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CAA Sports agent Tory Dandy hopes history can repeat itself in this year’s NFL draft.

Dandy represented three players selected in the top half of the 2017 draft: Mike Williams, taken No. 7 by the Chargers; Marshon Lattimore, taken No. 11 by the Saints; and Haason Reddick, the No. 13 pick by the Cardinals.

“I would say last year’s draft — you have three top-15 picks — was a strong year,” said Dandy, who has been in the agent business for 15 years and joined CAA Sports in July 2016. He spent most of his career as an agent working under Eugene Parker, who died in March 2016 after battling with kidney cancer.

This year, Dandy has signed eight players, including Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward and LSU edge rusher Arden Key, both potential first-round picks. He represents about two dozen veteran NFL players, including Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, Rams wide receiver Sammy Watkins and Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson.

“Tory is a remarkable addition to the CAA Sports family,” said CAA Sports co-head Howard Nuchow. “He lives to serve his clients, whom he considers family, providing them insight and guidance into all areas of their personal and professional lives.”

But being an agent is not always easy. In 2011, Dandy represented University of North Carolina safety Deunta Williams, who had been a projected first- or second-round pick before he broke his leg in a bowl game. Williams went undrafted, and Dandy counseled him through the tough decision to give up the chance to ever play football again in order to collect an insurance policy of about $2 million.

“Everybody sees the glitz and glamour, they don’t see what goes on behind the scenes,” Dandy said. “They don’t see what these guys go through. It’s real life.”

— Liz Mullen