Getting Flacco signed and in camp on time was essential if Flacco is to have any shot at winning a starting quarterback job. Last summer we witnessed Brady Quinn sit out more than 2 weeks due to a contract dispute. Not only did it set him back in regards to learning the offense, it may have cost him from ever stepping onto the field in a Browns uniform.

With Joe Flacco signed, there is now a realistic chance he wins the starting quarterback job. He will be competing against Kyle Boller and Troy Smith; neither of which have been able to establish themselves as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

The Brady Quinn contract debacle last summer was proof of how important it is to get a quarterback in camp on time. Sometimes it’s worth sacrificing a few dollars to ensure your client a shot at a starting position. The sooner Flacco wins the starting quarterback job, the sooner he will earn incentives and endorsement deals.

Linta, realized Flacco’s unique opportunity and did everything possible to give his client a shot at being the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens.

1. Miami Dolphins – Jake Long – OT/Michigan (Tom Condon, Ben Dogra/CAA)
2. St. Louis Rams – Chris Long -DE/Virginia (Marvin Demoff/Morris Yorn Barnes Levine)
3. Atlanta Falcons – Matt Ryan -QB/Boston College (Tom Condon, Ben Dogra/CAA)
4. Oakland Raiders – Darren McFadden – RB/Arkansas (Ian Greengross/GAME)
5. Kansas City Chiefs – Glenn Dorsey – DT/LSU (Joel Segal/Blue Equity)
6. NY Jets – Vernon Gholston – DE/Ohio State (Ben Dogra/CAA)
7. New Orleans Saints – Sedrick Ellis – DE/USC (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
8. Jacksonville Jaguars – Derrick Harvey – DE/Florida (Ken Kremer/CAA)
9. Cincinnati Bengals – Keith Rivers – LB/USC (Joby Branion, Justin Schulman/Athletes First)
10. New England Patriots – Jerod Mayo – LB/Tennessee (Mitch Frankel/Impact Sports)
11. Buffalo Bills – Leodis McKelvin – CB/Troy (Hadley Engelhard/Enter-Sports Management)
12. Denver Broncos – Ryan Clady – OT/Boise State (Pat Dye Jr., Bill Johnson/ProFiles Sports)
13. Carolina Panthers – Jonathan Stewart – RB/Oregon (Ben Dogra/CAA)
14. Chicago Bears – Chris Williams – OT/Vanderbilt (Bill Johnson, Pat Dye Jr./ProFiles Sports)
15. Kansas City Chiefs – Branden Albert – G/Virginia (Todd France/FAME)
16. Arizona Cardinals – Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie – CB/TN St. (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
17. Detroit Lions – Gosder Cherilus – OT/Boston College (Greg Diulus/DeBartolo Sports)
18. Baltimore Ravens – Joe Flacco – QB/Delaware (Joe Linta, Tom Kleine/JL Sports)
19. Carolina Panthers – Jeff Otah – OT/Pittsburgh (Eric Metz/Lock, Metz & Malinovic)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Aqib Talib – CB/Kansas (Todd France/FAME)
21. Atlanta Falcons – Sam Baker – OT/USC (Tom Condon, Ben Dogra/CAA)
22. Dallas Cowboys – Felix Jones – RB/Arkansas (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
23. Pittsburgh Steelers – Rashard Mendenhall – RB/Illinois (Mike McCartney/Priority Sports)
24. Tennessee Titans – Chris Johnson – RB/East Carolina (Joel Segal/Blue Equity)
25. Dallas Cowboys – Mike Jenkins – CB/South Florida (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
26. Houston Texans – Duane Brown – OT/Virginia Tech (Ken Landphere, Andy Ross/Octagon)
27. San Diego Chargers – Antoine Cason – CB/Arizona (Brad Leshnock/BTI Sports)
28. Seattle Seahawks – Lawrence Jackson – DE/USC (Sean Howard, Michael Sullivan/Octagon)
29. San Francisco 49ers – Kentwan Balmer – DT/North Carolina (Gary Wichard/Pro Tect Management)
30. NY Jets – Dustin Keller – TE/Purdue (Eugene Parker/Maximum Sports)
31. NY Giants – Kenny Phillips – S/Miami (Drew Rosenhaus, Jason Rosenhaus/Rosenhaus Sports)

By Number of Clients Selected in Agency

1. CAA – 6
2. Maximum Sports – 5
3. Octagon – 2, Blue Equity – 2, FAME – 2, ProFiles Sports – 2
7. 12 tied at 1

Before the draft, Forbes writer, Tom Van Riper, dug up some interesting information from the NFLPA: 23 separate agencies represented the first-round class in 2000. By 2007, that number was reduced by just one. This year, though, the number shrunk to just 18 agencies representing the 32 players projected to go in the first round by Scouts, Inc. CAA Football has five players, while Roanoke, Ind.-based Maximum Sports Management has four.

Scouts, Inc. was on the money. Eighteen agencies are listed above. CAA and Maximum Sports each got one more player selected than was hypothesized by the website. Is it a bad thing that only only eighteen agencies are represented among the top 31 picks or that two agencies combined account for one-third of the players taken in the First Round? It depends on who you ask.

CAA and Maximum Sports have been partying in their spare time (when they are not on the phone trying to hammer out fine details on each of their clients’ contracts), but smaller agencies are wondering what they can do to break into this tough industry, and more precisely, the toughest sport in the profession. Does it shock you that a large agency like Rosenhaus Sports Representation barely got a single player selected in the first round? Miami did have a terrible year, so that may explain it.

Industry consolidation can be a beautiful thing if you are either the agency that is eating up the competition or an agency that is bought out by one of the behemoths. If you are an agency stuck on the outside, do you start to become worried about your chances of breaking into the coveted First Round of the NFL Draft?