Back in the day, NFL scouts used to walk into college games with clipboards, stopwatches, and that one resting “I know ball” face. They’d look at a player’s 40 time, how hard he hits, and maybe how loud he yells after a touchdown. That was it. If your tape looked good, if your 40-yard dash game is great, and your biceps popped under the lights, you were on the draft board. Simpler times. No drama, no agents, no Instagram “business inquiries.” But now? Oh, it’s a different time.
Suddenly, NFL scouts and coaches are not just assessing athletic performance; they’re also navigating the complexities of NIL deals and transfer portals. Take Nico Iamaleava, for example. The quarterback had a standout season at Tennessee, leading the team to a 10–3 record and a College Football Playoff appearance. And oh, along the way, he also tallied over 2,500 yards and fell just one shy of 20 touchdowns.
However, the guy’s now transferring to UCLA? The reason? Simple: he sought a new NIL deal with Tennessee and chose to seek the open market to improve his NIL deal with the team, worth over $2 M. A couple of days later, his head coach announced that the team’s moving forward with Iamaleava. Just like that. But don’t think it’s going to be the only instance.
Oh, no. It has become a major issue for the NFL scouts and the coaches. And recently, the Raiders‘ newly appointed head coach, Pete Carroll, shed some light on this concern. During the Raiders’ pre-draft pressers, Carroll was asked if they’ve noticed any changes in college players now that they can make money (thanks to NIL). “What I would say is that we are looking for that factor, you know, and trying to uncover the factor if it does exist,” Carroll noted.
Well, it does exist, and Carroll knows it pretty well. And he addressed every issue step-by-step. For starters, “You know, guys know that they can go from one school to the next, and it depends on how much they’re offered and all that kind of stuff. That wasn’t happening. You know, that was not part of the equation,” he continued. Well, Carroll isn’t just talking the talk. Remember Carson Beck?
Yeah, the guy who spent his five seasons at Georgia and later announced that he was entering the NFL draft. Guess what? He isn’t entering the draft. In fact, he has transferred to Miami to play for one more season. The reason? Well, if reports are true, his one-year deal with Miami is $4 million with incentives. Guess he isn’t going to ditch that. But that’s not just limited to college football.
Oh, no. The major concern for Pete Carroll is high school freshmen and sophomore players. “When you think about freshmen and sophomore kids in high school getting offered deals, which is happening, that’s happening,” he ranted. “If you can, you might think we’re stretching it. That’s the real deal.” Most notable example? It’s the Raiders’ offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly.
Last year, when Kelly signed as the OC of the Ohio State, he visited Brady Smigiel, a four-star quarterback from Newbury Park, California. However, Smigiel was already committed to Florida State for the 2026 class. “Chip Kelly was out on the road recruiting guys for Ohio State, and he was talking to kids who were freshmen and sophomores,” Pete Carroll wasn’t sugarcoating while saying this.
Besides, Carroll also addressed the issue of the players staying in college just because they’re getting lucrative deals out there. “And guys staying in school because they know that they can get paid, you know, in that senior year pretty well, and they don’t take a chance of going to the draft,” he further said. The issue is real, folks. And it’s really becoming a constant nightmare for NFL scouts and coaches alike. And Pete Carroll doesn’t like it.
The 73-year-old added, “So we have to be very open and investigative to figure this out and see what the factor is. I don’t really like it, you know, because for these guys, for these young kids coming up, that they have to deal with all this stuff, but it’s real, and so they do. And so we’ll find out the effects of it, you know, in time.” The NFL draft is now less than a week away. The teams are currently addressing to build their roster. But no wonder they’re also looking to investigate this issue as well.
What’s new for Pete Carroll’s quarterback room?
Here’s the deal: At the start of the offseason, the Raiders were trying to fill the quarterback gap. You know, nothing had been working out for the past few seasons, and their QB situation was a revolving door of underwhelming performances. Gardner Minshew, signed in March 2024, started the season but suffered a season-ending collarbone injury in Week 11. Aidan O’Connell stepped in but faced his own setbacks, including injuries and inconsistent performances, leading to a 2–5 record as a starter.
Long story short: by the time the Raiders could recover from their QB issues, they were already down to 4-13. Fast forward to now, and no wonder Pete Carroll and Co. were looking to flip the script. Enter Geno Smith, a seasoned vet, who’s coming after a few breakout seasons in Seattle. But if you’re thinking that the Raiders are just done with their QB room, think again, because the NFL draft is almost here.
The Raiders have the No. 6 overall pick, and the rumor mill is buzzing that the team’s going to draft a QB. The reason? Well, if you’ve a 34-year-old as your QB1, then there’s always room for a young talent. And looks like the team’s general manager, John Spytek, just confirmed it. On Friday, during the pre-draft Pressers, the GM addressed the team’s draft strategies for the QB.
NFL, American Football Herren, USA Seattle Seahawks at New York Jets Dec 1, 2024 East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith 7 looks to pass the ball during the first quarter against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford MetLife Stadium New Jersey USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xMarkxSmithx 20241201_pjc_tu6_055
“You guys have all tracked, you guys have all done your investigative journalism well enough to know that we’ve brought some quarterbacks in and that wasn’t by accident, at it by any means,” Spytek remarked. “We remain open to the most important position in sports to get right, and we’re super excited to have Geno (Smith) here, and we continue to expect him to be here for a while, but you can’t have too many of those guys.” Translation?
Well, they’re super excited to work with Geno for a couple of years or maybe a little more, but they are eyeing drafting a QB in the draft for a long-term option. Who’s it going to be? We’ve no clue. Because the way things are shaping up, this year’s class has just two top QB prospects. Cam Ward is expected to be drafted by the Titans.
And Shedeur Sanders? Well, it’s hard to pin down that. All in all, it’s safe to say that Pete Carroll and Co. are looking to draft a QB. But we need to wait for a few more days to find that out.
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