when you’re my age, fighting the crowds. The last one was the last Super Bowl they had here in Arizona, and I went as a guest of the Rams. Every once in a while I go to a high school game, but the last couple years it’s dropped off. It’s so easy to catch (games) on TV now. I’m a big hockey fan. When the Blues come to Phoenix, I try to go to a Blues game, or when the St. Louis Cardinals come to Arizona I try to go to those games. I try to go every once in a while. I miss all that stuff that you do with your family, your pro family, the guys you work with and around and stuff like that. The preparation for a draft and all that, you’re gonna miss that, but it fades with time.”

  • Are there any players you love to watch and/or feel close to due to your work in the game?: “I really liked the quarterback from Kansas City (Patrick Mahomes) and the quarterback from Buffalo (Josh Allen). Those are two up-and-coming young starters. The QB from Buffalo is remarkable, and his toughness, he’s a throwback, mentally and physically tough. Mahomes has unusual talent, instincts and awareness. I like watching those two. I also like watching (Tom) Brady and (Aaron) Rodgers. I like guys that perform well. I like watching the QBS because they take you to where the play is, good or bad. Every once in a while, I’ll catch myself evaluating them. That’s a trick you never lose.”

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.

We need to hear from you: If you’re an active NFL scout, you have two more chances to give us your feedback on salaries and benefits in our annual survey, which we launched in 2018. Sent to your inbox, along with today’s Wrap, is the ballot link so you can give us your input. Although we hate to pester you, we also want to give you every opportunity to help us get the best information available to you as you climb the ladder. Please consider voting. Thanks in advance. 

The 2022 ITL Combine Seminar is on the way: Don’t forget that we’re about a month away not only from the NFL Combine, but from our annual seminar. While we’re still weighing having it in-person vs. presenting it virtually, as we did last year, one way or another, we’ll be back. As always, it’s going to be big. We continue to expand our seminar as, this year, we’ll honor the 10 scouts in each conference who were the inaugural members of the BART List as voted on by active NFL scouts in September. They’ll each receive a plaque and recognition as hard-working and talented members of the scouting community and espousing all the values of our friend, former Rams scout Danton Barto (i.e., Bart). We’ll also present awards for contributions to scouting (the C.O. Brocato Award) and player representation (the Eugene E. Parker Award), then we’ll turn it over to our sponsor, the XFL, which will be represented by Senior Vice President of Player Personnel Doug Whaley. Doug will discuss, in detail, how the new league, which kicks off in Spring 2023, will work, from player contracts to the draft to evaluation and player acquisition. Whether or not you make it to Indianapolis, Ric Serritella and his team at the NFL Draft Bible will produce, as always, so we’ll have the whole thing up on our YouTube page shortly afterwards. 

2022 NFL-Head Coach Grid: While we still have three NFL head coach openings, we were getting a little antsy about creating a new list for 2022, so we did. We’ll fill it in once the Dolphins, Saints and Texans find their respective men. For now, Athletes First is the big winner this offseason with new clients in Chicago (Matt Eberflus), Minnesota (Kevin O’Connell) and Las Vegas (Josh McDaniels). In the meantime, check out the 29 head coaches and the agents who represent them here.

Hooray for the Hula Bowl: Incidentally, it was a big week for alumni of the ’08 Hula Bowl, run by ITL’s Neil Stratton, as two members of the ’08 roster made big moves over the past week. One of them was former San Diego St. QB Kevin O’Connell, who, as we mentioned, is the new head coach in Minnesota. The other: new Bears Assistant GM Ian Cunningham, who was named the Assistant GM in Chicago six days ago. Ian’s is among the eight names in our initialScouting Changes Grid, which will detail all the hirings and firings at the scout and executive level in the NFL over the next six months. Make sure you’re checking it regularly, as well as all the moves we’ve tracked each of the last 11 years. 

Next week: Now that the major all-star games are in our rear-view mirror, things get simple. We’ll focus on catching up. We owe you several Agent Changes reports and even an Agents by Total Clients list, and they’re coming. We’ll also put together our NCAA Coaches and Agents list for 2022. Of course, all of that is in addition to our Rep Rumblings, our Succeed in Football blog, and updates on the Signings Grid and everything else we work on this time of year. We might even see the complete NFL Combine invitation list this week, and if we do, we’ll launch our Combine Grid. Lots to do, lots to see. In other words, just another busy week in the business of football. Join us!