Jack Bechta of the National Football Post is sick and tired of seeing people talk about players “slipping” and teams “reaching” for certain guys. In reality, there is no such thing as “slips and reaches” in the draft, since players go to the team that wants and needs them at a certain pick. There was a lot of talk about the supposed slides of Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater, but Bechta doesn’t think much of it. Here’s more from around the NFL..
- The Raiders‘ draft class has real potential, writes Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com. While some have been critical of Oakland for not addressing their wide receiver need, Bair praises GM Reggie McKenzie for sticking to his board and getting the best player available. The Raiders could have taken an impact WR at No. 36, for example, but they went for Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr instead.
- With talk about whether the Cowboys should draft a quarterback to eventually replace Tony Romo so prevalent, executive vice president Stephen Jones said he wanted to remind Romo about the team’s commitment to him by not taking a QB in the draft, writes ESPN.com’s Calvin Watkins. For his part, Romo’s confidence never wavered. “We did it, everybody had a visit with him along the way,” Jones told SiriusXM. “Jerry [Jones, Cowboys owner/GM] included, myself included, and told him how this is his football team and how much we think of him and with all the rumors flying around not to pay attention to that. His response is, as you might expect from Tony, it was ‘Well if you decide to, it ain’t going to matter, there’s not anybody out there that can beat me out.”
- Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com wonders if the Patriots will hit with undrafted free agent Asa Watson. The North Carolina State tight end, who is the younger brother of former Pats first-rounder Ben Watson, has skill but has been hampered by a heart condition in recent years.
- Many have been critical of the Cowboys‘ pick of Anthony Hitchens out of Iowa, but Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News defends Dallas’ pick. The main knock on Hitchens is his height (6’0″), but the linebacker can succeed in a Tampa 2 scheme.
Tony Romo should be a professional and understand that nothing in life is guaranteed. Not drafting a QB to remind him that the team is committed to him is the most careless way to operate a football team or business….