Latest / Scouting the League / American Football all over the globe with Mark Dulgerian
Transcript
- Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Hey everybody and welcome to Scouting the League and our international version with guest Mark Delgarion, lead international scout for the International Pathway Program for the NFL. Where is he heading? Where has he been? What's he excited about? And a little conversation on Howie Roseman's comments on there never being another Jordan Maielata. We'll talk all of that as we get ready for the fall scouting season. Before we jump in though, make sure you head over. Like, subscribe, and share this podcast wherever you are listening and watching, whether it's on Apple Podcasts or the video portion over on YouTube. Hit those buttons. Subscribing, commenting really help us out. And that's what we want. We want to hear from you. Let you know what you think, what you like, what you don't like. We will take it all in stride and perhaps try to find what you want in the future. Head over to my website, rsafootball.com. I am Roderick David, former NFL Scout, College Scout, Pro Scout, doing all things I can for everybody in the football industry with my new website, rightstepscouting.com. That's where you're going to get your reports no matter who you are, what kind of report you need. Head over to rightstepscouting.com. Make sure you check all that out. I am at Wright Step ADV on Twitter. If you want to follow me there, hit the comments as well there. For those in the scouting world, whether current NFL scouts or you want to be a scout, make sure you go check out thescoutingcommunity.com. Not quite a union, but doing some things to help those out in the industry, whether it's information, resources, or anything in between, the fall time can be a busy time for you. So make sure you get connected with those that can help you out. And that's the scoutingcommunity.com. And last but last not least, is you are on the road traveling, working the sidelines, make sure you have. Your feet protected, which will take care of everything else. BlueMaka.com insoles are the spot for you. Use code Scouting20 at checkout to get a little discount on that order and let them know we sent you. Those insoles will upgrade your performance if you're an athlete or just make your shoes and your body feel a little bit better when you put them in there. BlueMaka.com is the spot for you. As we jump into it today, Mark Dolgarian, friend of the program, we've had him on before, talking all things international pathway player program. The lead international scout is getting ready to head out on the road. So let's get back to it with Mark. Well excited to bring on today's guest, friend of the program, international man of mystery to a certain degree. He is lead international scout for the International Pathway Program for the NFL, Mark Delgarion. Welcome back to Scouting the League. Mark Dulgerian: Roderick, always a pleasure, man. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: It is we're into real games now. We've had college football games all weekend, wrapped up with a pretty good contest under some lights, questions about Mark Dulgerian: Yeah. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: clock management and multiple games this weekend. But we're not gonna get into all that again. We got a long season to go, but while we are enjoying football here in America, or while we are enjoying games that'll be played overseas. You are traveling the world as the lead international scout for that IPP. Again, a program that we've seen a bunch of really good players come through. We're going to talk about some of those guys, have their 2026 looked. We're going to talk about the gold standard for the IPP and Jordan Mayalata. But before we get into that, just how's it going? Again, some new destinations. You again, as football gets going, your travel schedule kicks off. Talk about just kind of where you're at, what you got going on this fall. Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, no, right now is really the exciting time for me. not only is college football NFL season kicking off, it's really kicking off the travel schedule. Kind of I'm kind of in the thick of the travel schedule right now for the IPP. so we're we're right now is when we're conducting regional workouts around the world. we'll have our IPP combine in October coming up. but so far I've already hit Europe. know the UK, Germany, France, for the first time ever, you know, we hit the Dominican Republic. You know, we can talk about that a little bit, about how how that trip went. And you know, we're looking at the Bahamas next, top wind talks with Japan and Australia. so those are all upcoming. a lot of exciting, a lot of exciting things and so far some exciting prospects that we're looking forward to to progressing with. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, well again, some of those exciting prospects again in twenty twenty six. We'll we'll talk about that film. Again, we've got an NFL game in Australia, which is going to yeah, I obviously again, from a time zone standpoint, again that you you start talking about those issues when you talk about anything international, anything in Europe, Australia, obviously you're you're flipping the clock basically twelve hours. again. Whether you like it, whether you don't, it's good for football. It's good for the International Pathway Program. We've seen the players come out of there. Again, the knowns of what rugby is. and you know, rugby sevens and a what RFL and again, all the different leagues, all the different Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, yep. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: styles. And again, if you're just a football guy like me, it's like, isn't it all just rugby? I know there's a lot of you know differences to it. Yeah. Mark Dulgerian: I'm still learning too, man. I'm still learning too. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: But again, like you said, Dominican Republic, South America, Brazil, Bahamas, again, big greeting breeding ground. We've had games in Mexico City at the NFL level, and it is a part of the world where there is another league that has got a lot of players from talk about again the first trip to the Dominican and what you're doing with the MLB as you kind of continue to to take the IPP forward. Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, well, you know, the idea of going to the Dominican Republic came about when I learned about it it's called Baseball City. It's just south of Santo Domingo and and basically every almost every major league club has kind of their own compound on the island in the Dominican Republic. And it's where they develop guys from grassroots backyard baseball to here's your introduction to organized professional. sports and a real strength and conditioning program and a real training program. So so you know I think there's a lot that we can pull from from what they've been doing for decades in terms of getting these naturally natural born athletes and and and plugging them into kind of a professional pathway which is a lot like what we're trying to do with the NFL. So I went down there not only to I worked out a few few athletes who you know are on kind of a pro track in baseball but may not have the skills to make it that far. but also I was able to sit down with the Major League Baseball Director of International Operations and just say, hey, like we're got a lot of respect for what that league's been doing for a long time now. There's a lot of things I'm sure that we can take and and apply it to our league. And you know, we had a really good conversation, a lot of really low-hanging things that we can add to our initiatives in expanding our sport and and developing players around the world and and tapping into that. one you know quick anecdote from that meeting is, you know, I asked them how they are exploring new markets for baseball. And they are talking about right now they're really looking at Brazil, which happens to also be a a a big market for us in the NFL. And I had always thought that they've been playing baseball, you know, in in Brazil. I know soccer is obviously big there, but they do play a lot of baseball, but I learned that it's like an obsolete form of baseball. So it's kind of like if a country was playing, you know, still playing three yards in a cloud of dust type of football, it's kind of similar to what they're doing in Brazil. So obviously that doesn't really make it up the pro ranks or the pro system anymore. so the league has taken it upon itself to send scouts and coaches down to Brazil. Not to f look for more talent, but to coach up the coaches and to teach them the types of athlete that make it through the system today. how to recruit those athletes, what to look for, and also what skills translate to today's game. So that way next year when they go back, maybe there's a maybe the talent pool is a little bit stronger. And then the next year it's a little bit stronger. So I just thought that was interesting. It wasn't a matter of, hey, we need to go send more guys to look under more rocks. It's well, let's teach the coaches how to recruit and how to coach so that the talent that is there that they know about improves year over year. So I think that's a really easy win for us. you know, and something that I'll be pitching to our league office as well. so there's you know that part of this travel is not only working out athletes, it's learning about how sports is growing, not just in football, but in other sports, how it's growing around the world and what we can take from it. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah. Again, sport around the world, again, specifically American football, because again, you've g you always have to designate that, especially when you go across the pond. Again, it is American football, but again, European Europeans, the ones I spoke to at a soccer conference, couldn't get enough NFL football. And again, we're just con seeing it continue to expand the number of games we have internationally. Again, Australia, we had Brazil, Mexico. Again, you can certainly see the writing again. Whether you like it or not, the NFL is pushing the boundaries of international football. And again, it may mess with the franchise and a schedule. And when you get to watch games, it may not be at noon or one for you. Again, you'll deal with it. We'll watch it because again, it's good for the game, good for development. So one of those developmental pieces, again, these guys that came through the program the last couple of years, 2026 preseason's done, these rosters are set. A bunch of r again, some bigger name players. And again, that's part of the fun. The fun thing I'm sure for you is it's been these names are are more known every year by the time that NFL draft by preseason comes. So again, people are specifically watching these IPP guys, these international players that are working to make a fifty-three man roster again from the last couple of years. Talk about these guys that are either from this year, last couple of years that went through twenty twenty-six. Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, I mean I I would I'd be willing to say that most people couldn't tell you how many IPP guys are in the league. but I have that number for you. Right now, going into week one, there's twenty-two former IPP athletes who are currently in the league. four of which are on opening day active rosters, and a handful of others who have had you know, regular season playing experience. And I would anticipate that at some point this season they'll probably get that opportunity again as they continue to develop. But I think that number speaks to you know the progress that we're making as as an I as as a league, as a program with IPP. and you know teams are hanging on to them. Teams want to develop them and they are developing them. And so they're sticking around on practice squads and then slowly getting to to you know playing real games as they find a niche role and or or you know as as they continue to grow. you know we saw our first IPP player trade and CJ Okoye going from the Baltimore Ravens to the New York Giants. Obviously, there's some staff continuity there. so you know, there's there's demand for for these guys. It's not just I think in the beginning of the of the program, it was okay, we're gonna allocate some guys to a team. You know, good luck with that. now it's more, you know, the teams have free will over the whether they want to sign IPP guys or not. And And you know, that that's that's been great because it's teams that want to develop the guys that they select themselves. So, so really exciting. And you know, as far as the preseason goes, you're absolutely right. It's a really exciting time to kind of see the guys that, you know, I was I spent ten weeks with you know, during our training camp in Florida and Fort Myers to see some of them taking their l first live hits of their life in NFL games, which to me is still something that blows my mind. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Mark Dulgerian: you know, you think back to your first hit, you know, freshman football or pop warner or whatever it is, these guys' first live hits is in in real NFL games. So, Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Mark Dulgerian: you know, that I really just think that speaks to the people that we bring in, the, the, the athletes that we bring, their mental side and and their ability to handle that type of pressure. so this yeah, this year you know, obviously we got a lot of attention for Some of the you know pre-draft performances, if you will, you know, in the con the combine, the pro days and the testing and everything like that with Houar Bernard and and even Joshua Wero, who both ended up on the Eagles. you know, I know they're they're excited to be there. I know the Eagles are excited to have them. And you know, that's really all you can ask for to start out with is you know, a good fit. So yeah, I'm I'm I'm excited to see how they progress and You know, and there's there's others around, you know, other of those twenty-two that have s stood out this this preseason. you know, I think TJ Magaranyenga, he went down with an injury in last game, but he was really flashing a lot. you know, in his time with commanders, getting a lot of getting a lot of snaps. He actually was the first last year he was the first IPP rookie to play in a regular season game on Sunday night football against the Denver Broncos while he was with the commanders. So You know, I think his his ticker's looking up. you know, Shu Godrick, you know, he's on the active roster with the Miami Dolphins. you know, he's a guy who prior to the IPP had never played American football. in fact, of the 22 guys on rosters, a little over half had never played American football before they went through the IPP. so that's you know, let that sink in for a second. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Mark Dulgerian: so you know, I'm just really excited to see these guys progress and and you know, overall it's it's looking really promising for the Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, yeah, that and and that's what you want. You want the development. Again, it's not year one. Again, that's the the the the thing we've forgotten about at this point with a guy like Jordan Mylot is it was two full NFL seasons where he never stepped foot in a meaningful game and then he takes over as a starter and the rest is history. But again, that was a long time, two full years, and again, the w we're impatient. We're impatient with coaches, we're impatient with draft picks, we're impatient with everything. Of course, the IPP guys are gonna fall into this. Again, freak testers, freak athletes, guys with all the traits. We want them to at least put a package together for No, they need to go through probably at least one NFL season and be like, hey, this is what a game week looks like. This is what traveling to another NFL city looks like. Again, there are beyond the actual game on the field, there is so much new for these guys. For these kids that are like again, it's just an eye-opening experience. So again, you want the progression. The IPP is the start of that. But again, there is no substitute for being in an NFL building around a bunch of other grown men who are doing this for a living, have been around it for a long time. So again, guys like Joshua, like Bernard, again, all these IPP guys, development next steps. Again, we'll see that number continue to tick up every year, I'm sure. as the IPP again just continues to put good Athletes, good football players in the program. So we're excited about these guys. Again, I'm sure we'll see some bump-ups, some practice squad bump-ups. Again, all you have to do is just head on the IPP website and you can find out where these guys are at, where they're on your roster. as we as we kind of move from 2026, these guys are set again. Probably something to be working out here and there. 2027 IPP players, players that'll be eligible for the draft, it'll go through the process. Those names again, you hold announcing those guys as you're doing all your work during the fall, just like an NFL team is not gonna announce their guys. December is typically when we can expect to hear those those guys are gonna go through the program. but what do what does the fall look like for you? Have you you've kind of knocked out some new places, have some old reliables where there's going to be some good athletes. Talk about what your fall looks like and where you're headed. Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, so you know, so as I mentioned, we have our our IPP combine coming up in Loughborough, which is just north of London. we'll have a handful of players there that we'll see in person, kind of a much more official combine workout environment rather than the kind of private workouts that I conduct kind of on my own when I'm traveling around the world. These are kind of the best of that group. in in that place up in up in Loughborough which is also where the NFL Academy takes place. so we'll have that coming up in October. We're looking at holding a workout in the in the in the Bahamas. if you if anybody watches the Olympics every year they know they've got speed in the Bahamas or every four years they've got speed in the Bahamas. And then we still need to conduct the workouts in Australia and Asia Pacific area. obviously there's a lot of size down there and s and some speed as well. and you know, now there's gonna be a lot of you know, the NFL's talk of the town down there, obviously with the the game coming up this week. there's a lot of events surrounding that game. the whole idea is the NFL wants to continue to have the excitement of the NFL once the circuits is once the circus has left town. And I know so there's agencies and and coaches and trainers that are conducting talent ID events around the game down there. So I'm excited to see, you know, some of the film from that and and kind of some of the reports from that. And, you know, maybe have a list of guys that I'll go see in person in October, November, whenever I end up down there. So a lot of excitement. I'm really, you know, part of this. the the NFL having games all over the world is that it's building that excitement. It's it's bringing out the NFL fans who sometimes are elite athletes who are looking for a pathway to play American football at a high level. So you know, I'm trying to take advantage of that opportunity and and kind of ride that that wave of excitement around wherever they're you know wherever they're playing games including Australia coming up. so over the next few months it's it's whittling down kind of our workout list stacking our board. right now it's kind of just building that final board. and then come November, we'll start to see what the all the workout numbers look like, what the film looks like, what the how the interviews went and figure out who's gonna be a part of our twenty twenty seven class. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, well that is an exciting part of again, just like every scout on the road, Mark is, you know, getting his board, getting his reports in, getting everything done. He is at Mark Dolgarian on Twitter. If you have questions on the IPP, make sure you head over and hit him. again, you'll probably have a few flights in there to answer some Twitter questions or you know, YouTube qu wherever people can hit you at, again, make sure you go get those comments and questions 'cause Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, it's Instagram X as I'm really working on calling it nowadays. those are those are the main the main chat. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Well, you're much cooler than I am to, you know, have have both the gram and then be able to call it X. I'm, you know, apparently just a dinosaur calling it Twitter. So but it it's all good. It's you know. Yeah, peop people know where it's at. Mark Dulgerian: It's a new it's a new y yeah, that's new for me, man. It's I'm still getting used to it. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: but again, one of one of the things I wanted to hitch on, Mark, is is is we we've gone through the IPP now. We've got some good players. There's players that are in the NFL developmental w we said at the beginning, Jordan Mylot is the gold standard. Like we all get that. And Again, the Eagles, we saw them with a couple players in Ur Bernard and Joshua Waru, who, again, freaky testers, athletes, all the traits, didn't make the initial 53. And Howie Roseman, who, again, is one of the best GMs in the NFL, knows how to build a roster, knows how to develop these guys, whether that continuity, the staff, the coaches that developed Jordan, again, a lot of it has changed over the years, but But how he came out and basically said, we're never gonna see another Jordan again. And my initial reaction, never say never, right? Again, the IPP produced an all-pro, a guy that's been one of the better left tackles in the NFL now for the last I believe nine-year NFL career. He's been starting since 2020. But the IPP has not peaked. Surely there's another Jordan out there. Again. It took him two years on the practice squad to get to where he was even an NFL starter, obviously not the top-end starter that we're seeing now. When you heard Howie's comments, when you, I'm sure somebody probably, you know, texted it to you and said, Hey, what you think about this? Never say never. Also, let's keep it in cut context. These guys have a long way to go before they're even in the same conversation. Talk about Howie's comments and kind of kind of where how you viewed them. Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, no, I it's a c it's it's something that I hear a lot. you know, you're never gonna find another Mylotta. frankly, I'm I love Jordan. Jordan comes spend he spends time with us down in Fort Myers and he's always giving back to the IPP and and the guys, you know, coming after him. but frankly, I'm tired of you know, finding the next Jordan Mylotta and comparing everybody to Jordan Mylotta. in a sense, how he's right in that, you know, you take you take the person And then the physical, and yeah, he's he's one of one. And he's kind of one on one in the NFL. And and anybody in college football, he's kind of one on one, one of one. but I disagree, especially the physical part. I think that's the first thing that people think is this guy's giant and he can run and he's strong, and he's me. There's a as somebody who scours the internet and scours international rosters and and lives in the international sports ecosystem. there are other Jordan Myladas physically. they're out there. now the challenge is finding the person, right? The someone who has the mental acuity to be able to pick up a new a new game at age 20, 21 years old. and is good, you know, is handles adversity the way that Jordan handled it as well. You gotta understand people would be saying the same thing about Jordan. He Jordan wasn't Jordan until year three. And he'll tell you the same thing. You know, he's he he struggled those first two years, dealing with injuries and picking up the game. but from a physical component, there are other Myladas. I see them all the time. It's really it's a matter of just situation. A lot of times they're they're cool with the paycheck that they're getting, playing whatever sport that they're getting, and not, you know, not having to leave their family. And that that you know, that happens. but yeah, from a from a physical com perspective. They're out there from mental to probably out there as well. and then the fit, right? Like going to a team that wants to develop you and has the resources to develop you. That's kind of that last component. But yeah, it always it's I get why people say that. And I and look, I understand nobody's living in kind of the world that I am where I'm all constantly seeing international athletes. There's eight billion people in the world. let's say half of them are males. There's four billion potential Myladas, you know, for lack of a better way of putting it. But yeah, I'd I'd never you're absolutely right, Roderick. Like never say never. all it takes is one of these guys to say, you know what? I'm good playing the sport, I'm let's try this football thing. And man, I could think of five guys at the top of my head who I would love to have in the program today. but they're doing their thing and and and They're cool with the sport that they're in right now. So that's all I'll leave it at that. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well and and again, you gotta give cred credit to Howie. Again, he he was again I don't think Howie was probably out there coaching Jordan. I don't think he was probably in the meeting room teaching him the playbook, but again, he had the systems in place. And again, the person, the health, again, that's always one of the things he he dealt with some injuries, but again, his body could handle it. We see that at the college to pro level all the time, just college cats. Like This guy is super talented, but his body just cannot hold up to what the demands are. The person, the context, again, all of it goes in to say there's n the there's not a single path from college to the NFL. There's not a single path from the IPP to the NFL either. There's not going to be a story just like Jordan. I get again, perhaps that's all all all Howie was saying, but to say again, it's that never say never. again. In two years, what's the conversation on Bernard and you are and Wero gonna be? Like what is it? I we we can't tell the future, but again, these guys are in the right context, in the right spot. Stability of the on a of an organization, again, that has certainly been one of the things that help has helped Philadelphia develop Jordan. And again, some of these successful developmental players from wherever they are at in the NFL. Again. stability within an organization where they're learning one thing for multiple years. That is such a huge piece of it. and again, you know better than any of us what those world class athletes look like out there. So we're gonna we're gonna take your word for it that hey there's there's at least a couple other who could be. Not that they will be not that you're betting on those guys. Again, I'm sure you would love to there maybe one or two, but again It it's hard. Making the NFL is hard. Make it from the IPP to the NFL is even harder to make any kind of impact. And again, the percentages go down, but again, there's a lot of people that may may have the chance to do it. So Mark Dulgerian: I I can't wait for that torch to be passed to the next, let's find the next John Smith, you know, whatever it is. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah. And I'm again, I'm sure I don't know Jordan personally. Everything I'd imagine I'd imagine Jordan would love to be the guy that passes that torch as well and be like, hey, you know, I I started it, you take it, and let's let's make it even better. Again, that's part of that special person that Jordan is, right? Yeah. Mark Dulgerian: Spot on. Spot on. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Perfect. Well, well, Mark, you are going to be getting out there seeing the world. Is there a destination, a A a a certain spot, man. I'm most excited between now and November when I'm off the road working the board. Is there one spot you you or or one weekend, one event that you're most excited about? Mark Dulgerian: Yeah, I guess moving forward, you know, in this scouting cycle, I am, you know, we talk about the the Australia game and the idea that it's gonna surface a lot of the NFL fans to, you know, around the event, some of these talent ID events that are going on. you know, really interested to see what that game does, you know, selfishly from a scouting perspective and seeing, you know, what types of athletes say, hey. This game was, you know, the NFL was in town. This is a pretty damn cool game and everything that's around it. And, you know, I've always wanted to play this. And now there's talk about NFL personnel being down here. And, you know, let's let's give this a go, as they say down there. so really interesting see what it's what that game surfaces from a talent standpoint. and there's already some green flags there, some s some sign signals that that this will be a really fruitful trip down there. So that that's that's what I'm ex most excited for to kind of see what how that game if impacts my job. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: Yeah, well it's gonna be a good game. again, two good teams, two teams with high expectations. A couple pretty good defensive players on that one D line. So again, excited to see all of that. They're approaching it differently. We don't want that game to, you know, make it too easy for you, though. Again, you are turning over every stone. You do the tough work again, you know, heading about into the bush probably to find some players. So again, it's going to be a fantastic event for the NFL for you. Again. If we can make your job easier, we'd be happy to do that. You're gonna be doing it either way. So we're excited to see where it goes. Hey, that's again every Mark Dulgerian: I love the grind Roderick, but I'll take an easy button here and there. Rodrik David @RightStepAdv: every scout would love that as well. So you know, not no no skin done there. But but he is at Mark Delgarion on X and check the check the gram as well for Mark again as he puts out his travels, everything IPP, just plug that in there, he'll be hitting it out there. Mark, we always enjoy talking. We're excited again about NFL game starting, but the IPP, hearing who these players are at and getting updates from me. We really appreciate appreciate you being on to this. Mark Dulgerian: I appreciate you. I appreciate your support, man.