Agent Leigh Steinberg goes after ESPN’s draftnik Todd McShay

He’s brash. He’s bold. And he’s head of ESPN’s Scouts, Inc., but that doesn’t stop people from within the football community from questioning his credentials and expertise. The latest is agent Leigh Steinberg whose client is quarterback Paxton Lynch.

During a media conference call earlier this week, McShay said Lynch played in a very simplistic offense at Memphis and added, “He’s got to learn how to get his team in and out of a huddle, and how to make line checks, and pre-snap audibles, and get them out of bad plays into good plays — he hasn’t had to do any of those things.”

That led Steinberg to go on a Twitter rant:

#NFLDraft Everyone entitled to opinion,but Todd McShay's vitriolic assessment of @PaxtonLynch's ability is absurd.Doesn't work for a team!

— Leigh Steinberg (@leighsteinberg) April 21, 2016

#NFLDraft Hope public knows that Todd McShay,self-proclaimed draft guru never played,coached,scouted in college or NFL.@ESPN @PaxtonLynch

— Leigh Steinberg (@leighsteinberg) April 21, 2016

That’s a little below the belt there. As much as McShay is disliked by certain people, there’s no need to bring up his background. For what it’s worth, McShay did play in college as a backup quarterback at Richmond College and also was an undergraduate assistant for the school, but it doesn’t mean that he’s not qualified to be a draft expert.

Steinberg later regretted his tweet:

#NFLDraft Everyone is entitled to their opinion,I regret responding to McShay's toxic assessment of Paxton by bringing up his background.

— Leigh Steinberg (@leighsteinberg) April 22, 2016

But Steinberg is not alone in his opinion on McShay. Pro Football Talk asked a long-time NFL scout if teams pay attention to what McShay says and said fellow ESPN draftnik Mel Kiper, Jr. has more respect … “And that’s a stretch, too.”

Steinberg went public with his assessment of McShay and it probably mirrors what many agents, scouts and executives feels, however, it appears he’s going to be with ESPN for a long time to come so the NFL community had better get used to his opinions.

[Pro Football Talk]