Should We Expect Fewer First-Round Trades This Year?
If you’re expecting fireworks on Thursday night, you may be disappointed. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes that he isn’t hearing as much trade activity as usual (Twitter link), specifically with day-one picks. The reporter cautions that he could envision a team trading into the top-1o in pursuit of one of the top quarterback prospects, but other than that, the insider isn’t hearing a whole lot of first-round-trade chatter.
Rapoport offers another explanation for an expected lack of trades. There seems to be a consensus forming that there’s a drop-off in prospect quality after the top seven or eight players. As a result, teams are wary of trading back due to the significant drop in “elite, premium” players (the ol’ ‘take the dollar instead of four quarters’ mentality). Similarly, considering there’s only seven or eight top players in the draft, teams outside of the top-10 may believe they’re better staying put.
Peter King of Football Morning in America offers a similar sentiment. with one GM pointedly telling him that “the 49ers ruined the market by trading two ones to move nine spots.” As a result, teams in the top-10(ish) are expecting a king’s ransom for their first-round selection, and there aren’t a lot of suitors who are willing to spend big. Instead, King suggests that we may see a number of trades during the second day of the draft, with one GM describing No. 35 to around No. 75 as the “hotbed of this draft.”
For what it’s worth, NFL Network noted that there’s been an average of 5.2 trades made in the first round since 2011.
Of course, trade junkies have somewhat gotten their fill already. That aforementioned 49ers/Dolphins trade sparked off another deal with the Dolphins and Eagles.
Latest On Jaguars’ Draft Plans (Outside Of No. 1)
Much has been made of the Jaguars’ first-overall selection in Thursday’s draft, but NFL Network’s James Palmer provided some insight on the team’s plans with their other nine selections (Twitter link).
Besides the No. 1 pick, the Jaguars are also armed with four more picks through the first three rounds of the draft:
- No. 25
- No. 33
- No. 45
- No. 65
Palmer notes that the Jaguars are hoping for “immediate impact players” with each of those four aforementioned selections. While their draft ammo (which includes two more fourth-rounders, two more fifth-rounders, and one seventh-rounder) would seemingly provide them with opportunities to move up in pursuit of those impact players, Palmer reports that that likely won’t be the case. Instead of trading up, the Jaguars are more likely to keep each of these selections, and they could even move back and pick up more middle-round picks.
The front office can check one ‘need’ off the list when they select quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first-overall pick, but what other positions will they be looking at in the draft? Despite the fact that the team addressed their defensive line needs in free agency, Palmer points to defensive linemen as potential targets. Further, while the organization is a fan of their starting offensive linemen, that’s another spot the Jaguars could use an early-round pick on. Tight end is another position of need, but Palmer said the team is wary of reaching for any particular player.
Packers To Pick Up CB Jaire Alexander’s Fifth-Year Option
No surprise on this one. The Packers are expected to pick up the fifth-year option on cornerback Jaire Alexander, general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters (via ESPN’s Rob Demovsky on Twitter).
As the reporter notes, the only question is if the team can sign their All-Pro to a contract extension. Alexander’s fifth-year option is valued at $13.294MM thanks to him making the Pro Bowl in 2020, and the defensive back will surely see a pay raise (along with long-term security) in any extension.
Alexander, the 18th-overall pick in the 2018 draft, was more than solid through his first two years in the NFL, including a 2018 campaign where he received All-Rookie team honors. The cornerback started earning some league-wide accolades in 2020, including a Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro recognition. The 24-year-old ultimately finished the campaign having compiled 51 tackles, 13 passes defended, one interception, one sack, and one forced fumble in 15 starts. He also came up big during the postseason, snagging a pair of interceptions in two games.
The Packers have been busy retaining their cornerbacks corps this offseaosn. They re-signed starter Kevin King, and they also brought back restricted free agent Chandon Sullivan. This trio will join former second-rounder Josh Jackson and perhaps a rookie on the Packers depth chart.
Washington Exercises DT Daron Payne’s Fifth-Year Option
Washington is committing to Daron Payne for the 2022 season. The team has exercised the fifth-year option on the defensive tackle, reports Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post (via Twitter). The option is valued at $8.529MM.
The former 13th-overall pick started all 16 games and earned All-Rookie Team honors in 2018, but he had an up-and-down sophomore campaign in 2019, starting only nine of his 15 contests. He rebounded this past year, starting all 16 games and finishing with 54 tackles, three sacks, and three forced fumbles. Payne was also a standout during Washington’s playoff loss to the Buccaneers, finishing with a pair of sacks and a forced fumble.
In total, the 23-year-old (24 in May) has collected 166 tackles, 10 sacks, and 20 QB hits in 47 career game (41 starts).
Washington has been busy adding to their defensive line in recent years; they’ve used a first-round pick on a defensive lineman in each of the past four drafts. Payne will start alongside 2017 first-round pick Jonathan Allen, with the likes of Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle competing for backup reps.
49ers To Pick Up OT Mike McGlinchey’s Fifth-Year Option
Mike McGlinchey will be sticking around San Francisco through at least the 2022 season. The 49ers will be picking up the offensive tackle’s fifth year option, confirmed general manager John Lynch (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area). This will lock McGlinchey into a guaranteed $10.88MM salary for the 2022 campaign.
[RELATED: NFL’s Fifth-Year Option Salaries For 2021]
Following a standout career at Notre Dame, Mike McGlinchey was selected by the 49ers with the No. 9 pick in the 2018 draft. The lineman contributed right away, starting all 16 games en route an All-Rookie Team nod. He was limited to only 12 games due to a knee injury in 2019, but he returned to appear in 100-percent of his team’s offensive snaps in 2020.
As Maiocco writes, McGlinchey earned high marks this past season for his run-blocking prowess, and Pro Football Focus was fond of his overall performance. However, the lineman also had the worst pass-protection grade of his career.
With this move, the 49ers have locked in their offensive tackles for at least the next two years. The team re-signed Trent Williams to a massive six-year extension earlier this offseason.
Latest On 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo
Is Jimmy Garoppolo guaranteed to be on the 49ers roster next week? Kyle Shanahan made it clear that he couldn’t guarantee the fate of humanity, much less the roster status of his starting quarterback. However, the 49ers head coach later provided a thoughtful response that seemed to hint that the organization would be content with keeping the veteran.
[RELATED: Will The 49ers Trade Jimmy Garoppolo?]
“The biggest thing with Jimmy is his injuries,” Shanahan said (via David Lombardi of The Athletic on Twitter). “It’s been very tough for us when he’s been hurt. This happened two of these three years. That’s where it starts. Jimmy knows that. I’ve been very up front with him with everything.
“Excited to get him in here coming up, especially when this draft is over. But I feel very fortunate taking a rookie quarterback that we do have a guy like Jimmy. We didn’t sign a guy who’s capable or has the history of being a starter right away. We have a guy, every time he’s been a starter, he’s played at a high level. So to have that with Jimmy with having a rookie quarterback gives us a lot of leeway into this. I’m not going to set anything into stone, but I know that’s the situation that would be hard to get rid of. When you take a rookie quarterback and you take a veteran like Jimmy who we know we can win with, just to move on from that is something that’s not easy to do. That is a good situation for us and I think that is something that’ll be important to us this year.”
We heard that the 49ers may be holding out for a first-round pick for Garoppolo, and the organization would obviously trade the veteran in the right deal. However, Shanahan’s argument for keeping his starting quarterback does have plenty of merit, and the organization has made it abundantly clear that they won’t simply give Garoppolo away.
So who are the 49ers going to take? The head coach wouldn’t provide any answers, but he noted that the organization still feels good about five prospects at the No. 3 spot.
“We could have sat there at 12, and waited which one came to us, if one did,” Shanhan said (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter). “But we made a decision that we felt we needed to get a starting QB. We wanted to dicatate it. We’ll get the one that we feel is best for us.”
OL Dennis Kelly To Meet With Ravens
The Ravens aren’t wasting time finding a replacement for Orlando Brown. Offensive tackle Dennis Kelly is set to visit with Baltimore this weekend, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Ravens Trade Orlando Brown To Chiefs]
The Titans released Kelly last month after he had spent five years with the organization. After serving in mostly a swing role through his first four seasons in Tennessee, the 31-year-old had an opportunity to start in 2020. He ultimately started all 16 games, committing only three penalties while appearing in 98-percent of his team’s offensive snaps.
Kelly isn’t the first veteran offensive lineman that the Ravens have gotten a look at, as the Ravens met with with Alejandro Villanueva recently. Later reports indicated that the team wouldn’t be adding any veteran until after the draft, as they’ll have a better understanding of their status at each position. The team could also avoid the compensatory pick formula by waiting until early May.
The Ravens need an offensive tackle after moving Brown to the Chiefs this week. Even if the team addresses the position in the draft, it’d make sense for them to add a veteran; Ronnie Stanley.will return to left tackle after missing most of the 2020 season, and the five-year veteran has yet to appear in all 16 games in a single season.
OL Demar Dotson Has Received Multiple Offers
Demar Dotson may be getting up there in age, but it doesn’t sound like he’s looking to hang up his cleats just yet. Speaking to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver, the veteran offensive lineman revealed that he has received a handful of league-minimum offers but is remaining patient in pursuit of the ideal opportunity (Twitter link).
It’s not a surprise that there’s a market for the lineman. There’s always a demand for experience, versatile offensive linemen, especially one with Dotson’s resume. The lineman has put together a 12-year career despite going undrafted out of Southern Mississippi in 2009. He spent more than a decade with the Buccaneers organization, starting 106 of his 130 appearances.
Dotson joined the Broncos last offseason on a one-year pact, and he didn’t allow a single sack in any of his eight games. The veteran also only had one false start penalty and zero holding penalties, making it one of the more disciplined campaigns of his career.
As Dotson told Klis, his family recently welcomed their fifth child, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Dotson, who turns 36 midway through the 2021 campaign, decides to retire. However, it also sounds like the right situation (whether it be based on financials, winning, or playing time) would keep him around the league.
Browns Would Consider Bringing Back Sheldon Richardson
Sheldon Richardson was released by the Browns last week, but there’s a chance he lands back in Cleveland. During a conference call on Friday, Browns general manager Andrew Berry said that the team would welcome back Richardson.
[RELATED: Browns Release DT Sheldon Richardson]
“I think it is certainly possible,” Berry said (via Andrew Gribble of the team’s website). “Obviously, it is something that has to work for all parties involved, but we like Sheldon. He was a productive member of our team, a big part of our success last year. If that ends up being the right fit, that alignment is certainly something we would welcome.”
Cleveland’s logic for releasing Richardson in the first place were purely financial, as the team saved $11MM by making the move. Especially after losing Larry Ogunjobi to the Bengals, the Browns could still use a player of Richardon’s caliber. The former first-round defensive lineman started for Cleveland over the past two seasons, collecting 7.5 sacks and 16 QB hits. Pro Football Focus graded the Mizzou product as a top-30 interior defensive lineman in 2019 and slotted him just inside the top 50 at the position last season.
Berry seemed to appreciate Richardson’s stint with the team, although he noted that the team could look to the draft to fill a hole in the middle of their defense.
“Like all positions across the draft, there are a number of good, young prospects who are going to come into the league,” Berry said. “All of that being said, Sheldon is a big loss. He was a big part of what we did last year. He had a really strong presence in our locker room, and we are very thankful for all of the contributions he had. Those are big shoes to fill for sure.”
Cleveland’s current depth chart at defensive tackle includes Andrew Billings, Malik Jackson, Sheldon Day and Jordan Elliott.
This Date In Transactions History: Buccaneers Draft Two Future Hall Of Famers
On this date in 1995, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a pair of decisions that ultimately resulted in a Super Bowl championship. On April 22, 1995, the Buccaneers used a pair of first-round picks on defensive end Warren Sapp and linebacker Derrick Brooks.
The Buccaneers actually had their eye on Sapp throughout the pre-draft process that year, and they probably would have selected at him No. 7 before ultimately moving back to No. 12. As former head coach Sam Wyche explained, the organization made the trade assuming that the Miami star would be selected in the top-five. When Sapp’s draft stock started to drop, the Buccaneers realized they still might get their guy despite the trade.
“[W]e would simulate one group of five players gone and another group of five players gone, and in every one of our mock drafts Warren Sapp was gone in the top five,” Wyche wrote on PewterReport.com. “We eventually decided to trade down to the 12th overall pick in the first round, but started to realize that we still might have a shot at drafting Sapp.
“There were rumors of drug use and him messing around and being a little bit of a fun guy in college, like all of us were, but they label certain people and Sapp got the label, and once that happens it can sometimes get out of hand like it did for Warren. Our scouts knew the players at all of the Florida schools very well because we had such a close geographical relationship and formed close and honest relationships with their coaches and trainers.
“We went through all of those checkpoints and everything came back positive. While we still had to see if he fell to us, we made the decision as a group that if Warren Sapp were still there when we picked at number 12 overall he would be a Buccaneer. Even at that point we all looked long and hard at each other to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything, and we hadn’t, so we drafted Warren Sapp. We all liked him. I mean everybody – myself, Rich, Jerry Angelo – everybody. We really believed it was a great pick.”
So, with the No. 12 pick in the 1995 draft, the Buccaneers selected Sapp (much to the dismay of Jets fans…seriously, watch that video).
The Buccaneers weren’t done wheeling and dealing. The team later traded a pair of seconds (including one that they originally acquired in the trade that sent out No. 7) to the Cowboys for No. 28, selecting Florida State linebacker Derrick Brooks.
“Derrick Brooks was a much easier decision to make in terms of trading up from the second round to draft him with the 28th pick in the first round,” Wyche wrote. “We didn’t think he was going to be there, though, so that’s why we jumped at the chance to select him.”
How did the picks work out for Tampa Bay? For starters, Sapp and Brooks played major roles in guiding the Bucs to a victory in Super Bowl XXXVII. The two players combined for 18 Pro Bowls, 15 All-Pro nods, and a pair of Defensive Player of the Year awards. The Buccaneers also earned the distinction of being one of three teams (Bears in 1965 (Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers) and later the Ravens in 1996 (Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis)) to select a pair of Hall of Famers in the same round.
When the first round ended 26 years ago tonight, we’re sure the Buccaneers were thrilled with their selections. However, we doubt even they anticipated the kind of impact their two draft picks would have.