Falcons Sign Five Draft Picks
The Falcons have signed five draft picks from their 2014 class, the team announced on its website. LB Prince Shembo (fourth round), CB Ricardo Allen (fifth round), LB Marcus Spruill (fifth round), LB Yawin Smallwood (seventh round), and LB Tyler Starr (seventh round) are now all under contract with Atlanta.
The five picks indicate a concerted effort by the Falcons to improve their defense, which graded as the fourth-worst unit by DVOA. While these Day 3 selections aren’t likely to have a significant impact on the team’s successes, they could add depth to an Atlanta defense that proved to be extremely thin in 2013. Atlanta still has four picks left to sign, including first-rounder Jake Matthews and second-rounder Ra’Shede Hageman.
Extra Points: Motta, Williams, West, Lewis-Moore, Steen
“There appears to be some doubt about Atlanta Falcons safety Zeke Motta‘s playing status this season as he continues to recover from neck surgery,” writes ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. Motta underwent surgery in December to repair a cervical fracture, but he hasn’t been medically cleared and won’t be participating in the team’s offseason program. William Moore is entrenched at one safety spot, but with Motta out of the picture, that leaves Dwight Lowery, Kemal Ishmael and rookie fifth-rounder Dez Southward battling for the other position.
More from around the league. . .
- Tom Crabtree has been released by the Buccaneers, as reported by. . .Tom Crabtree, formerly of the Buccaneers (via Twitter).
- Ryan Williams‘ workout for the Cowboys wasn’t your run-of-the-mill look-see, tweets Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram, as 24 scouts, coaches and staff were watching.
- Browns rookie running back Terrance West confirmed what most suspected immediately following his third-round selection (94th overall) — the Ravens texted his agent their intention to draft him 99th overall. Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer shared the information (via Twitter).
- Ravens 2013 sixth-rounder Kapron Lewis-Moore, who missed last season while recovering from a torn ACL, is participating in the team’s rookie minicamp, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the big defensive lineman looks impressive.
- Undrafted free agent guard Anthony Steen of Alabama has a realistic chance of making the Cardinals, believes Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.
- Offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb tried out for the Panthers, but was not immediately extended a contract, according to Aaron Wilson at National Football Post. Webb was a much-maligned three-year starter for the Bears (2010-12) before appearing in eight games (one start) for the Vikings last year.
- Draftees are signing sooner than ever, writes BuffaloBills.com’s Chris Brown, who explains why: “Even though the salary cap went up more than eight percent, there is a freeze on signing bonuses so all this year’s picks will get the same signing bonus as the players did last year who were taken in their draft slot. . .The reason why bonuses are staying flat is because teams borrowed money from future rookie pools (2012, 2013) after the lockout in 2011 to make sure that rookies that year wouldn’t be paid less than the rookies from 2010 prior to the readjustment in salary cap and the rookie wage scale. . .So essentially the only increases the 2014 draft class is seeing is in their base salaries.”
Extra Points: Finley, Texans, Hurst, Falcons
A Tuesday report on ESPN.com suggested that when the NFL announces its new drug policy, it will include relaxed rules involving the use of marijuana, but a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk that’s not necessarily the case. While adjustments to the rules regarding marijuana use were discussed, a change was never formally proposed by other side and isn’t slated to be part of the tentative agreement that hinges on a solution for HGH testing.
Florio concedes that the current proposal could be modified to include an increase in the threshold required for a positive marijuana test or a decrease to the penalties for a violation, but for now, such an adjustment isn’t part of the deal.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Following the draft, Packers GM Ted Thompson suggested the team hadn’t ruled out the possibility of bringing back tight end Jermichael Finley, and head coach Mike McCarthy echoed those comments yesterday in an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, as Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com details. “[Finley] is going through a tough medical situation,” McCarthy said. “I think we all recognize that it was a serious injury. My understanding is he is doing everything and beyond to get himself ready. We’ll continue to watch that.”
- In Mike Florio’s view, the Texans are more likely to trade or release disgruntled receiver Andre Johnson during the 2015 league year than to do anything with him this year. Florio cites an increasing base salary, though I believe by reaching escalators in previous seasons, Johnson’s 2014 salary is now $10MM, up from $6.5MM. In any case, I’m inclined to agree with Florio, since it would be much easier to find a potential trade partner when teams haven’t already addressed the receiver position, and Houston would be on the hook for less dead money in 2015.
- North Carolina offensive tackle James Hurst went undrafted, but he certainly had no shortage of teams interested in him. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun writes that Hurst chose to sign with the Ravens as a rookie free agent over 17 competing offers.
- Catawba quarterback Danny O’Brien is among 24 players being invited to the Falcons‘ rookie minicamp to audition for a roster spot this week, the team announced today in a press release.
- Buffalo receiver Fred Lee will participate in the Bills‘ rookie minicamp this week, tweets ESPN.com’s Mike Rodak.
NFC South Rumors: Graham, White, Bucs
Free agency, which opened more than two months ago, feels well behind us now, but technically one of the top free agents of the offseason remains available. Jimmy Graham was franchised by the Saints, meaning he can’t freely sign with another club, but he can still sign an offer sheet if there’s a team out there willing to give up two first-round picks to land him. And according to Mike Freeman of the Bleacher Report, that’s not a total pipe dream — Freeman hears from multiple sources that there are still some teams “strongly considering” extending an offer sheet to Graham.
I’d be surprised if another team ended up make a serious play for the Saints tight end, who would require a sizable chunk of cap space in addition to his suitor being willing to give up two first-rounders. But with a hearing looming next month to determine whether Graham will be considered a tight end or a wide receiver, it’s a situation worth keeping an eye on. Here’s more from around the NFC South:
- ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure explores the possibility of an extension for Falcons wide receiver Roddy White, who is entering the final year of his contract. McClure likens White’s contract situation to that of Reggie Wayne, who signed a three-year extension in 2012 at age 33 — White turns 33 this fall.
- Patriots director of college scouting Jon Robinson is leaving New England to reunite with Buccaneers GM Jason Licht in Tampa Bay, reports Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston (Twitter links). According to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter link), Robinson will assume the role of director of player personnel in Tampa. Meanwhile, Bucs director of college scouting Eric Stokes will be moving on to Miami to act as an assistant to Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey, tweets Reiss.
- A bill addressing professional athletes’ injury benefits, which is working its way through the Louisiana Legislature could adversely affect the Saints‘ recruitment of free agents, according to former NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, via Emily Lane of the Times-Picayune. Lane’s piece has plenty of details on the bill, which would limit compensation benefits for NFL players if they’re injured during training camp rather than during the regular season. The Players Association also published an article on its website stating its opposition to the bill.
2014’s Most Balanced And Unbalanced Drafts
Teams entered last week’s NFL draft with many different positions and areas they planned to focus on, but depending on how the draft played out, many clubs didn’t end up addressing all their needs. For instance, few would have guessed heading into the draft that neither the Panthers nor the Ravens would come out of the weekend having added an offensive tackle.
Whether intentional or not, a handful of teams ended up specifically focusing on one area of the ball in the draft, selecting far more offensive players than defensive players, or vice versa. Listed below are the teams who had the most offensive-heavy drafts, teams who had defensive-heavy drafts, and the clubs who managed to perfectly balance their picks. Let’s check out the lists….
Most offensive-heavy drafts:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6 offense, 0 defense): After spending big to add defensive end Michael Johnson and cornerback Alterraun Verner in free agency, the Buccaneers were the only NFL team not to draft at least one defensive player. Instead, the club focused on adding weapons for new quarterback Josh McCown, including wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6 offense, 3 defense): It wasn’t until they drafted their fifth player, in the fourth round, that the Jaguars eventually selected a defensive player, having focused early on landing a quarterback (Blake Bortles) and pass-catchers (Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson).
- New England Patriots (6 offense, 3 defense): After nabbing defensive tackle Dominique Easley in round one, the Patriots turned to offensive players for their next five picks, including second-rounder Jimmy Garoppolo.
- Washington Redskins (5 offense, 2 defense): The Redskins picked a couple defenders in the first four rounds, grabbing linebacker Trent Murphy and cornerback Bashaud Breeland, but they tipped the scales by leaning heavily toward offensive players with their late-round picks.
Most balanced drafts:
- New York Jets (6 offense, 6 defense)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4 offense, 4 defense)
- Carolina Panthers (3 offense, 3 defense)
- Cleveland Browns (3 offense, 3 defense)
- Denver Broncos (3 offense, 3 defense)
- San Diego Chargers (3 offense, 3 defense)
- Tennessee Titans (3 offense, 3 defense)
Most defensive-heavy drafts:
- Atlanta Falcons (7 defense, 2 offense): Offensive and defensive lines were viewed as two of the top priorities for the Falcons, but after addressing those positions in the first two rounds, Atlanta went on a linebacker frenzy in the mid-to-late rounds, snatching up four of them.
- Dallas Cowboys (7 defense, 2 offense): The Cowboys reportedly had three defensive players on their wish list in the first round, but when Anthony Barr, Aaron Donald, and Ryan Shazier came off the board, the team picked offensive tackle Zack Martin instead. Dallas remedied that by making seven of its final eight picks defensive players.
- Minnesota Vikings (7 defense, 3 offense): The Vikings made defense their focus in the mid-to-late rounds — their last five picks were defenders, including three defensive backs. Minnesota also selected a defensive player with its first pick, drafting linebacker Anthony Barr ninth overall.
- Oakland Raiders (6 defense, 2 offense): The Raiders’ approach looked similar to the Vikings’, as Oakland grabbed a linebacker (Khalil Mack) with its top-10 pick, then used its last five picks on defenders, with a couple offensive players sandwiched in between.
- Philadelphia Eagles (5 defense, 2 offense): Losing DeSean Jackson made wide receiver a priority for the Eagles in the draft, so the team snatched up Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff in rounds two and three. Outside of those two picks though, it was an exclusively defensive draft for Philadelphia.
Pro Football Rumors’ list of draft results by team was used in the creation of this post.
Falcons Sign 20 Undrafted Free Agents
The Falcons are the latest team to make their undrafted free agent class official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed 20 new rookies to contracts. Here’s the complete list:
- Geraldo Boldewijn, WR, Boise State
- Brenden Daley, LB, Hawaii
- Nosa Eguae, DE, Auburn
- Devonta Glover-Wright, CB, Utah State
- Maurice Hagens, FB, Miami (FL)
- Julian Jones, WR, Arkansas State
- Freddie Martino, WR, North Greenville
- Jeff Mathews, QB, Cornell
- Walker May, OLB, Vanderbilt
- Kimario McFadden, S, South Carolina State
- Roosevelt Nix, FB, Kent State ($15K bonus, per Aaron Wilson)
- Jacob Pedersen, TE, Wisconsin
- Bernard Reedy, WR, Toledo
- Donte Rumph, DT, Kentucky
- Jacques Smith, OLB, Tennessee
- Jerome Smith, RB, Syracuse
- James Stone, C, Tennessee
- Tramaine Thompson, WR, Kansas State
- Brian Wozniak, TE, Wisconsin
- Matt Yoklic, P, Pittsburgh
King’s Latest: Manziel, Browns, Jags, Falcons
In his latest Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King of TheMMQB.com leads off by writing about the Rams‘ drafting of Michael Sam and Johnny Manziel‘s Thursday night wait in the green room. King also provides a few interesting tidbits, so let’s dive in and round them up….
- Manziel thought there was a decent chance he’d be selected by the Rams at No. 13, and when St. Louis passed, he became concerned about a free fall. Before the Browns eventually jumped up to No. 22 to nab Manziel, the Eagles were close to trading the pick to another club, likely the Vikings.
- Browns GM Ray Farmer on the decision to trade the No. 4 overall pick to the Bills, who used it to select wide receiver Sammy Watkins: “We were very close to turning in the card. We very easily could have turned in the card with Sammy’s name on it.”
- The Jaguars and Falcons had “many discussions” about a trade that would have included Jacksonville’s No. 3 overall pick and Atlanta’s No. 6. The Falcons would also have included at least a third-round pick to complete the deal, but the Jags decided to stay put to make sure they got Blake Bortles. Had the Falcons moved up to third overall, they planned to take the same player they ended up landing at No. 6: Jake Matthews.
- Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on turning down the trade: “There were so many teams that wanted quarterbacks—at one, four, five, seven and eight, and they were all within striking distance of us. I just kept thinking, ‘One of those teams has to see what we were seeing in Bortles.’ So let’s say we move back and make a deal. What are we going to take in the third? A guard? You can find guards. You can’t find the quarterback you think fits your team best. So in the end it wasn’t a hard decision for us.”
Falcons Acquire No. 168 Pick From Vikings
The Falcons have moved back into the fifth round, trading for the No. 168 pick previously held by the Vikings, reports Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Vikings had originally received that pick from the Panthers in a separate trade.
Goessling writes that the Vikings will receive two picks, No. 182 and No. 220, in the trade (via Twitter). The Falcons selected inside linebacker Marquis Spruill out of Syracuse with the pick, according to Jay Adams of AtlantaFalcons.com (via Twitter).
Cowboys Trying To Move Up From No. 47
6:07pm: In addition to the Cowboys, the Jets and Titans are also looking to move up in the second round, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
5:37pm: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier this afternoon (via Twitter), that the Cowboys are trying to make a “big move up” in the second round to secure help for their front seven. Now, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (via Twitter) provides more details on that report, tweeting that he’s hearing the Cowboys are trying to jump ahead of the Falcons (No. 37) to land Boise State edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence.
The Cowboys had been expected to select a defender in the first round last night, but when a number of their targets came off the board before No. 16, they switched gears and nabbed offensive tackle Zack Martin. A move up into the top four picks of the second round would be tricky for the Cowboys, who are currently at No. 47. As our list of draft picks by team shows, only a handful of clubs have more picks to work with than Dallas, but six of the club’s remaining 10 picks for 2014 are seventh-rounders.
NFC South Rumors: Cooks, Falcons, Benjamin
The Saints had no doubt in their mind that they wanted to go with Brandin Cooks at No. 20, writes Larry Holder of the Times-Picayune. “Periodically you have a real strong conviction on a player, and this was one of those players,” head coach Sean Payton said. The Oregon State star tallied 128 receptions, 1,730 yards, and 16 touchdowns last season, cementing himself as a first round talent. More out of the NFC South..
- Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff told 92.9 in Atlanta that there’s no truth to any rumor about Chiefs safety Eric Berry being a trade target, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com. Dimitroff also said that by the time the Jaguars took Blake Bortles at No. 3, there was no doubt he’d be selecting tackle Jake Matthews at No. 6 (link).
- Dimitroff also told 92.9 that the Jaguars, led by his protege David Caldwell, were his most viable potential trade partner last night, tweets McClure.
- The Panthers hit a trifecta with first-round pick Kelvin Benjamin, writes ESPN.com’s David Newton, as the 6’5″, 240-pound Florida State receiver addresses a need, provides value and makes quarterback Cam Newton happy. David Newton also quotes GM Dave Gettleman, who said “unusual ball skills” and the ability to make contested catches sold the team on Benjamin.
Matt Feminis contributed to this post.