April 30-May 6
As we’ve grown, however, our coverage area has expanded. As you know, the week after the draft is a very busy time for setting up a team’s scouting lineup, and this year was no exception. More on that later. What we’re saying is, we need a little more time before we can provide our usual look at top agencies by draft points, which firms did the most and the least with their combine invitees, the trainers that had the best January through March, and how the entire draft class stacks up. That’s coming, but for now, we hope you’ll settle for the following observations as an appetizer.
The more things change . . .: A lot of factors (mainly NIL) combined to make this a unique year, but you wouldn’t know it based on the agencies that led in total players drafted. Sportstars had 25 draftees, with Athletes First just behind with 21.Then there was Klutch Sports Group (13), Rep1 Sports (11) and Wasserman Sports and CAA (tied with 10 each). Of course, not all draft picks were created equal, and next week, we’ll look at who shone the brightest when you figure in where each firm’s players were drafted. Stay tuned.
Big dogs eat: As usual, EXOS’ four primary combine prep locations performed well. We don’t have point totals yet, but the Arizona (33), Texas (30), Florida (25) and California (9) locations combined to train 97 of the 262 draft picks this year.
X-cellence: Also worth mentioning is the job done by Ft. Myers, Fla.-based X3 Performance. Jordan Luallen and Co. probably did more with less than any other training facility, helping 11 players get selected, none of them before Day 3. That means Luallen was working with players without the pedigree of some of the major names in combine prep, yet he still had three fifth-rounders, four sixth-rounders and four sevenths. They came from schools like Samford, Youngstown State, Miami (Ohio) and others that don’t usually attract five-star prep players. Most impressive of all: 38 players snubbed by the combine were drafted, and X3 trained 10 of them. The next-closest facility? Bommarito Performance Systems and XPE Sports with three each. Hats off to the whole team at X3.
No combine, no problem: National Sports Agency had the highest-drafted player not invited to Indianapolis in Missouri St. DT Eric Johnson (who trained at X3, by the way). As for agencies, five firms tied with two players each who were drafted without the combine’s help. They were Exclusive Sports Group, First-Round Management, JL Sports, Octagon Football and Sportstars. Special recognition goes out to JL Sports, which has become a fixture on this list.
Truly all-stars: The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl had the most non-combine invitees drafted with 11. Kudos to Dane Vandernat and his team for unearthing and inviting players who didn’t have the hype but obviously had the goods.
We’ll have a deeper dive next week. In the meantime, here’s a look at what else we saw, heard, read and said in the business of college and pro football this week.
Catching Up: When you’re an NFL scout, you get paid to make judgements, but you don’t have to wear a black robe to do it. That’s what makes former Broncos area scout and Assistant GM Jeff Goodman, 43, different. We caught up with him last month.
Do you miss the job? What do you miss most?: “I miss it the most during draft week (this week ironically) and the first weeks of training camp. I miss the process of roster-building and fitting together pieces of a puzzle. I miss the relationships you build inside the organization and with other scouts.”
Do you keep in touch with any of your former colleagues?: “A handful. It becomes harder as time progresses. It is fun to see the guys who have worked up through the ranks and have earned the right to be GMs or executives. For example, (Raiders Assistant GM) Champ Kelly worked with me in Denver. You could tell that he had all the ingredients to lead a team one day. I am convinced that he will get his shot very soon.”
Do you go to any live games (HS/college/pro)? “I have two boys who are 11 and 10. Thus, I spend a lot of time at the ‘ballfields.’ They enjoy going to games, so I try to present them opportunities to attend various college/pro games.”
Are there any players you love to watch and/or feel close to due to your work in the game? “I was flipping through the channels the other night and saw Eddie Royal as a commentator on the ACC Network. I remember him signing his rookie contract after being drafted in the second round and asking me what he needed to do to make the team! The first regular season game he caught nine balls for 146 yards and a touchdown at Oakland. Needless to say, he secured a roster spot. Also, I got a kick out of the year that (running back) Peyton Hillis got put on the cover of the Madden video game. He was a seventh-round draft pick in the same draft that we selected Eddie Royal. Peyton shook my hand after the last preseason game and indicated that he hoped that he would be considered for our practice squad. If not, he was worried about how he would get back home to Conway, Ark. I think everything turned out OK for him!”
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.
Let’s review: One thing everyone in the business knows is this – once the draft is over, the work of making over a scouting staff begins in earnest. It’s been quite a busy week. Let’s take a look at what we’ve posted as well as what others have passed along regarding scout comings and goings this week:
If you’re an ITL client, you can review all the changes and see all the names of scouts who have moved up, down or out of the industry since the end of last season in our Scouting Changes Grid.
Still not sold?: There is much to understand about why scouts get hired and fired, and Twitter isn’t always the best platform for explaining the nuances of the business. That’s why we used this week’s blog post to make five points about why we usually see so much activity the first week in May, as well as a couple other general thoughts about the business. As you are (probably) in the business, give this week’s post a read and see if you agree. It’s here.
Where are the Profile Reports?: OK, yes, we’ve had a bad week when it comes to providing our school-by-school reports. We apologize. We promised Charlotte, Cincinnati, Clemson, Coastal Carolina and Colorado, and we weren’t able to deliver. We’ll try again in the coming week, though if it’s anywhere near as busy in the scouting community, well, we may have another rough week. Hopefully, reviewing the first 20 schools we’ve profiled will tide you over. In the meantime, we’re gonna try really hard to do a better job next week.
Rep Rumblings: Though we slacked off on our Profile Reports this week, we had plenty to discuss in our signature reports. On Monday, we took a look at the early changes in Chicago and who might be filling those roles and also made some predictions about movement in Philadelphia (which turned out to be true). We also looked at a couple other teams where we expected changes (the Giants were one of them) and saluted Damond Talbot, who will be back with the Hula Bowl in ’23 and ’24 after a successful run in his debut season as executive director. Tuesday, we recapped the first few moves and tried to make sense of them, plus we passed along the latest on teams where we were hearing change could be coming. Wednesday, we looked at the flurry of moves in Philadelphia, discussed possible replacements and dove into each development. We also looked at a few other teams where rumor has it there will be transition. Finally, on Thursday, we reviewed a few moves that haven’t gotten as much publicity and broke down what they mean. We also looked at an established agency that might be making a major move; an agency change for a Day 2 pick; and more. Recap all the moves and sift through all the info and analysis from all our reports here.
Next week: We expect the scout staff activity to continue for the next seven days and perhaps beyond. What’s more, many of the moves we’ve announced haven’t been made “official” by teams yet, and there are plenty of openings that need to be filled. For that reason, make sure you’re keeping one eye on our Twitter account and another on the Scouting Changes Grid, which we expect to grow by this time next week (we’re closing in on 60 moves and we haven’t hit mid-May yet). We’ll probably address “scouting jobs season” in our blog space, Succeed in Football, again next week, though who knows what other topics may come up by next Friday? We’ll also have plenty to talk about in our Rep Rumblings, where we dissect, analyze and break down every move. With the XFL revving up and making hires, we expect to have news on the new league soon in addition to everything else going on in the fastest game on the planet. As for the 2023 draft class and beyond, we’ll try again to run down five (or more?) of our Profile Reports pointing out the top prospects on every team, regardless of class. Also, if you’re taking the agent exam this summer, don’t forget about our study guide and our two practice exams, each with 40 questions. If you can’t get enough information about the agents, scouts, trainers, wealth managers and everyone else who makes up the football business community, don’t forget to check out our YouTube page, as well. While you’re there, check out our 13th annual ITL Combine Seminar, the only awards show for scouts, agents and the people who make the game go outside the white lines. Just off the horizon, we’ll have another instructional Zoom session for everyone taking the exam this summer, and we expect more events with the XFL as officials work to inform the football biz community on every aspect of what’s ahead next spring. We look forward to helping them spread the word. Anything else we haven’t covered? Let us know by responding to this email. We’re here to serve. Of course, all we ask is that you make sure we’re not already on top of it at our home site. You can check that here.
|
|
|
