NFL Agent: Draft Prospects Dictating Team 'Happens Much More Than You Would Know'

Eli Manning's preference to not end up with the San Diego Chargers during the 2004 NFL draft may be the most famous case, but prospects apparently have influenced where they are drafted in the past more than fans realize.

At least according to an NFL agent.

"It happens much more than you would know," agent Leigh Steinberg said, per ESPN's Elizabeth Merrill. "Because all the public sees is the ultimate result. But in a number of situations where trades have taken place, athletes have expressed discomfort with going to a certain site or told them they didn't want to. They have no legal right to resist, but that information goes through the pipeline. And the difference in Elway and Manning was that instead of behind the scenes, it played out publicly.

"I'm not going to go into detail because I still have to represent players. But I would tell you that there's a lot of exploration going on behind the scenes so that teams avoid exactly what happened. ... I was backstage, watching it play out back in 2004. And it was extremely uncomfortable. Manning looked very unhappy. In general, teams would like to suss all that out."

Steinberg experienced the Manning situation unfolding in 2004 because he was representing quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger ended up going No. 11 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a franchise-altering move. He ended up winning two Super Bowls and making six Pro Bowls while establishing himself as Pittsburgh's all-time leader in career passing yards and touchdowns.

The timing of the comments is notable considering how many quarterbacks in particular could go in the early picks of this year's draft.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected North Carolina's Drake Maye (No. 1), USC's Caleb Williams (No. 2), LSU's Jayden Daniels (No. 3) and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy (No. 11) as first-rounders in its latest mock draft.

Perhaps there will be some behind-the-scenes maneuvering the general public will never discover that ultimately impacts where the top prospects at the position wind up. Or maybe there won't be, and teams will simply pick who they feel is the best fit.

But Steinberg made it known that such moves do happen even if they aren't publicized.