Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti engaged in some playful after-dinner smack talk with general manager Eric DeCosta during the team’s annual offseason meeting at Bisciotti’s house in Jupiter, Florida.
While they enjoyed a nice bottle of red wine, Bisciotti boasted about how many of his favorite draft prospects became successes in the league, and DeCosta brought up how many of Bisciotti’s top prospects flopped. In the stressful world of the NFL, Bisciotti believes it’s important to laugh at one another.
After another glass or two, DeCosta mentioned the time in 1998 when former team president David Modell made the team’s pick for Mr. Irrelevant, the title given to the last player taken in each draft. Bisciotti then threw out the idea that he should get a chance to select a player.
DeCosta offered up one of the Ravens’ seventh-round picks. But Bisciotti had his sights on one of Baltimore’s four fifth-round selections, not knowing how much immense pressure would follow.
“Steve was begging for a draft pick, and he owns the team,” DeCosta mentioned with a smile. “I mentioned, ‘Yes, Steve. Of course you can have a draft pick.'”
The Browns’ Jimmy Haslam (from left), Colts’ Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Eagles’ Jeffrey Lurie, Ravens’ Steve Bisciotti and Bears’ George McCaskey operate with varying degrees of hands-on involvement. Illustration by ESPNThe involvement of NFL owners in the draft and personnel decisions covers a wide spectrum, from the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, whose role as GM ensures a hands-on role, to the Chicago Bears’ George McCaskey, who spent Day 3 of the 2024 draft umpiring a high school baseball game. The results of an owner’s influence have varied just as widely, from disastrous moves in New York and Cleveland to controversy in Miami to a successful blockbuster trade in Indianapolis.
DeCosta agreed to give Bisciotti the team’s last fifth-round pick. Bisciotti enlisted the help of DeCosta’s 15-year-old son, Jackson, who bonded with the owner during last year’s draft. They kept their research secret because they were nervous that DeCosta would take their player with an earlier pick.
In doing his homework, Bisciotti called one of his close friends, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who vouched for running back Adam Randall and solidified him as Bisciotti’s choice when he called Randall the highest-character player he’d ever coached. When the Ravens were on the clock with the 174th pick, Bisciotti started having doubts.
There were a few players ranked higher than Randall on DeCosta’s draft board. Bisciotti briefly thought about asking to switch his pick to one in the sixth round instead of the fifth. But he feared Ryan Eckley, the Ravens’ top-rated punter who was earmarked for the sixth round, might not be there in the seventh.
DeCosta told Bisciotti, “You did the work. Pick your guy.” So, Bisciotti called Randall to inform him that he was being drafted by Baltimore.
DeCosta asked Bisciotti, “It’s hard, isn’t it?”
Bisciotti responded,”[S—] yes, it’s hard.”
Asked about the greatest lesson he learned, Bisciotti replied, “How scared I was to literally make the pick. I put it in and I got off the phone with him and my face was white.”
TWO YEARS AGO, Chicago was making calls to trade back into the fifth round of the draft while McCaskey was calling balls and strikes.
McCaskey, the 70-year-old chairman of the Bears, opted to umpire on the final day of the 2024 draft instead of spending the four rounds in the draft room of Halas Hall.
Chauncey Carrick, the athletic director at Sycamore (Illinois) High School, was the one updating McCaskey on whom the Bears were selecting.
“I go, ‘Hey, you guys are drafting in four picks,'” Carrick mentioned. “Want me to stick around and let you know who you get?'”
McCaskey appreciated the help. About an hour later, Carrick returned with an report, which surprised McCaskey, since the Bears entered the draft with only four picks, including two in the first round.
“He goes, ‘Not us, we’re out of picks,'” Carrick mentioned. “I was like, ‘Well, you just traded back in.’ He immediately wanted to know who they got.”
Clark Hunt, right, mentioned it’s never an easy decision to trade away a first-round draft pick, but he did his homework on Patrick Mahomes and trusted his front office’s advice. Denny Medley-USA TODAY SportsIt’s an entirely different dynamic in Dallas, where Jones has served as owner and general manager for 38 years. He makes the final call, but collaboration makes the decision easier when the Cowboys are on the clock.The 2014 draft showed that Jones doesn’t always get his way. Jones was high on quarterback Johnny Manziel because he envisioned the marketing possibilities he would bring as a potential successor for Tony Romo.
When the Cowboys were on the clock, Jones broached the idea of taking Manziel and it was met with silence. The consensus was that guard Zack Martin should be the pick. Martin became a nine-time Pro Bowl player, and Manziel was out of the league less than two years after being drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns.
Other owners are selective when they make their mark. 49ers owner Jed York doesn’t typically have a say in the draft, but there was one time in 2003 when he pushed the team to select a player.
“The only guy that I ever wanted us to draft was [wide receiver] Arnaz Battle,” York mentioned. “I went to school with Arnaz [at Notre Dame], knew him as a guy. [Otherwise], I try to stay as far away from that as possible.”
The 49ers took Battle in the sixth round. He became a three-year starter for San Francisco, catching 178 passes for 2,150 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Editor’s Picks
Field Yates’ fantasy football rankings: PPR top 160
Field Yates
Wait, why didn’t my NFL team ____? Reasonable answers for 10 lingering offseason questions
Dan Graziano
Just in buzz on Minnesota Vikings’ search for a new GM
Kevin Seifert
2 Related
In 2017, Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt was instrumental in approving a trade that would land Patrick Mahomes with the No. 10 pick. Hunt watched college tape of Mahomes and went against his philosophy of not trading away first-round picks. The deal cost the Chiefs their 2017 first- and third-round picks, and their 2018 first-round pick. But the move paid off as Mahomes has led Kansas City to five Super Bowls, winning three.
“It’s not a decision that I take lightly,” Hunt mentioned at the time. “But all things considered, it was not a hard decision. The chance to get a quarterback who can be a franchise quarterback for the Chiefs in the future made it a pretty easy decision.”
One of the most active owners is the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jeffrey Lurie, who is a student of the quarterback position and will make trips to watch players in person at times. He was influential in the selection of quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round of the 2020 draft, sources mentioned at the time.
Philadelphia was financially committed to Carson Wentz, but Lurie believes in investing heavily in the position. As one source put it, he didn’t want to miss out on a playmaker like Hurts after failing to land another coveted quarterback in Russell Wilson eight years prior.
The move proved to be the unofficial end to the Wentz era, but it worked out quite well for the Eagles over the long term. In six seasons, Hurts has helped Philadelphia to a pair of Super Bowl appearances and an NFL title.
BEYOND THE DRAFT, owners have exerted their power — or at least tried to — in personnel decisions, especially when it comes to quarterbacks.
And it hasn’t always gone well.
In 2022, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5 million, and the Dolphins lost their 2023 first-round draft pick and their ’24 third-round pick for violating the anti-tampering policy in conversations with quarterback Tom Brady and the agent for then-New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.
“The investigators found tampering violations of unprecedented scope and severity,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell mentioned in a statement. “I know of no prior instance of a team violating the prohibition on tampering with both a head coach and star player, to the potential detriment of multiple other clubs, over a period of several years.
“Similarly, I know of no prior instance in which ownership was so directly involved in the violations.”
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam described the blockbuster trade for Deshaun Watson as a “big swing-and-miss,” and he told fans that ultimately the owner is responsible. Nick Cammett/Getty ImagesThat same year, the Cleveland Browns made one of the biggest missteps in franchise history when they traded three first-round picks, a third-rounder and two fourth-rounders to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson after he faced 22 lawsuits from women accusing him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage therapy sessions.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam isn’t involved in the day-to-day personnel decisions, but he had an active role in doing background work and ultimately approving the acquisition of Watson, who has a 33.1 QBR that ranks among the NFL’s worst and a 9-10 record as a Browns starter.
As Watson failed to sustain his former Pro Bowl form and dealt with myriad injuries in Cleveland, Haslam called the trade a “big swing-and-miss” in 2025. Haslam added, “[The trade] was an entire organization decision and it ends with Dee [Haslam] and I, so hold us accountable.”
In 2012, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson was the driving force behind the trade for Tim Tebow. The Jets gave up a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos and wound up using Tebow for 75 plays on offense.
In an appearance on CNBC from the Republican National Convention in August, Johnson was asked if he’d like to see “more Tebow or less Tebow.” Johnson replied: “I think you can never have too much Tebow.” The response became emblematic of the failed Tebow experiment.
There are instances when owners have coaxed their teams in the right direction. In Indianapolis, new Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon is deeply involved in the process of reaching a collective decision and meets formally once a week with GM Chris Ballard to review personnel and other matters.
Best of NFL Nation• How hands-on NFL owners affect their teams
• How will the Bucs replace Mike Evans?
• Why Deshaun’s getting another chance to QB1
• Why pass protection is key for Broncos rookie RB
• How rare infection threatened DaVon’s career
Last year, when the Colts were contemplating a huge deal for All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner, Irsay-Gordon encouraged Ballard to go through with the deal as decision time neared. The Colts traded two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell to the Jets for Gardner.
Perhaps the biggest change in ownership involvement occurred in Washington, where the team went from Daniel Snyder to Josh Harris in 2023. Snyder would inject himself into moves such as influencing the front office to sign quarterback Jeff George in 2000.
Harris wants detailed information from GM Adam Peters on their plans and why they want to sign a certain player. Harris signs off on the spending, but he does not interfere with football decisions or make personnel moves.
“You want to understand the process. You’re not picking players,” Harris mentioned three years ago. “When we went to 53 [players during final roster cuts] I asked to be briefed on some of the harder decisions, but I didn’t want to be in the room, because I don’t want the process to be altered.”
Contributing: Todd Archer, Rich Cimini, Courtney Cronin, Stephen Holder, John Keim, Marcel Louis-Jacques, Tim McManus, Daniel Oyefusi, Nate Taylor and Nick Wagoner.
