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Author: Dallas Robinson

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/21/19

By | at March 21, 2019 9:04 pm

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Oakland Raiders

0 comments Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers Cincinnati Bengals Detroit Lions Las Vegas Raiders Miami Dolphins Transactions

2019 NFL Draft Capital By Team

By | at March 21, 2019 7:59 pm

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 2019 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: 4-23-19 (12:57pm CT)

12 picks

  • New England Patriots
  • New York Giants

11 picks

  • Cincinnati Bengals

10 picks

  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Pittsburgh Steelers

9 picks

  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Detroit Lions
  • Indianapolis Colts
  • Washington Redskins

8 picks

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Cleveland Browns
  • Denver Broncos
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • Oakland Raiders

7 picks

  • Carolina Panthers
  • Houston Texans
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Kansas City Chiefs
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Philadelphia Eagles
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers

6 picks

  • Dallas Cowboys
  • New Orleans Saints
  • New York Jets
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Tennessee Titans

5 picks

  • Chicago Bears
  • Seattle Seahawks

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 2019 NFL draft:

  1. New York Giants: 75.0
  2. Oakland Raiders: 74.1
  3. Arizona Cardinals: 66.5
  4. Green Bay Packers: 63.1
  5. San Francisco 49ers: 57.0
  6. Buffalo Bills: 53.8
  7. Jacksonville Jaguars: 52.9
  8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 51.8
  9. New England Patriots: 51.7
  10. Indianapolis Colts: 50.7
  11. Pittsburgh Steelers: 50.1
  12. Cincinnati Bengals: 49.0
  13. Denver Broncos: 49.0
  14. Atlanta Falcons: 48.3
  15. Detroit Lions: 47.8
  16. Carolina Panthers: 47.4
  17. New York Jets: 47.3
  18. Washington Redskins: 45.2
  19. Houston Texans: 42.6
  20. Philadelphia Eagles: 42.5
  21. Miami Dolphins: 41.9
  22. Seattle Seahawks: 40.8
  23. Tennessee Titans: 39.9
  24. Baltimore Ravens: 39.4
  25. Minnesota Vikings: 38.4
  26. Los Angeles Chargers: 34.3
  27. Los Angeles Rams: 29.9
  28. Cleveland Browns: 29.2
  29. Kansas City Chiefs: 26.6
  30. Dallas Cowboys: 23.7
  31. New Orleans Saints: 12.7
  32. Chicago Bears: 12.4
8 comments 2019 NFL Draft PFR Originals

Patriots, Stephen Gostkowski Working On New Deal

By | at March 21, 2019 6:24 pm

Free agent kicker Stephen Gostkowski is working towards a new deal with the Patriots after receiving interest from other teams, according to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston.

Gostkowski, 35, was selected by New England in the fourth round of the 2006 draft and has been the club’s kicker for 13 seasons. Last year, Gostkowski made 27 of his 32 field goal attempts, good for an 84.4% conversion rate that ranked 20th in the NFL. He missed only a single extra point, and the Patriots ranked 17th in Football Outsiders‘ field goal/extra point metric.

As Curran notes, this is Gostkowski’s first trip through unrestricted free agency. The Patriots used the franchise tag on Gostkowski in 2015 but subsequently inked him to a four-year, $17.2MM extension. That $4.3MM annual value would still rank second among kickers, but Gostkowski may be looking for a pay increase. New England declined to franchise Gostkowski this season, as the tender would have cost $4.971MM.

11 comments New England Patriots

FA Rumors: Colts, Ajayi, Giants, Lions, Chiefs

By | at March 21, 2019 6:03 pm

Although the Colts met with free agent running back Jay Ajayi this week, there’s no deal imminent between the two parties, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). However, Indianapolis does plan to continue talking with Ajayi, which suggests it could look to sign the ex-Eagle down the line. Ajayi, 25, is arguably the best back still available on the open market after Le’Veon Bell, Tevin Coleman, and Mark Ingram came off the board during the first week of free agency. The Colts don’t necessarily need another running back given their depth chart already includes Marlon Mack, Jordan Wilkins, and Nyheim Hines, but Ajayi could give the club another dimension in the backfield.

Here’s more from the free agent rumor mill:

  • The Giants had interest in defensive end Vinny Curry before he signed with the division-rival Eagles, and in fact offered Curry more money than Philadelphia, reports Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Aside from last season, Curry had spent his entire career with the Eagles, and it sounds like he simply preferred to return to Philadelphia rather than consider other destinations. Indeed, Curry only landed a one-year deal with a base value of $2.25MM from the Eagles, although the pact does contain $1.25MM in incentives. Before landing with the Eagles, Curry also took a visit with the Bengals.
  • Free agent Jake Fisher will work out as a tight end for the Bills on Thursday, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. A second-round pick of the Bengals as an offensive tackle in 2015, Fisher is now attempting to convert to a skill position, and is reportedly down to 285 pounds. Fisher, who played tight end in high school, has been limited by injuries and ineffectiveness throughout his career, and has started just 12 games in four years. He’s also auditioned for the Texans and Redskins.
  • The Lions hosted defensive tackle Al Woods on Wednesday, according to NFL reporter Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Woods is now entering his age-32 season and didn’t perform well in 2018 (bottom-20 DT among 112 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus), so he likely won’t command much guaranteed money. Detroit is already well-stocked in the middle of its defensive line with Damon Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson, and Da’Shawn Hand in tow.
  • Although he recently announced his retirement and took a collegiate coaching position, former Buccaneers tight end/fullback Alan Cross took a visit with the Chiefs this week, tweets Greg Auman of The Athletic. Cross, who posted 13 receptions over three seasons in Tampa Bay, would give Kansas City an option as they seek to replace former No. 2 tight end Demetrius Harris. The Chiefs also met with former Jets tight end Neal Sterling this week.
2 comments Buffalo Bills Detroit Lions Indianapolis Colts Kansas City Chiefs New York Giants

Extra Points: Steelers, Patriots, Seahawks

By | at March 20, 2019 10:44 pm

Cornerback Mike Hilton doesn’t plan to immediately sign his exclusive rights free agent tender as he waits for a new, long-term deal from the Steelers, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). As an exclusive rights free agent, Hilton has no leverage with Pittsburgh: he can either accept a minimum salary pact from the Steelers, or decide not to play football in 2019. ERFAs and restricted free agents do hold one advantage over other young players who were drafted, however, as they can receive extensions after only two seasons (drafted players must wait at least three years). One of the better slot corners in the league, Hilton has appeared in 31 games over the past two seasons, posting three interceptions and five sacks during that span. He doesn’t plan to miss any offseason work as he pushes for a new contract, per Fowler.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

  • Running back James White and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy each missed out on playtime/performance bonus thresholds in 2018, but the Patriots have decided to pay each player his bonus anyway, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. White will collect a $250K bonus, which he would have earned by reaching 1,200 total yards (he managed 1,176), per Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Meanwhile, Guy needed to play 50% of New England’s defensive snaps for his own $250K bonus, but fell three snaps short. Together, the bonuses will add $500K to the Patriots’ salary cap, but New England can feel secure in rewarding its players. The Pats did the same thing for Guy in 2018 when he barely failed to earn a $500K bonus.
  • Doug Baldwin has already had knee and shoulder surgeries this offseason, and the veteran Seahawks receiver may have to go under the knife yet again. Appearing on Sports Radio KJR, Baldwin indicated he’s likely to require another operation in the coming months (Twitter link via Curtis Crabtree of KJR). In April, Baldwin is expected to travel to Philadelphia to meet with a specialist regarding a possible sports hernia, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com. Baldwin, 30, missed three games with a knee issue in 2018 and didn’t appear fully healthy once he returned to action.
  • Free agent Jake Fisher will work out as a tight end for the Redskins on Thursday, tweets John Keim of ESPN.com. A second-round pick of the Bengals as an offensive tackle in 2015, Fisher is now attempting to convert to a skill position, and is reportedly down to 285 pounds. Fisher, who played tight end in high school, has been limited by injuries and ineffectiveness throughout his career, and has started just 12 games in four years. He auditioned for the Texans last week.
1 comment New England Patriots Pittsburgh Steelers Seattle Seahawks Washington Commanders

Contract Details: Nsekhe, Anderson, Dorsett

By | at March 20, 2019 10:01 pm

Let’s take a look at the details of a few recently-signed NFL contracts:

6 comments Buffalo Bills Dallas Cowboys Jordan Matthews New England Patriots New York Jets San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Washington Commanders

AFC West Notes: Raiders, Burfict, Chiefs

By | at March 20, 2019 9:44 pm

Antonio Brown was a victim of one of linebacker Vontaze Burfict‘s many dirty hits, going down with a concussion after Burfict arguably head-hunted the former Steelers wideout in the 2015 playoffs. But now that Brown and Burfict are now teammates on the Raiders, the ex-Bengals linebacker isn’t worried about getting along. “It’s all positive, man,” Burfict said, according to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal. “He’s a great player. He’s going to be in the Hall of Fame one day. Honestly, I’m just going to approach him like I do all my other teammates, introduce myself, all that good stuff. There’s nothing negative over here. We’re all on the same team.” Burfict, 28, inked a one-year deal with Oakland on Tuesday just one day after being released by Cincinnati.

Here’s more from the AFC West:

  • In addition to visiting with safeties George Iloka and Curtis Riley on Wednesday, the Raiders are also hosting free agent cornerback Tyler Patmon, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Patmon, 28, appeared in 49 total games over the past four years while spending time with the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Jaguars, but only started four of those contests. Last season, Patmon played in 12 games for the Jaguars, seeing roughly 30% playing time on both defense and special teams. Oakland is signed ex-Detroit cornerback Nevin Lawson earlier tonight to play alongside projected starters Gareon Conley and Daryl Worley.
  • The Chiefs met with tight end Neal Sterling on Tuesday, reports Howard Balzer (Twitter link). If signed, Sterling would compete with the likes of Alex Ellis and Deon Yelder to replace Demetrius Harris — who recently signed with the Browns — as Kansas City’s No. 2 tight end behind Travis Kelce. A seventh-round pick of the Jaguars in 2015, Sterling played for the Jets in each of the past two seasons. He managed six catches in five games last year before going down with a season-ending concussion.
  • Former Raiders/Chiefs corner Sean Smith has been reinstated by the NFL, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Smith was suspended indefinitely in November 2018 after being charged with felony assault. He spent part of last year in prison, but was released over the summer. Now entering his age-32 campaign, Smith’s play had already begun to deteriorate even before his ban, meaning he’s unlikely to ever return to the NFL.
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Raiders Sign CB Nevin Lawson

By | at March 20, 2019 9:11 pm

The Raiders have agreed to sign free agent cornerback Nevin Lawson, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s a one-year deal worth $3.05MM, tweets Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Oakland was the first and only visit on Lawson’s brief free gent tour. After five years in Detroit, Lawson was released by the Lions earlier this month. He met with the Raiders on Tuesday, and will now join a defensive backfield that’s light on experience, meaning Lawson could be in line for significant playing time.

At present, the Raiders are projected to start Daryl Worley and Gareon Conley at cornerback, but they’ll need a third player capable of playing at least 60% of the club’s defensive snaps. Lawson has the ability to play both outside cornerback and in the slot, and he’ll give Oakland a veteran alternative to young defensive backs Nick Nelson, Rico Gafford and Makinton Dorleant.

Lawson, 26, appeared in 62 games for the Lions after being selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft, and started 45 of a possible 48 contests over the past three years. While he deflected an average of 6.5 passes during those three seasons, Lawson has amazingly never posted a single interception on nearly 3,000 career snaps.

Advanced metrics, meanwhile, haven’t been complementary of Lawson’s work. Among 60 qualifying corners, Lawson finished 37th in Football Outsiders’ success rate — meaning he was slightly worse than average at stopping opposing receivers short of the sticks — but just 44th on yards per pass. Moreover, the Lions ranked 27th in DVOA against opposing No. 2 wide receivers, the pass-catchers Lawson was most often covering opposite Darius Slay.

1 comment Las Vegas Raiders Transactions

Minor NFL Transactions: 3/20/19

By | at March 20, 2019 8:04 pm

Today’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

  • Waived: WR Jimmy Williams

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Giants

New York Jets

0 comments Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Green Bay Packers Indianapolis Colts Los Angeles Chargers New York Giants New York Jets Transactions

Raiders Hosted Cassius Marsh

By | at March 20, 2019 6:59 pm

The Raiders hosted free agent defensive end Cassius Marsh earlier this week, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Marsh was released by the 49ers last week after spending parts of two seasons in the Bay Area. San Francisco originally claimed Marsh off waivers in November 2017 and signed him to an extension the following April. The Niners had just exercised Marsh’s option for the 2018 season earlier this month, but the club didn’t have a need for him after acquiring fellow defensive end Dee Ford from the Chiefs.

Now entering his age-27 campaign, Marsh played a career-high 550 defensive snaps in 2018, racking up 38 tackles (seven for loss) and 5.5 sacks in the process. He also saw action on roughly 50% of the 49ers’ special teams plays a year ago, and has nearly reached the 80% ST threshold in prior seasons.

Special teams would likely be an area of focus for Marsh if he signs with Oakland (especially after the team ranked just 22nd in Football Outsiders ST ratings), but the Raiders need help on the edge, too. Oakland posted only 13 sacks in 2018, the fewest of any team in more than a decade.

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