Draft Notes: Manziel, Bridgewater, Giants
As a companion piece to his cover story in Sports Illustrated, Peter King of TheMMQB.com conducts a virtual roundtable with former quarterbacks and coaches on the value of Johnny Manziel. Meanwhile, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports says no QB in this year’s class has improved his stock more over the last few weeks than Manziel, who has quelled many concerns about potential off-field distractions (Twitter links). According to Glazer (via Twitter), one team that didn’t rank Manziel among its top four signal-callers a month ago now has him at No. 1.
Here are a few more Thursday draft updates:
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk questions whether Teddy Bridgewater‘s stock is really falling as much as has been suggested, or if teams always had questions and concerns about the Louisville quarterback, with the media playing catch-up on that perception.
- In a piece for CBSSports.com, former agent Joel Corry takes a look at how the 2011 CBA has affected teams’ approaches to the draft. As one front office exec tells Corry, the fifth-year option for first-rounders may result in teams near the back of the top 10 wanting to trade down, in order to get that fifth-year option at a more reasonable price.
- “Word on the street” suggests that the Giants prefer Zack Martin to fellow offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com, who identifies 10 potential candidates for New York’s first-round pick.
- Dixie State tight end Joe Don Duncan, who was unable to work out at the combine due to a broken foot, has been medically cleared and had a Pro Day in California for NFL teams, writes Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
- Vanderbilt wide receiver Chris Boyd paid a pre-draft visit to the Falcons, according to Wilson. Boyd is projected to be a mid-to-late-round pick.
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Extra Points: Tate, Foles, Bills, Falcons
Andrew Brandt and Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com published a pair of interesting articles today on the devaluation of the running back position. Brandt’s piece attempts to explain why the value of running backs is in decline, while Klemko spoke to recent Browns signee Ben Tate about the trend. Asked if he’d have chosen a different path if he’d been able to foresee the drop-off in contract value for rushers, Tate admitted he likely would have.
“I would’ve been something else, for sure. I’d have been a safety,” Tate said. “I had the opportunity to play it in college, but I wanted to be the guy to get the ball. I had no idea the position would be devalued, but hopefully I can break that trend.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:
- Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who still has two years remaining on his rookie contract, isn’t thinking about a new deal after his breakout 2013 season, as Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News details (via Sulia). “I enjoy playing this game, whatever my contract is, or not,” Foles said. “I don’t even know how much I make this next year — I just love playing this game with my teammates.”
- New York governor Andrew Cuomo has hired a law firm to help keep the Bills in the state, writes Tom Precious of the Albany Bureau. That firm will help Cuomo & Co. help convince the team’s new owners to keep the Bills in Western New York rather than move them to Toronto or another destination.
- Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff told reporters today, including D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that he still doesn’t regret trading away five picks for wide receiver Julio Jones in the 2011 draft. Earlier today we asked Pro Football Rumors readers what they think Atlanta will do in the 2014 draft and most of you said the team would trade up.
- Linebacker D’Qwell Jackson couldn’t be happier to be a member of the Colts, writes Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star. Jackson inked a four-year, $22MM deal with the Colts in March and says that he’s happy to get as far away from “the Cleveland situation” as possible.
- Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press looks at possible quarterback targets for the Lions. Of course, with Matthew Stafford under center and Dan Orlovsky on a one-year deal to back him up, Detroit doesn’t have a huge QB need, but they could draft someone in the later rounds to give Kellen Moore a run for his money.
- Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com surveys the Raiders‘ defensive line possibilities in next month’s draft, including Pittsburgh tackle Aaron Donald. Even though he’s undersized at 6’1″, he has a high motor, great speed, and agility for the defensive tackle position.
- This year’s deep draft can yield some serious gems for the Ravens, writes Bo Smolka of CSNBaltimore.com. At the Ravens’ pre-draft news conference earlier today, assistant GM Eric DeCosta said the Ravens have identified about 180 players they view as draftable, up from 140 or 150 in past years.
Rob DiRe contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Rams, Texans, Easley, Fleming
The Rams, armed with the second and 13th overall picks in the draft, will head to College Station to work out top Texas A&M prospects Johnny Manziel, Mike Evans, and Jake Matthews, reports Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (via Twitter). ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan notes (via Twitter) that the workouts should happen on Friday, which will also give GM Les Snead, coach Jeff Fisher and company the opportunity to stop tomorrow in Alabama to work out quarterback A.J. McCarron, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets. Let’s round up a few more draft notes, including another one on the Rams….
- Notre Dame, Tennessee, and Ohio State are also expected to be among the Rams‘ stops before May 8 as they work out a number of top draft prospects, tweets Mortensen.
- John McClain of the Houston Chronicle believes that if the Texans don’t trade down from No. 1, the team’s choice will come down to Manziel vs. Jadeveon Clowney. If Houston moves down and those players are off the board, Blake Bortles and Khalil Mack might be the club’s top two choices, says McClain.
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) has heard from two top scouts who believe Florida’s Dominique Easley will be selected in the first round despite the fact that the defensive lineman is recovering from a torn ACL.
- Adam Caplan (Twitter link) adds the Titans to the list of teams visited by Stanford tackle Cameron Fleming, and the Bengals to the list of clubs that worked him out. As Caplan tweets, Fleming, who had one of the highest Wonderlic scores among this year’s offensive linemen, is projected to come off the board on the second day of the draft.
- Ohio State wideout Corey Brown visited the Browns and worked out for the Patriots and Panthers, tweets Caplan.
- More from Caplan: He tweets that South Dakota edge defender Tyler Starr visited the Patriots and had a private workout with the Colts, and reports (via Twitter) that San Diego State safety Eric Pinkins visited the Dolphins and Seahawks.
Jamari Lattimore Signs RFA Tender
Packers linebacker Jamari Lattimore has officially signed his restricted free agent tender, according to the NFL’s transaction wire (Twitter link via Brian McIntyre). Green Bay had extended the low RFA tender to Lattimore, so he’ll be under contract for a $1.431MM salary in 2014.
Lattimore, 25, saw his first significant action for the Packers in 2013, playing 272 defensive snaps and recording a pair of sacks and a forced fumble. He also chipped in with six tackles on special teams. Assuming he plays out the 2014 season under his current one-year deal, he’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency next winter.
As McIntyre tweets, Lattimore’s decision to accept and sign his RFA tender leaves just two restricted free agents on the market — Doug Baldwin of the Seahawks and Byron Bell of the Panthers. The deadline for players to sign offer sheets with rival suitors is this Friday, and I’d be surprised if either Baldwin or Bell inked an offer sheet. Both players received the $2.187MM tender from their respective teams, meaning a rival club would have to part with a second-round pick to sign them away.
Poll: What Will Falcons Do In Draft?
While recent reports have suggested the Bills are strongly considering a move up in the draft, and the Lions have also been frequently cited as a candidate to trade up, the Falcons are viewed as perhaps the most likely team to jump up into the top five. Atlanta has long been linked to South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney, and look like a natural trade partner for the Texans, who hold the first overall pick and don’t appear to have made a decision on their pick yet.
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who is no stranger to blockbuster draft trades, spoke to reporters today about his club’s plans for that sixth overall pick, and dropped a few morsels of information. Dimitroff admitted he has talked trade with a few teams, and while he declined to identify those specific clubs, the GM said there have been some “interesting discussions” (Twitter links via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com).
Still, while Dimitroff certainly left the door open to the possibility of trading up, he didn’t give any signal that he’s leaning in that direction. The GM referred to this year’s top 10 prospects as “top-notch,” hinting that he’d be happy to end up with a player in the back half of that top 10 (Twitter link). He added that Atlanta has also explored the possibility of trading down from No. 6, and that the club “won’t sit on [its] hands” when it comes to landing the player it wants (Twitter links).
It’s a little tricky to separate the signal from the noise in Dimitroff’s comments, but it sounds like plenty of options are still in play for the Falcons. If the price is right, I could see the team moving up to snag Clowney, but landing an offensive tackle such as Greg Robinson, Jake Matthews, or Taylor Lewan – either at No. 6 or lower – seems like a feasible option as well. For what it’s worth, Dimitroff said he doesn’t expect to complete a “massive deal” before the draft, though that doesn’t necessarily preclude a major trade on draft night (Twitter link).
So what do you think? Will the Falcons make another big splash on draft night, like they did three years ago when they moved up to land Julio Jones, or will the team take a quieter approach this time around?
Draft Updates: Browns, 49ers, Beckham, Visits
An ideal situation for new Browns head coach Mike Pettine would be to draft a quarterback later than the No. 4 pick, and not have to start that QB in his rookie season, as Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer details.
“That’s been a big part of the discussion in the draft room,” Pettine said. “That’s a position that we know we’re going to need to address, and you talk about where you’re going to do it and the impact that it’s going to have on the rest of the team. Certainly it’s an ideal situation if you can get that quarterback later in the draft and that way you’re drafting a position player at four.”
Here are a few more Wednesday draft-related tidbits:
- The 49ers are “very interested” in LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., a source tells Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Beckham may not be on the board when San Francisco’s No. 30 pick rolls around, but there was some speculation earlier today that the club may target the Ravens’ pick (17th overall) and consider moving up.
- Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com identifies seven sleepers that may end up doing pretty well for themselves in this year’s draft. Among the players named by La Canfora: East Carolina tight end Justin Jones, Towson cornerback Jordan Love, and McGill offensive tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.
- Arizona State tight end Chris Coyle tells Tyler Lockman of Fox Sports Arizona (Twitter link) that he has heard from about 15 NFL teams, including the Cardinals, Chargers, and Eagles.
- Jordan Raanan of NJ.com (Twitter link) adds the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Dolphins to the list of teams that hosted North Dakota offensive lineman Billy Turner for pre-draft visits.
- Fresno State tight end Marcel Jensen has worked out for the Falcons and Colts and met with the Eagles and Patriots, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, who says Jensen’s stock is on the rise.
- The Titans, who are on the lookout for a new kicker after releasing Rob Bironas last month, recently worked out Washington’s Travis Coons, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.
Ravens Rumors: Draft, Trades, Rice, Blount
With just eight days left until draft night, the Ravens held their pre-draft presser today, and a number of the team’s beat reporters were on hand to pass along some of the more interesting comments from GM Ozzie Newsome and other members of Baltimore’s staff. Let’s check out a few of the highlights (all links go to Twitter)….
- Newsome indicated that the Ravens have gotten some calls from teams interested in trading up to the No. 17 spot currently occupied by Baltimore. A number of writers, including Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), have since speculated that the 49ers, who have been trade partners with the Ravens in the past, would be a prime candidate to move up, perhaps to snag a wide receiver.
- On the other hand, there aren’t many scenarios where the Ravens trade up from No. 17, in Newsome’s view. The only way it would happen is if the team sees one or two players dropping that it couldn’t pass up.
- The team will deal with Ray Rice‘s legal situation “when the time comes,” according to Newsome. However, Baltimore was already planning to add another running back or two even before Rice was arrested. The GM added that the Ravens talked to LeGarrette Blount last month, though no formal offer was made.
- Newsome reiterated that “you can’t have enough corners,” indicating that the Ravens will probably draft at least one.
- The Ravens have graded out about 180 draftable players, which is significantly more than usual, and should mean the club does well with undrafted free agents, according to assistant GM Eric DeCosta.
- Newsome alluded to a point Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com made in a column yesterday, suggesting that the Ravens’ ability to secure compensatory picks gives them opportunities to make moves like the acquisition of Eugene Monroe last season.
- The Ravens like this year’s receiving class enough that they’d be comfortable picking a wideout in any of the draft’s seven rounds, says Newsome.
Outstanding Fifth-Year Option Decisions
As our fifth-year option tracker shows, plenty of teams have been proactive about making their decisions on 2015 options for 2011 first-rounders well in advance of this year’s May 3 deadline. However, there are still a number of players requiring resolution on their contract situations before this weekend.
Here are the 16 players whose fifth-year options have been formally exercised so far:
- Cam Newton (QB, Panthers), $14.666MM
- Marcell Dareus (DE, Bills), $10.633MM
- A.J. Green (WR, Bengals), $10.176MM
- Patrick Peterson (CB, Cardinals), $10.081MM
- Julio Jones (WR, Falcons), $10.176MM
- Tyron Smith (OL, Cowboys), $10.039MM
- J.J. Watt (DE, Texans), $6.969MM
- Robert Quinn (DE, Rams), $6.969MM
- Mike Pouncey (OL, Dolphins), $7.438MM
- Nate Solder (OL, Patriots), $7.438MM
- Corey Liuget (DE, Chargers), $6.969MM
- Anthony Castonzo (OL, Colts), $7.438MM
- Cameron Jordan (DE, Saints), $6.969MM
- Jimmy Smith (CB, Ravens), $6.898MM
- Muhammad Wilkerson (DE, Jets), $6.969MM
- Cameron Heyward (DE, Steelers), $6.969MM
While no official announcement has necessarily been made, reports from beat writers – or from general managers themselves – have strongly suggested these four players will not have their options picked up:
- Jake Locker (QB, Titans), $14.666MM
- Nick Fairley (DT, Lions), $5.477MM
- Adrian Clayborn (DE, Buccaneers), $6.969MM
- Mark Ingram (RB, Saints), $5.211MM
Meanwhile, the following two players are no longer even on their rookie contracts, meaning the fifth-year option doesn’t apply to them:
- Danny Watkins (OL, Free Agent)
- Gabe Carimi (OL, Falcons)
That leaves us with 10 players who we’re still waiting on for official resolution. Let’s dive in and examine them one by one….
- Von Miller (LB, Broncos), $9.754MM: There’s no drama about Denver’s decision on Miller. His option will be exercised — it’s simply a matter of when, not if.
- Aldon Smith (LB, 49ers), $9.754MM: Smith represents perhaps the most intriguing case of any of 2011’s first-rounders. On the field, he’s developed into one of the NFL’s best edge defenders, but the 24-year-old has had a number of off-field issues and incidents. We heard earlier in the month, that the Niners were likely to decline Smith’s fifth-year option to send a message, but it doesn’t appear the team has officially made its decision yet.
- Blaine Gabbert (QB, 49ers), $14.666MM: The lack of reports so far on Gabbert’s option may simply be a result of the lack of a intrigue in this decision. The 49ers won’t be exercising this option.
- Christian Ponder (QB, Vikings), $9.686MM: While Ponder appears likely to enter the 2014 season as a backup, Minnesota’s decision isn’t quite as easy as San Francisco’s on Gabbert. I don’t expect the Vikings to exercise the option, but Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune and cap expert Joel Corry did a good job last week of explaining why the decision isn’t cut-and-dried.
- Ryan Kerrigan (LB, Redskins), $7.038MM: Kerrigan has been one of Washington’s most productive defenders over the last couple years, and recent comments by GM Bruce Allen seemed to signal this option would be exercised.
- Prince Amukamara (CB, Giants), $6.898MM: As of last Tuesday, the Giants were reportedly still undecided on this decision, which could go either way. For what it’s worth, Amukamara indicated that he may feel somewhat slighted if the club turns down his option.
- Phil Taylor (DT, Browns), $5.477MM: Taylor, who said last week he’d like the Browns to exercise his option, has been solid during his three NFL seasons, but is more of a situational player than an every-down difference-maker. Cleveland has some flexibility and make figure that rolling the dice on Taylor’s relatively inexpensive option is worth the risk, but this is another decision that remains up in the air.
- James Carpenter (OL, Seahawks), $7.438MM: A report from earlier this week suggested the Seahawks are leaning toward declining Carpenter’s option.
- Jonathan Baldwin (WR, 49ers), $6.776MM: Baldwin’s rookie contract was already reworked to reduce his salary, so it’s very unlikely that San Francisco will see this option as a worthy investment.
- Derek Sherrod (OL, Packers), $7.438MM: Plagued by injuries so far in his NFL career, Sherrod hasn’t seen significant action for the Packers, and the team won’t be inclined to keep him under control at such a high salary.
Dustin Keller Visiting Patriots
While most teams focus on next week’s draft, there are still plenty of free agents looking for jobs, and the Patriots are hosting one for a visit today, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Schefter reports (via Twitter) that former Jets and Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller is visiting New England.
Keller, 29, set career highs in 2011 with 65 receptions and 815 receiving yards, but has seen his last two seasons derailed due to injuries. Before the 2013 regular season got underway, the veteran tight end suffered a significant knee injury, tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL, and missed the entire season as a result. However, Keller’s agent recently told Jordan Raanan of NJ.com that his client is “good to go” and will be ready to play in 2014.
Assuming Keller is indeed healthy – and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that a physical on his knee “went very well” – he looks like a good fit for a Patriots offense that relies heavily on its tight ends. Rob Gronkowski is also on the comeback trail after a similar knee injury, but even if he’s back to 100% for the start of the season, New England will want to add another tight end to its roster. The club could also prioritize the position in the draft.