PFR Originals: 3/18/18 – 3/25/18
The original content and analysis produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- With the draft right around the corner, I examined how much draft capital each club currently possesses. Not every pick is created equally, of course, so in addition to listing how many selections each team has, I calculated how many “draft points” each club boasts by using Chase Stuart of Football Perspective’s draft value chart.
- Because most NFL coaching changes happen in January, those moves can often be overshadowed by the postseason and – subsequently – the major additions that teams makes in free agency. With that in mind, I rounded up each of 2018’s Major NFL Coaching Changes.
- PFR will keep track of every NFL trade, starting with the first day of the 2018 league year on March 14 all the way until the trade deadline in November.
Packers, Browns, Bucs, Cowboys Looking For Safeties
The Packers, Browns, Buccaneers, and Cowboys are among the clubs searching for free agent safety help, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes in a wide analysis of what has been a stagnant safety market.
Safeties who still remain unsigned including starting options such as Eric Reid, Tre Boston, Kenny Vaccaro, Tyvon Branch, and Ron Parker. Mitigating factors could be at play — none of the players listed qualifies as a star, while Reid’s national anthem protests may be limiting his appeal — but it’s still extremely surprising that high-quality players are still available at an important position. Free agent defensive backs have in fact been communicating with one another in an attempt to elucidate the overall lack of interest, per La Canfora.
“We’re barely even getting phone calls, and we’re not the only ones,” an agents tells La Canfora. “You can’t even get (BS) offers. We’re literally getting nothing. I’m not even talking one year, $3 million. Nothing. And it’s not just us.”
The highest-paid free agent safety of 2017 will almost certainly end up being Lamarcus Joyner, whom the Rams will pay $11.287MM under the terms of the franchise tag. While other defensive backs such as Tyrann Mathieu, Kurt Coleman, an Marcus Gilchrist have also signed, Mathieu’s $7MM salary (on a one-year deal) is the most expensive figure in the non-franchise-tender department.
Green Bay and Tampa Bay are both losing free agent safeties in Morgan Burnett and T.J. Ward, respectively, so their interest in adding more defensive backs isn’t a total surprise. Dallas, too, could look to add more depth, especially if it moves Byron Jones to cornerback, but Cleveland has already added Damarious Randall (via trade) to play alongside Jabrill Peppers in the back end.
Buccaneers Host RB Benny Cunningham
The Buccaneers are meeting with free agent running back Benny Cunningham on Sunday, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
Tampa Bay’s running back depth chart is currently in flux, as the club released Doug Martin earlier this offseason while Charles Sims is an unrestricted free agent. While the Buccaneers still employ Peyton Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers, Cunningham could help replace Sims, who spent the past four years as Tampa’s receiving back. The 27-year-old Cunningham only managed 20 receptions working behind fellow Bears Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen in 2017, but he posted 45 catches as recently as 2014.
Cunningham also has a history as a kick returner, as he averaged 27.8 yards per return with the Rams from 2014-16. The Buccaneers used three kick returners — Rodgers, wide receiver Bernard Reedy, and Sims — in 2017, but the latter two are no longer on the team’s roster.
Contract Details: 3/25/18
Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed contracts:
- Evan Smith, OL (Buccaneers): Two years,$6MM. $1MM guaranteed (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com).
- Sam Acho, OLB (Bears): Two years, $5.5MM. $2.95MM guaranteed (via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune).
- John Timu, ILB (Bears): One year, $75oK. $45K guaranteed (via Biggs).
- Bradley Sowell, OL (Bears): Two years, $3MM. $850K guaranteed (via Biggs).
Buccaneers Re-Sign OL Evan Smith
The Buccaneers have agreed to re-sign offensive lineman Evan Smith, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Tampa Bay has announced the transaction as a two-year deal.
Smith, who formerly went by the name Evan Dietrich-Smith, has started a whopping 111 games during his eight-year NFL career, but he’s coming back to Tampa Bay as a clear reserve. The Bucs made Ryan Jensen the NFL’s highest-paid center last week, and will now presumably move Ali Marpet to guard. With J.R. Sweezy holding down the club’s other guard spot, Smith will now act as an overqualified backup.
Given that he can play all three interior line positions, Smith could certainly see action during the upcoming season (especially given that Sweezy dealt with serious injuries as recently as 2016). Last year, the 31-year-old Smith made six starts and played 60% of Tampa Bay’s offensive snaps, grading as the league’s No. 29 guard among 77 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus.
The interior offensive line market has thinned rapidly this week, as Smith joins Matt Slauson, D.J. Fluker, Jack Mewhort, Jonathan Cooper, Tom Compton, Kevin Pamphile, and Jeremiah Sirles as guard/centers who have landed new deals.
2018 NFL Draft Pick Capital By Team
While each NFL team is organically handed seven draft picks per season, trades involving draft choices and the compensatory pick process ensures that many clubs end up with more (or fewer) than their original seven selections. As always, you can view the complete 2018 draft order, but here we’ll look at how much draft capital each club has amassed.
Let’s take a look at how many draft picks each NFL club currently possesses:
Updated 4-8-18 (1:47pm CT)
12 picks
- Green Bay Packers
11 picks
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Oakland Raiders
10 picks
- Dallas Cowboys
9 picks
- Buffalo Bills
- Cleveland Browns
- Indianapolis Colts
- San Francisco 49ers
8 picks
- Arizona Cardinals
- Baltimore Ravens
- Carolina Panthers
- Denver Broncos
- Houston Texans
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Los Angeles Rams
- Miami Dolphins
- Minnesota Vikings
- New England Patriots
- New Orleans Saints
- Seattle Seahawks
- Washington Redskins
7 picks
- Atlanta Falcons
- Chicago Bears
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6 picks
- Detroit Lions
- New York Giants
- New York Jets
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Tennessee Titans
Of course, not all draft picks are created equally, as holding more early-round selections is eminently more valuable than collecting mid-to-late round picks. Using Chase Stuart of Football Perspective‘s draft value chart, we can calculate how many draft capital points each team owns heading into the 2018 NFL draft:
- Cleveland Browns: 102.8
- Indianapolis Colts: 74.1
- Buffalo Bills: 72.9
- New York Giants: 65.8
- Denver Broncos: 62.6
- New England Patriots: 53.5
- Green Bay Packers: 52.5
- San Francisco 49ers: 52.2
- Oakland Raiders: 49.4
- Cincinnati Bengals: 49.2
- Chicago Bears: 46.6
- Miami Dolphins: 45.6
- Dallas Cowboys: 44.4
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 44.0
- New York Jets: 43.8
- Arizona Cardinals: 41.8
- Baltimore Ravens: 41.1
- Los Angeles Chargers: 40.8
- Washington Redskins: 39.5
- Detroit Lions: 38.5
- Tennessee Titans: 36.0
- Atlanta Falcons: 33.2
- Carolina Panthers: 33.0
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 32.9
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 31.8
- Kansas City Chiefs: 31.2
- Seattle Seahawks: 30.7
- Minnesota Vikings: 30.4
- New Orleans Saints: 30.2
- Houston Texans: 27.6
- Los Angeles Rams: 22.7
- Philadelphia Eagles: 22.2
Dolphins To Sign QB Brock Osweiler
The Dolphins have reached an agreement with quarterback Brock Osweiler, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal, tweets Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
Osweiler’s new deal will reunite him with Adam Gase, who worked with Osweiler as Denver’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator from 2012-14. In Miami, Osweiler will take the place on longtime backup Matt Moore, who was never expected to re-sign with the Dolphins. Other quarterbacks on the Dolphins’ roster include starter Ryan Tannehill, David Fales, and Brandon Doughty.
The 27-year-old Osweiler didn’t get a chance to start for the Broncos until after Gase had left the building, and the former second-round pick’s greatest NFL success came in a 2015 campaign where he started seven games for the eventual Super Bowl champions. It’s been a whirlwind for Osweiler since that time: he inked an ill-fated deal with the Texans, was dealt to the Browns, and spent the 2017 season back in Denver.
While the top tier of free agent quarterbacks came off the board fairly quickly, there are still a number of backup types available. Aside from Stanton, the list of No. 2 passers on the market includes Moore, Blaine Gabbert, Derek Anderson, Drew Stanton, and Geno Smith.
Chargers DL Corey Liuget Suspended
Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Liuget, 28, is slated to earn $8MM for the upcoming season, so he’ll lose out on $2MM in base salary. The former first-round pick appeared in 12 games in 2017, posting 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks while grading as the NFL’s No. 32 interior run defender, per Pro Football Focus. Liuget was especially proficient as a pass rusher, as his 81.8 grade ranked 15th among defensive tackles.
With Liuget out of the picture for the first quarter of the year, Los Angeles could turn to internal options such as Darius Philon, Damion Square, or Kaleb Eulls to fill in through September. Alternatively, the Chargers could add defensive tackle in the draft, or add a free agent such as Johnathan Hankins, Bennie Logan, Shamar Stephen, or Quinton Dial.
Giants’ Josh Mauro Suspended Four Games
The NFL has suspended new Giants defensive lineman Josh Mauro four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy, New York announced today.
Mauro, of course, inked a one-year deal with the Giants just this week. New York was aware of Mauro’s upcoming ban before it signed the former Cardinals end, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Mauro’s pact comes with a $790K base salary, tweets Raanan, so he’ll lose out on roughly $198K as a result of his suspension.
Mauro, 27, spent the better part of four seasons in Arizona, and started 13 games as recently as 2016. Last year, however, Mauro played on just 31.5% of the Cardinals’ defensive snaps, fourth-most among Arizona’s defensive linemen. Pro Football Focus wasn’t impressed with his effort, grading Mauro as a bottom-10 interior defender among 122 qualifiers.
Jets Have Largest Offer To Ndamukong Suh
The Jets have the largest offer out to free agent defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports was the first to report (via Twitter) that New York had expressed interest in Suh.
Gang Green hadn’t been previously mentioned as a suitor for Suh, and his potential destinations were thought to be narrowed to the Rams, Saints, and Titans. The Jets have the most cap space of any of the teams involved in the bidding, and while they haven’t yet set up a visit with Suh, they have explained how they would deploy the veteran interior defender.
New York utilizes a 3-4 scheme, and while Suh has only played in 4-3 looks during his career, shifting fronts doesn’t appear to be a problem, as both Los Angeles and Tennessee also use a 3-4 defense. The Jets’ once-vaunted defensive line is now without the Muhammad Wilkerson/Sheldon Richardson/Damon Harrison trio from 2015, and Suh would presumably replace Mike Pennel as a starting end opposite Leonard Williams.
Suh is now 31 years old, but he’s still a dominant player: he managed 20.5 pressures and and 4.5 sacks from his defensive tackle position while grading as the NFL’s No. 5 interior defender in 2017, per Pro Football Focus. He’s also incredibly durable, as he hasn’t missed a single contest since 2012. Last season, Suh played a whopping 883 snaps, the second-most of any defensive tackle in the league.
While the Jets are willing to offer Suh the most money, he won’t necessarily follow the dollars, per Rapoport. The Rams, Saints, and Titans each made the postseason in 2017, while New York is still embarking on a rebuild, so Suh could potentially forgo the largest contract offered in order to sign with a contender.