The huge sports and entertainment conglomerates that now proliferate the NFL agent landscape flexed their muscles again in this year's draft but, as the lottery demonstrated, there is still some room in the business for the smaller "boutique" firms as well.

Fueled by four first-round picks, Octagon claimed the top spot in the ESPN.com "agent derby" with 63 points. Points are awarded in descending order, with seven points for a first-round selection, down to one point for a player chosen in the seventh round.

	2002 NFL draft "agent derby"
	Here are the standings for the 2002 "agent derby," listing the firms or individuals who tallied at least 20 points in this year's draft:
	Firm	Players	Pts.
	1. Octagon (a)	12	63
	2. Sportstars (b)	14	53
	3. IMG (c)	19	42
	4. Athletes First (d)	7	41
	5. David Ware	8	38
	6. Priority Sports (e)	11	37
	7. Eric Metz/Ethan Lock	8	36
	8. Ralph Cindrich	8	30
	9. Athletic Resource Management (f)	6	29
	10. Joel Segal	5	25
	11. ProFiles Sports Management (g)	5	24
	12. All-Pro Sports (h)	6	22
	13. Hadley Engelhard	5	21
	Notes: (a) Primary agents are Mike Sullivan, Ray Anderson, Andre Colona; (b) Alan Herman, Brian Mackler, Bill Heck; (c) Tom Condon, Ken Kremer; (d) David Dunn, Joby Branion; (e) Mark Bartelstein, Rick Smith, Kenny Zuckerman; (f) Jimmy Sexton, Kyle Rote Jr.; (g) Pat Dye, Bill Johnson; (h) Lamont Smith, Peter Schaffer.

The identities of the agents for all of the drafted players is taken from an NFL Players Association document obtained by ESPN.com.

Octagon, the McLean, Va.-based firm that moved heavily into football when it acquired agencies previously owned by veteran representatives Mike Sullivan and Ray Anderson, had a dozen players chosen, the second most of any group or individual agent.

For the second consecutive spring, Octagon represented the top overall player selected in the draft, as Fresno State quarterback David Carr set the tone for the firm's performance. After the four players taken in the first round, Octagon had three second-rounders, one in the third round, two in the fourth, and one each in the fifth and seventh stanzas.

Sullivan has already negotiated a seven-year, $46.25 million contract for Carr, a deal that includes a $10.92 million signing bonus. He also negotiated the contract for the top pick in the 2001 draft, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

But it was a much smaller agency, the Manhattan-based Sportstars, that provided Octagon its stiffest competition for top spot in the "agent derby." Sportstars represents 14 players who were selected, the most of any firm, and tallied 53 points. It marked the second year in a row in which Sportstars had the most prospects chosen.

"We've got a good system, with good people working for us, and I think players simply like us and like the way we do business," said Alan Herman of Sportstars. Added Brian Mackler, another agent in the firm: "The numbers over the last two years, when we've had 29 players (chosen), reflects how hard we work."

In a rarity, Sportstars had at least one player taken in all seven rounds, led by Alabama-Birmingham defensive end Bryan Thomas, the first-round choice of the New York Jets. That the group was able to reach into the South for prospects, and to extend the scope of its recruiting base, was indicative of Sportstars' aggressiveness and ability to compete despite having a much smaller budget than the conglomerate agencies.

That is not to suggest the conglomerates don't possess plenty of clout. Representation giant IMG, with veterans Tom Condon and Ken Kremer as the principal agents, scored third in the derby with 42 points. IMG established a new record with six first-rounders in the 2001 draft. The group followed that up with three players in the first round and two more in the second round this year.

Octagon had the most "first-day" selections -- players chosen in the top three rounds -- with eight. IMG and Sportstars and Athletes First, the firm founded by former Leigh Steinberg-partner David Dunn, all had six "first-day" picks.

But it is interesting to note that, while the big firms operate with huge budgets and can make marketing guarantees to the prospects they are recruiting, the "boutique" firms were an undeniable force in the 2002 draft. Of the 13 firms or individuals who scored 20 points or more in the derby, Octagon and IMG were the only conglomerate groups.

"We still believe the smaller agency is well positioned to succeed, because we feel like we can offer a lot of individual attention and personal client services," said Pat Dye Jr. of Atlanta-based ProFiles Sports Management, which finished No. 11 in the derby. "We just have to work a little harder at it, that's all."

Notable by their absences from the top group were SFX and Assante. The former had just four players chosen and totaled 19 points. Assante had a remarkably poor year, with only one player chosen. The Canadian-based Assante a few years ago acquired firms founded by Steinberg and Eugene Parker, two superagents with impressive client lists, but clearly was not a force in the 2002 lottery.

Conversely, Dunn, whose acrimonious split from Steinberg has been well documented and is currently in litigation and likely headed to court, scored a big year. Working with another former Steinberg employee, Joby Branion, their firm Athletes First placed fourth overall, with 41 points. That total was accomplished with having just seven players chosen, all but one on the first day, and landing three first-rounders.

David Ware, an Atlanta agent who essentially works on his own, had an impressive year, with eight clients and 38 points, to finish fifth overall.

Unlike a year ago, when five different agents or firms had three or more clients selected in the first round, led by IMG's record haul of six, the No. 1 choices were far more evenly distributed in 2002. There are just three agencies with three or more first-round choices this year and 22 different firms have at least one first-round client each.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.