PFR Originals: 4/26/15 – 5/3/15
The original content produced by the PFR staff during the past week:
- Prior to this weekend’s happenings, Rob Dire published the second edition of the Pro Football Rumors Mock Draft.
- Rob also finished his positional previews, looking at linebackers, cornerbacks, and safeties.
- Once the first round of the draft had concluded, I asked who was the most surprising prospect left on the board. Randy Gregory narrowly edged out Landon Collins; both players, of course, were chosen is Round Two.
Week In Review: 4/26/15 – 5/3/15
The headlines from the past week at PFR:
Draft:
- The 2015 NFL draft is in the books — check out the entire results, both by by draft order and by team.
- There were a number of trades during the draft, and there will be plenty of undrafted free agent signings in the coming days. You can follow both by bookmarking our Transactions tracker.
- LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins, once a projected first-round pick, went undrafted due to his ties to a murder investigation in Louisiana. He’s expected to sign as soon as Monday, and you can read about the entire saga here.
- The Buccaneers acted quickly, locking up first overall selection Jameis Winston to a four-year deal with the standard fifth-year option.
Fifth-Year Options:
- Bears – LB Shea McClellin (declined)
- Bengals – CB Dre Kirkpatrick and G Kevin Zeitler (exercised)
- Bills – CB Stephon Gilmore (exercised)
- Cardinals – WR Michael Floyd (exercised)
- Dolphins – QB Ryan Tannehill (exercised)
- Eagles – DE Fletcher Cox (exercised)
- Patriots – LB Dont’a Hightower (exercised) and DE Chandler Jones (exercised)
- Rams – S Mark Barron (declined) and DT Michael Brockers (exercised)
- Seahawks – LB Bruce Irvin (declined)
- Washington – QB Robert Griffin III (exercised)
Traded:
Signed:
- 49ers – Philip Wheeler (link)
- Texans – S Stevie Brown (link) and RB Chris Polk (link)
Extended:
- Cowboys – P Chris Jones (three years, $4.2MM)
Released:
- Colts – KR Josh Cribbs (link)
Suspended:
- Dolphins – DE Dion Jordan (entire 2015 season)
Retired:
- DB Drayton Florence (link)
Other:
- NFL surrendered its tax exempt status (link)
- Jets fined $100K for Darrelle Revis tampering (link)
AFC Notes: Wilkerson, Geno, Collins, Browns
With newly drafted defensive lineman Leonard Williams in the fold, Muhammad Wilkerson‘s time with the Jets could be running out, writes Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. Despite being one of the Jets’ best players, Wilkerson is without a contract beyond next season and, per Mehta, the team isn’t eager to give him a new deal. Mehta argues that it doesn’t make financial sense to dole out big bucks to Wilkerson, especially with fellow lineman Sheldon Richardson under team control through 2017 and cornerback Darrelle Revis signed to a long-term mega-deal.
While the Jets might not be able to go forward with all three as anchors of their defense, Mehta believes they could slap the franchise tag on Wilkerson next offseason and trade him for a first-round pick. For now, rookie Jets coach Todd Bowles will enjoy having Wilkerson as a key cog in what should be a dominant D-line, but it doesn’t seem as if the four-year veteran will be a part of it beyond the 2015 campaign.
Here’s more on the Jets and some of their fellow AFC teams:
- Despite adding Ryan Fitzpatrick via trade and Bryce Petty via the draft, the Jets will enter training camp with Geno Smith atop the quarterback depth chart, Fitzpatrick as his main backup, and Petty and Matt Simms fighting for third-string duties, Bowles tells Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link).
- The Chargers did “as much as work as [they] could” in researching La’el Collins, but they simply couldn’t take the risk due to lack of information, general manager Tom Telesco tells Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union Tribune (via Twitter). Broncos GM John Elway said the same thing (Twitter link via Lindsay Jones of USA Today), and I imagine nearly every team’s front office felt the same way.
- The Browns didn’t end up drafting a quarterback, but GM Ray Farmer says that wasn’t by design. Farmer adds that the club’s grades simply didn’t match up with availability (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal).
Connor Byrne contributed to this post.
NFC Notes: Eagles, Robinson, Cards, Vikes
Though the draft is over, the Eagles want to add more players, according to head coach Chip Kelly, who says the club want to bring in more offensive lineman and a tight end to replace James Casey (Twitter link via Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com). Philadelphia could look to add UDFAs and/or veteran free agents in the coming weeks.
Let’s look at some more notes from the NFC:
- Offensive tackle Corey Robinson says the Ravens, Dolphins, and Washington all called him with interest in signing him as a UDFA before he was chosen by the Lions, according to Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Cardinals GM Steve Keim said he traded up for defensive lineman Rodney Gunter because he thought another team would take Gunter soon, tweets Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. That mystery team’s GM later confirmed to Keim that he would have selected Gunter had he been available, adds Urban.
- Guard Joe Berger was the only free agent whom the Vikings had interest in retaining, Vikes GM Rick Speilman tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Berger did end up being the only Minnesota FA to stick around, inking a two-year deal. (The Vikings also re-signed defensive tackle Tom Johnson and long snapper Cullen Loeffler, but both technically signed before the start of free agency).
- The 49ers drafted Blake Bell as a tight end, but the club thinks the former college quarterback could serve as an emergency QB in the NFL, per Matt Barrows of the San Francisco Bee (Twitter link), who adds that the presence of Bell could affect San Francisco’s roster construction.
La’el Collins Plans To Sign Soon
Though some believed he could be drafted today, former LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins did ultimately go undrafted as he waits to speak with investigators next week regarding his involvement an ongoing murder case. However, Collins does intend to sign a contract once he is cleared, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, although that won’t come until Monday at the earliest, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Collins is scheduled to speak with police on Monday, so interested teams obviously want to wait until that meeting is concluded before they move forward. Collins isn’t regarded as a suspect in the case, but it’s understandable that teams don’t want to take the risk until the matter is resolved. Though reports indicated that Collins wouldn’t sign with a contract unless he was drafted on Day Two, that could have just been posturing as Collins tried to force clubs to choose him yesterday.
Despite his attempt to be removed from this year’s draft, Collins wasn’t allowed to enter the supplemental draft, and though he may have aimed to enter the 2016 draft, we learned earlier today that that won’t be allowed either. No matter the outcome, the events of that past ffew days will have terrible consequences: either Collins was involved in a horrific incident, or he is innocent and lost millions of dollars due to unfortunate timing.
According to Connor Orr of NFL.com, the Giants were among the teams “thinking” about Collins during the draft, but scouting director Marc Ross says New York wasn’t going to take that type of risk. Additionally, the Bills GM Doug Whaley says his club won’t consider Collins as a UDFA, calling the entire situation “too cloudy” right now (Twitter link via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW).
As an undrafted free agent, Collins won’t be able earn the type of money he would have as a first-rounder, but as Florio writes in the piece above, Collins’ financial future may not be entirely dire. There are a number of benefits to signing a UDFA contract, including a shorter length of deal (three years as opposed to four), and the ability to renegotiate after just two years. Plus, even if RFA tender levels continue to rise at only their current five percent rate, Collins could end up making a significant amount of cash.
Broncos Acquire 23rd Pick From Lions
FRIDAY, 2:43pm: Ramirez has passed his physical, according to Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com on Twitter, making the trade official.
THURSDAY, 9:31pm: The Broncos have traded up, acquiring the No. 23 pick from the Lions, according to Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 (Twitter link). Denver will use the pick to select Missouri pass rusher Shane Ray, tweets Mike Klis of 9 News. Detroit will receive the Broncos’ No. 28 pick, a fifth-rounder (143), a 2016 fifth-rounder, and offensive lineman Manny Ramirez.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link), the deal was agreed to on Wednesday. Presumably, Denver agreed to the deal in principle with the hope that Ray was still on the board. Of course, Ray, once projected as a top-ten pick, saw his stock tumble following his recent arrest for marijuana possession. He’s also dealing with a foot injury that could force him to miss the beginning of the season.
Ramirez, meanwhile, will slot in at left guard for Detroit, who has yet to re-sign their own free agent guard, Rob Sims. Ramirez played more than 1,000 snaps for the Broncos last season, seeing time at both center and guard.
Titans Select Marcus Mariota With No. 2 Pick
FRIDAY, 12:35pm: Despite reports suggesting that Mettenberger was seeking a trade, his agent, Joe Linta, told NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport that the quarterback does not want to be moved (Twitter link). Instead, last year’s sixth-round pick just wants an opportunity to compete with Mariota.
THURSDAY, 7:21pm: The Titans have selected Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota with the second overall pick. Mariota, the 2014 Heisman trophy winner, will head to Tennessee, despite rampant rumors of the Titans trading down.
Mariota passed for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns, leading Oregon to the National Championship Game against Ohio State. Multiple clubs were reportedly interested in trading up to the second overall pick to draft Mariota, with Mariota’s former college coach, Philadelphia’s Chip Kelly, among those most interested in moving up. The Browns, Bears, and Chargers all had varying levels of interest in moving up for Mariota, but he’ll be a Titan instead.
2014 draftee Zach Mettenberger, the Titans’ incumbent QB, presumably now has no future with the club, and as such, his agent wants his client traded, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). On the flip side, the Titans aren’t expected to trade Mariota, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter).
NFC Notes: Lions, Saints, 49ers, Cowboys
Earlier tonight, we rounded up a few leftover draft-related items out of the AFC. Now let’s shift our focus to the other conference and pass along some NFC notes….
- The Lions had three offers to trade back, GM Martin Mayhew tells Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com (Twitter link), but the Broncos’ decision to offer Manny Ramirez helped Detroit make its decision.
- Had Andrus Peat not been available to the Saints, they would have been fine with choosing Danny Shelton, says head coach Sean Payton (Twitter link via Sean Fazende of FOX 8).
- The 49ers had several options in the first round, as GM Trent Baalke tells Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter) that there were still five or six prospects the team “coveted” when the No. 15 pick rolled around. As such, it made sense for the Niners to move back a little.
- The Cowboys would’ve thought hard about trading down had Byron Jones not been available, says Dallas exec Stephen Jones (Twitter link via Todd Archer of ESPN.com). Jones says the club had a couple other players who were in play at the back end of the first round.
- Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown was still on the board when the Patriots grabbed him with the last pick of the first round, and it sounds like Brown himself thought he’d be picked sooner — according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link), the newest Pat was told he could have gone as high as No. 7 to the Bears.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Poll: Most Surprising Non-First-Rounder?
32 prospects came off the board tonight, but there are quite a few talented players still available following the conclusion of Round One. Because this draft was seemingly loaded with mid-tier talent, it’s not surprising that there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the players selected in the middle of the first round and some of the prospects still on the board.
Most of the top available players reside on the defensive side of the ball, where Randy Gregory, once a possible top-five pick, is still on the board due to off-the-field concerns. Fellow front seven players Eddie Goldman and Eric Kendricks were also candidates to hear their name called in the first round, while back end players Landon Collins and Jalen Collins are also surprisingly still available.
On offense, receiver Jaelen Strong wasn’t one of the six pass-catchers picked in the first, while offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings might have been considered too raw to be a Day One pick. We didn’t include LSU tackle/guard La’El Collins on this list, as his omission from the first round is related to his involvement in a murder investigation, an unforeseeable occurrence.
What do you think? Who’s the best talent left on the board after the first round? Vote below!
Most surprising player left on the board?
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Randy Gregory, LB, Nebraska 33% (587)
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Landon Collins, S, Alabama 31% (548)
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Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Oklahoma 10% (178)
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Jaelen Strong, WR, Arizona State 9% (153)
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Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA 7% (123)
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Eddie Goldman, DT, Florida State 4% (66)
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Jalen Collins, CB, LSU 4% (64)
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T.J. Clemmings, T, Pittsbugh 3% (48)
Total votes: 1,767
Pats Keep Pick, Draft Malcom Brown
10:05pm: Despite reports that the Patriots had traded the No. 32 pick to the Texans, New England has kept the pick and drafted Texas defensive lineman Malcom Brown, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). Brown was considered by some as the best prospect left on the board.
The Patriots have a history of trading down, so it’s a little surprising that they did keep the pick. Brown will add another dimension to their offensive line, however, joining 2014 first-rounder Dominique Easley to attempt to make up for the loss of Vince Wilfork.
9:50pm: The Texans have acquired the No. 32 pick from the Patriots, according to Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe (Twitter links).