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Three 2014 NFL Draft musings
by Jack Bechta
May 07, 02014
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The draft belongs in April
Every single NFL GM, coach, scout, director and agent I’ve spoken to lately CAN’T STAND the fact that the draft was moved back two weeks. As one GM put it to me yesterday, “these two weeks have thrown off the yearly cycle. It just doesn’t feel right having this thing in May.”
We all know that the NFL Network, NFL.com, 32 team sites and the NFL broadcasting partners get an economic boost by having content to stretch out into May. But for the players it’s just another two weeks of agonizing waiting while every media outlet gets into “picking apart mode”. As another GM put it to me a few days ago, “Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton did it right by going to Vegas for a weekend and clearing their heads. I wish I thought of that!”
The recruiting of undrafted free agents has already begun
Under the salary cap, undrafted free agents are an extremely valuable commodity. If a team can find starters from this group, it’s the cheapest player money can buy and it adds flexibility to the overall salary cap for a team. Teams are well aware of this and the recruiting wars are reaching new heights.
I have two clients (out of five) this year that may be undrafted. Both of them, and myself, have been getting recruiting calls from scouting directors, area scouts and position coaches. The calls consist of making a case as to why they should sign with their team if undrafted.
Recruiting styles vary from team to team. Some teams let their area scouts do most of the talking, as they know this group the best. The area scout will call the agent and player and make the pitch. Some are doing it now, others during the draft (Thursday, Friday, Saturday), and others wait until the last round to begin.
Some other methods we are seeing this year:
There is an AFC Central Division head coach who is texting players every day, and has been for a few weeks. This team is also sending out t-shirts and gloves to players along with a letter. Several teams around the league are using similar tactics. They will start calling players/agents about the sixth or seventh round.
The most frequent method of recruiting is simply built on relationships between front office execs and the agent. Nothing is more potent than someone you trust making an early pitch for one of your players. It really comes down to trust. A good agent will ask tough questions about position depth and available roster spots. Some deals may already be done if the player is not drafted.
The Seahawks are making their innovative pitch directly to the agents and backing it up with retention and playtime numbers. On Tuesday of this week they sent out a breakdown of stats of what happens to any undrafted free agent they have signed since the dynamic duo of HC Carroll and GM Schneider has taken over (the last 4 seasons). Here’s a summary;
Average Preseason playtime of an Undrafted Free Agent (Off. & Def.):
2010: 20.1%
2011: 17.9%
2012: 20.6%
2013: 36.2% (Seahawks ranked #1)
Undrafted Free Agents on Active Roster since 2010
- 68 total signings with 15 making the active roster
- 22% of undrafted free agents made the active roster in Seattle since 2010 (Ranks 8th in the NFL over that span)
The Seahawks are making a very powerful statement to agents with these numbers as the best place for any undrafted free agent they call on to sign.
Seasoned agents will already have a short list of teams that best fit their clients’ skill set. The list is based on opportunity in place at a given team. For example, the Buccaneers have a new GM, Head Coach and staff. Therefore, they have a clean slate and every player in camp will be a new face to the decision makers. The tendency of new GMs and head coaches is to clean house. So the Bucs may be a good landing spot for an undrafted free agent this year that fits either their offensive or defensive scheme. And not to mention, with only 6 draft picks and only room to sign about 10 free agents based on their current roster size, each player can get an $8,000 signing bonus on average under the rookie pool cap.
I usually place all teams with a brand new regime high on the short list if the opportunity is there at my client’s position.
2014 is the “character draft”
This year more emphasis will be put on the draftees character than just about anything else (with the exception of medical). For decades, character flaws were usually overshadowed by height, weight, speed and production. Not this year. After the mess in Miami, the Hernandez situations, and other high profile social and domestic slip-ups by several players, GMs will err on the side of begin cautious. I know that several teams are developing a zero tolerance policy towards players with character issues. Others are moving highly rated players way down the board because of suspicious activity in college and/or high school.
One AFC South team is going the extra mile in checking the background of players on their draft board. They are asking for social security numbers and really going way back and digging deep. If you see a player slip, it may be because of a medical issue or that there was a skeleton found in his closet.
Follow me on Twitter: @Jackbechta
by Jack Bechta
May 07, 02014
Print This
The draft belongs in April
Every single NFL GM, coach, scout, director and agent I’ve spoken to lately CAN’T STAND the fact that the draft was moved back two weeks. As one GM put it to me yesterday, “these two weeks have thrown off the yearly cycle. It just doesn’t feel right having this thing in May.”
We all know that the NFL Network, NFL.com, 32 team sites and the NFL broadcasting partners get an economic boost by having content to stretch out into May. But for the players it’s just another two weeks of agonizing waiting while every media outlet gets into “picking apart mode”. As another GM put it to me a few days ago, “Mickey Loomis and Sean Payton did it right by going to Vegas for a weekend and clearing their heads. I wish I thought of that!”
The recruiting of undrafted free agents has already begun
Under the salary cap, undrafted free agents are an extremely valuable commodity. If a team can find starters from this group, it’s the cheapest player money can buy and it adds flexibility to the overall salary cap for a team. Teams are well aware of this and the recruiting wars are reaching new heights.
I have two clients (out of five) this year that may be undrafted. Both of them, and myself, have been getting recruiting calls from scouting directors, area scouts and position coaches. The calls consist of making a case as to why they should sign with their team if undrafted.
Recruiting styles vary from team to team. Some teams let their area scouts do most of the talking, as they know this group the best. The area scout will call the agent and player and make the pitch. Some are doing it now, others during the draft (Thursday, Friday, Saturday), and others wait until the last round to begin.
Some other methods we are seeing this year:
There is an AFC Central Division head coach who is texting players every day, and has been for a few weeks. This team is also sending out t-shirts and gloves to players along with a letter. Several teams around the league are using similar tactics. They will start calling players/agents about the sixth or seventh round.
The most frequent method of recruiting is simply built on relationships between front office execs and the agent. Nothing is more potent than someone you trust making an early pitch for one of your players. It really comes down to trust. A good agent will ask tough questions about position depth and available roster spots. Some deals may already be done if the player is not drafted.
The Seahawks are making their innovative pitch directly to the agents and backing it up with retention and playtime numbers. On Tuesday of this week they sent out a breakdown of stats of what happens to any undrafted free agent they have signed since the dynamic duo of HC Carroll and GM Schneider has taken over (the last 4 seasons). Here’s a summary;
Average Preseason playtime of an Undrafted Free Agent (Off. & Def.):
2010: 20.1%
2011: 17.9%
2012: 20.6%
2013: 36.2% (Seahawks ranked #1)
Undrafted Free Agents on Active Roster since 2010
- 68 total signings with 15 making the active roster
- 22% of undrafted free agents made the active roster in Seattle since 2010 (Ranks 8th in the NFL over that span)
The Seahawks are making a very powerful statement to agents with these numbers as the best place for any undrafted free agent they call on to sign.
Seasoned agents will already have a short list of teams that best fit their clients’ skill set. The list is based on opportunity in place at a given team. For example, the Buccaneers have a new GM, Head Coach and staff. Therefore, they have a clean slate and every player in camp will be a new face to the decision makers. The tendency of new GMs and head coaches is to clean house. So the Bucs may be a good landing spot for an undrafted free agent this year that fits either their offensive or defensive scheme. And not to mention, with only 6 draft picks and only room to sign about 10 free agents based on their current roster size, each player can get an $8,000 signing bonus on average under the rookie pool cap.
I usually place all teams with a brand new regime high on the short list if the opportunity is there at my client’s position.
2014 is the “character draft”
This year more emphasis will be put on the draftees character than just about anything else (with the exception of medical). For decades, character flaws were usually overshadowed by height, weight, speed and production. Not this year. After the mess in Miami, the Hernandez situations, and other high profile social and domestic slip-ups by several players, GMs will err on the side of begin cautious. I know that several teams are developing a zero tolerance policy towards players with character issues. Others are moving highly rated players way down the board because of suspicious activity in college and/or high school.
One AFC South team is going the extra mile in checking the background of players on their draft board. They are asking for social security numbers and really going way back and digging deep. If you see a player slip, it may be because of a medical issue or that there was a skeleton found in his closet.
Follow me on Twitter: @Jackbechta
Diceq
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Posted May 06, 2014
Seahawks send out unique brochure to the agents of potential undrafted players
Seattle Seahawks
By Doug Farrar
If Seattle wants long-term success, it’ll have to continue to find bargains in (and after) the draft. (Chris O’Meara/AP)
RENTON, Wash. — “We wholeheartedly believe in competition in all aspects of our program, and the only way to compete is to show it on the field. We’re dedicated to giving all of our players a look to find out who they are and what they’re all about so we can field the best team possible.”
That’s the quote from Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll that leads off the brochure sent out to the agents of potential undrafted free agents in the 2014 draft class — those players who will find themselves off the grid in this week’s draft, and will seek to contribute to an NFL team nonetheless. The reigning Super Bowl champions had eight such players contribute to their 2013 season — OL Alvin Bailey, WR Doug Baldwin, DB Jeron Johnson, WR Jermaine Kearse, WR Ricardo Lockette, DE Benson Mayowa, LB Mike Morgan and DB DeShawn Shead — and they very much want the new class of undrafted players to think Seattle is the kind of place where you can make a difference if you win battles in the team’s ultra-competitive environment.
The brochure points out that Baldwin and Kearse combined for 12 touchdown receptions last season, including two in the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII win over the Broncos, and six former Seattle UFAs made it on the rosters with other NFL teams as rookies in 2013 — the sixth-highest figure in the NFL.
It’s believed the Seahawks are the first NFL team to take this particular step, and it’s a sensible one. Seattle selects 32nd in this year’s draft (unless they trade out of the first round, which is entirely possible), and has no third-round pick in 2014 because of the 2013 trade that brought receiver Percy Harvin. Likewise, the combination of Carroll and general manager John Schneider has an impressive track record of picks later in the draft — third-round quarterback Russell Wilson, fifth-round defensive backs Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor and seventh-round Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith present a few examples.
During the team’s pre-draft press conference Tuesday, Carroll explained what he says to undrafted players when he’s making the sales pitch.
“We’re telling them that this program is built on competition and we’re committed to giving guys the chance to show it. So, if they come to us, they’re going to get to play. We’ve proven that our guys play more than anybody else in the NFL in preseason, so that’s one fact for us. The commitment that we’ve had is real, and that we have had more rookie free agents playing for us than any other team… we tell them just really the facts that we’re trying to hammer out in this press conference right here… we really do believe that young guys can make it, and also that we do have an approach.
“We believe that we can find the special qualities that guys have based on the way that we go about it. We’re not trying to just throw a guy into the wolves and see if [he] can make it, but we’re going to give a chance to do what they do well, show us where they fit, and then we’ll build on their strengths. That’s been a long commitment that we’ve had — we know that that works and we know how that helps a young guy fit in. It also helps us win, and it helps us as we continue down the schedule to be stronger near the end of the season. I think one of the big factors is because of that commitment. We’re totally committed to this and everybody understands as we get the word out, and hopefully the kids will understand that as they come to make their decisions.”
Or, as Carroll put it at another point in the press conference, “You can tell a trapper by his furs.” There’s just as much recruiting going on now as there was when Carroll was doing it at USC…without the occasional lapses in NCAA code.
Seahawks send out unique brochure to the agents of potential undrafted players
Seattle Seahawks
By Doug Farrar
If Seattle wants long-term success, it’ll have to continue to find bargains in (and after) the draft. (Chris O’Meara/AP)
RENTON, Wash. — “We wholeheartedly believe in competition in all aspects of our program, and the only way to compete is to show it on the field. We’re dedicated to giving all of our players a look to find out who they are and what they’re all about so we can field the best team possible.”
That’s the quote from Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll that leads off the brochure sent out to the agents of potential undrafted free agents in the 2014 draft class — those players who will find themselves off the grid in this week’s draft, and will seek to contribute to an NFL team nonetheless. The reigning Super Bowl champions had eight such players contribute to their 2013 season — OL Alvin Bailey, WR Doug Baldwin, DB Jeron Johnson, WR Jermaine Kearse, WR Ricardo Lockette, DE Benson Mayowa, LB Mike Morgan and DB DeShawn Shead — and they very much want the new class of undrafted players to think Seattle is the kind of place where you can make a difference if you win battles in the team’s ultra-competitive environment.
The brochure points out that Baldwin and Kearse combined for 12 touchdown receptions last season, including two in the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII win over the Broncos, and six former Seattle UFAs made it on the rosters with other NFL teams as rookies in 2013 — the sixth-highest figure in the NFL.
It’s believed the Seahawks are the first NFL team to take this particular step, and it’s a sensible one. Seattle selects 32nd in this year’s draft (unless they trade out of the first round, which is entirely possible), and has no third-round pick in 2014 because of the 2013 trade that brought receiver Percy Harvin. Likewise, the combination of Carroll and general manager John Schneider has an impressive track record of picks later in the draft — third-round quarterback Russell Wilson, fifth-round defensive backs Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor and seventh-round Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith present a few examples.
During the team’s pre-draft press conference Tuesday, Carroll explained what he says to undrafted players when he’s making the sales pitch.
“We’re telling them that this program is built on competition and we’re committed to giving guys the chance to show it. So, if they come to us, they’re going to get to play. We’ve proven that our guys play more than anybody else in the NFL in preseason, so that’s one fact for us. The commitment that we’ve had is real, and that we have had more rookie free agents playing for us than any other team… we tell them just really the facts that we’re trying to hammer out in this press conference right here… we really do believe that young guys can make it, and also that we do have an approach.
“We believe that we can find the special qualities that guys have based on the way that we go about it. We’re not trying to just throw a guy into the wolves and see if [he] can make it, but we’re going to give a chance to do what they do well, show us where they fit, and then we’ll build on their strengths. That’s been a long commitment that we’ve had — we know that that works and we know how that helps a young guy fit in. It also helps us win, and it helps us as we continue down the schedule to be stronger near the end of the season. I think one of the big factors is because of that commitment. We’re totally committed to this and everybody understands as we get the word out, and hopefully the kids will understand that as they come to make their decisions.”
Or, as Carroll put it at another point in the press conference, “You can tell a trapper by his furs.” There’s just as much recruiting going on now as there was when Carroll was doing it at USC…without the occasional lapses in NCAA code.
JohnQ
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WWWT.The opposite of BBW ? Just asking.
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TheMadStork
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Posted May 06, 2014
Seahawks send out unique brochure to the agents of potential undrafted players
Seattle Seahawks
By Doug Farrar
If Seattle wants long-term success, it’ll have to continue to find bargains in (and after) the draft. (Chris O’Meara/AP)
RENTON, Wash. — “We wholeheartedly believe in competition in all aspects of our program, and the only way to compete is to show it on the field. We’re dedicated to giving all of our players a look to find out who they are and what they’re all about so we can field the best team possible.”
That’s the quote from Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll that leads off the brochure sent out to the agents of potential undrafted free agents in the 2014 draft class — those players who will find themselves off the grid in this week’s draft, and will seek to contribute to an NFL team nonetheless. The reigning Super Bowl champions had eight such players contribute to their 2013 season — OL Alvin Bailey, WR Doug Baldwin, DB Jeron Johnson, WR Jermaine Kearse, WR Ricardo Lockette, DE Benson Mayowa, LB Mike Morgan and DB DeShawn Shead — and they very much want the new class of undrafted players to think Seattle is the kind of place where you can make a difference if you win battles in the team’s ultra-competitive environment.
The brochure points out that Baldwin and Kearse combined for 12 touchdown receptions last season, including two in the team’s Super Bowl XLVIII win over the Broncos, and six former Seattle UFAs made it on the rosters with other NFL teams as rookies in 2013 — the sixth-highest figure in the NFL.
It’s believed the Seahawks are the first NFL team to take this particular step, and it’s a sensible one. Seattle selects 32nd in this year’s draft (unless they trade out of the first round, which is entirely possible), and has no third-round pick in 2014 because of the 2013 trade that brought receiver Percy Harvin. Likewise, the combination of Carroll and general manager John Schneider has an impressive track record of picks later in the draft — third-round quarterback Russell Wilson, fifth-round defensive backs Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor and seventh-round Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith present a few examples.
During the team’s pre-draft press conference Tuesday, Carroll explained what he says to undrafted players when he’s making the sales pitch.
“We’re telling them that this program is built on competition and we’re committed to giving guys the chance to show it. So, if they come to us, they’re going to get to play. We’ve proven that our guys play more than anybody else in the NFL in preseason, so that’s one fact for us. The commitment that we’ve had is real, and that we have had more rookie free agents playing for us than any other team… we tell them just really the facts that we’re trying to hammer out in this press conference right here… we really do believe that young guys can make it, and also that we do have an approach.
“We believe that we can find the special qualities that guys have based on the way that we go about it. We’re not trying to just throw a guy into the wolves and see if [he] can make it, but we’re going to give a chance to do what they do well, show us where they fit, and then we’ll build on their strengths. That’s been a long commitment that we’ve had — we know that that works and we know how that helps a young guy fit in. It also helps us win, and it helps us as we continue down the schedule to be stronger near the end of the season. I think one of the big factors is because of that commitment. We’re totally committed to this and everybody understands as we get the word out, and hopefully the kids will understand that as they come to make their decisions.”
Or, as Carroll put it at another point in the press conference, “You can tell a trapper by his furs.” There’s just as much recruiting going on now as there was when Carroll was doing it at USC…without the occasional lapses in NCAA code.
Definitely an organization that has its proverbial shit together. They're going to be good for years, barring some unforeseen weirdness.
Crow
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TheMadStork
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I've seen that movie. Scarier than any 10 horror films put together. I'm generally not in favor of forced sterilization, but that bunch made me reconsider.
scootertramp
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And you guys wonder why I'm a Pete Carroll Fan! Although I will give McKenzie some credit for finding a few un-drafted gems.
Crossbones
Draft this guy!
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You shut your whore mouth.
scootertramp
Ridin' old school again. No saddlebags required.
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Uh -Ohh..... Best stay out of my neck of the woods! wish I had a picture of my last BBQ. I know you'd love my redneck fire pit! Wheel barrow filled with sand. That way wherever the party goes the fire does too! El Dorado County: "Arrive on vacaton. Leave on Probation."
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TheMadStork
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The Whites make rednecks look like England's Royal Family...
scootertramp
Ridin' old school again. No saddlebags required.
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My buddies and I started doing that back in the day in North County San Diego. Simple yet effective!
london raider 2
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You mean they are a bunch of Germans as well ?
Crossbones
Draft this guy!
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Aditi Kinkabwala? Who is this bitch? Change your name whore.
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pretty sure that's Mark Davis' middle name.
Lol... man, .. please.. my wife would kick their ass...
Hillbilly skinny ass meth MF'ers....
I'd boot stomp them and take their wallet just for the hell of it... Aint nutin in this shit but it'd be the point of it
Hillbilly skinny ass meth MF'ers....
I'd boot stomp them and take their wallet just for the hell of it... Aint nutin in this shit but it'd be the point of it
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