NFC East Notes: Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins
Although Chip Kelly has had nothing but good things to say about Johnny Manziel publicly, it seems clear that the Eagles never really thought about taking him with the 22nd pick, writes Sheil Kapadia of Philadelphia Magazine. “I love him,” Kelly said. “I think he’s a dynamic quarterback. I also think we have a very, very good quarterback situation – not only with Nick [Foles], but you add Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley – we think quarterback is a strength for us right now. We felt like the pass-rusher who we had rated higher was the guy we were gonna take.”
- “Best player available” is used ad nauseam during the draft. However, it’s the Eagles‘ philosophy and they’re adamant about it, as evidenced by the quotes from GM Howie Roseman and elly in a column by Philadelphia Daily News writer Paul Domowitch following the (surprise) selection of Marcus Smith.
- And then there’s the Cowboys, who did not stick to their board, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer (via Twitter). When the Cowboys lost out on their top three draft targets last night — all defensive players — they opted for a relatively safe choice in offensive lineman Zack Martin even though they had Manziel graded higher.
- Consequently, rounds two and three have become more important for the Cowboys, says Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. After fielding a historically bad defense in 2013 and losing DeMarcus Ware, the team has plenty of holes to fill, especially on the defensive line. George mentions four defensive lineman who could be on the team’s radar tonight: Boise State’s Demarcus Lawrence, Missouri’s Kony Ealy, Oregon State’s Scott Crichton and Florida State’s Timmy Jernigan, all of whom made predraft visits to Dallas.
- The Giants‘ selection of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. at No. 12 puts them on track to fix their broken offense, writes Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. The LSU star caught 59 passes for 1,152 yards and eight touchdowns last season. Giants wide receiver Reuben Randle, who played with Beckham at LSU, described him as a “DeSean Jackson type,” writes Ebenezer Samuel of the Daily News.
- The Redskins were not part of Thursday night’s festivities, but they’re up at No. 34 tonight, and USA Today’s Steven Ruiz takes a look at their options. Most speculation centers around the team selecting an offensive lineman, perhaps Alabama’s Cyrus Kouandijo, Virginia’s Morgan Moses or UCLA’s Xavier Su’a-Filo.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
AFC East Notes: Watkins, Jets, Easley
Sammy Watkins is considered by some the best prospect in the draft, drawing grades comparable to elite receiver prospects Julio Jones and A.J. Green. Just as the Falcons did to acquire Jones, the Bills paid a significant price to jump up and snag Watkins. Mike Rodak at ESPN.com compared the two trades: “Essentially, the Falcons moved up 16 more spots in the first round than the Bills did, with the difference in the trades being Atlanta’s current-year second- and fourth-round selections included in the deal.”
There’s never a shortage of news of notes coming from the AFC East. Here’s some more:
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if Calvin Pryor‘s hard-hitting style will fly in today’s NFL. The Jets‘ first round pick has said that approaches his game like NFL safeties Kam Chancellor and Dashon Goldson, two big hitters that have a tendency to pick up flags and fines.
- Jets General Manager John Idzik refused to say whether quarterback Johnny Manziel was in the cards, writes Cimini. Idzik acknowledged that they “fielded plenty of calls” from teams picking below them, presumably teams interested in trading up for Manziel. One of them may have been the Browns (26th), who wound up trading places with the Eagles (22nd) to take the former Texas A&M star. “We won’t get into who was in consideration,” Idzik said. “Suffice it to say, we stuck to our philosophy and we stuck to our board.”
- The Dolphins reached for first-round pick Ja’Wuan James at No. 19, tweets Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, but only after trying to trade down. They didn’t find a partner willing to meet their asking price. Dave Hyde of the Sun-Sentinel elaborated on the topic, saying the Dolphins could have traded down and had their pick of right tackle prospects, but “They were that much in love with James.”
- Assuming Patriots first-rounder Dominique Easley is healthy after recovering from his second ACL tear, he brings explosiveness and versatility to the defensive line, in the opinion of ESPNBoston’s Field Yates, who compares Easley to Lamarr Houston.
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe added some insight into the Easley selection as well as his personality. Among the tidbits: Bill Belichick valued Easley’s performance against good competition… and he’d rather watch SpongeBob than football.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Jets Draft Notes: QBs, Trading Up, CBs
The Jets continue to be linked to quarterback prospects, writes NFL.com’s Mike Huguenin. His colleague Ian Rapoport tweeted the team is “doing a lot of groundwork” on fringe first-rounders, specifically naming Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo as players to watch. Here’s more on the Jets:
- Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that New York may also be looking to trade up in the first round, likely in order to land a receiver. The Titans, who have the 11th overall pick, are one of the teams the Jets have spoken to about a deal, per Rapoport.
- With Rapoport’s reports in mind, the Jets’ need for a man-cover cornerback make for an interesting storyline, if not a potentially conflicted draft room, as Manish Mehta points out in the New York Daily News. If the Jets stay put at No. 18 and have a chance at one of the draft’s top three corners – Justin Gilbert, Kyle Fuller, or Darqueze Dennard – it would be interesting to see what the club decides.
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com provides five Jets-related items to watch for during the draft, reiterating that the club has interest in trading up.
Draft Notes: Power Brokers, Kiper, Tackles, DB Prospects
In possession of 11 picks, including six in the top 100, the 49ers are positioned as the draft’s power brokers, writes NFL.com’s Albert Breer, who lists five more teams with the means to dictate action and manipulate the board: The Rams, Browns, Jets, Ravens and Jaguars.
Here’s a handful of miscellaneous draft links:
- In his final mock draft, Mel Kiper of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has the Texans selecting Jadeveon Clowney No. 1 and the Rams (if they stay at No. 2) taking tackle Greg Robinson. From there, he has the Jaguars going with linebacker Khalil Mack at No. 3, Sammy Watkins to the Browns at No. 4, and Mike Evans going to the Raiders at No. 5.
- Kiper’s ESPN colleague Todd McShay’s final mock draft (Insider subscription required) has an identical top five. In McShay’s estimation, three quarterbacks will go in the first round, and if he’s right, there will be no shortage of drama, as he’s projected Blake Bortles to the Titans at No. 11, Johnny Manziel to the Cowboys at No. 16 and Teddy Bridgewater to the Browns at No. 26.
- “College left tackles picked in the first round and asked to play right tackle almost always struggle that first year and sometimes never quite arrive at all,” asserts Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald. With the exception of Patriots RT Nate Solder, Salguero makes a convincing argument by citing recent history littered with college left tackles (drafted highly) who struggled converting to the right side. Accordingly, with the Dolphins in desperate need of a right tackle, Salguero has projected Tennessee’s Ja’Wuan James, who started 49 career games at right tackle, as the team’s first-round pick.
- This year’s draft crop includes three big-bodied defensive backs who stand to benefit from copycat nature of the NFL in the wake of the Seahawks winning a Super Bowl with a dominant, physically imposing secondary. Eric Branch of sfgate.com profiles Nebraska’s Stanley Jean-Baptiste, Utah’s Keith McGill and Lindenwood’s Pierre Desir.
- Despite technological advances, freely available game tape, overwhelming amounts of information, dizzying oversaturation and decades of precedent to (presumably) learn from, the draft remains an inexact exercise, writes the Star-Ledger’s Conor Orr: “The best general manager sifts through all of the information and makes the right decision, though most admit that, even after all the preparation, there is indecision that lingers well into the allotted 10-minute pick.” Orr also unearthed a significant statistic to illustrate the crapshoot nature of the draft, noting 180 of the 255 players drafted in 2010 are no longer with their original team.
- Everyone but the NFL league office hates the draft in May, says SI.com’s Robert Klemko, who lists the reasons why.
NFC Notes: Bucs, Rams, Bears, Cowboys, Giants, Eagles
While most of the Derek Carr chatter has centered around the Raiders’ rumored interest, ESPN’s Pat Yasinkas speculates the Buccaneers could also be eying Carr, whose older brother David was coached by Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford. Additionally, two tweets from NFL Network’s Albert Breer say Bucs second-year quarterback Mike Glennon could be a trade candidate “if things break a certain way”. It’s not that the team doesn’t like Glennon, tweets Breer. However, Carr’s mobility would make him a better system fit.
News and rumors and coming fast and furious as the draft approaches. Here’s some more NFC nuggets:
- Via Twitter, Josina Anderson relays a couple tidbits of information from Rams GM Les Snead, who says they’re still in the “flirting stage” with teams calling about the No. 2 pick. Snead also thinks Johnny Manziel might be the only quarterback teams are willing to trade up for: “That seems to be the way it’s going. So when you are in that position, you need to get to know that human being just like you are going to draft him. Like if you are going to trade your piece of real estate, it helps to know the commodity they are coming after.”
- The Bears have just nine players who they drafted before 2013, details the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, who says the team has been “marginally competitive” thanks primarily to trades and free agency. General manager Phil Emery has to turn around the team’s poor draft record in order to achieve long-term stability, however.
- Three compensatory picks in the seventh round will enable the Cowboys to target priority free agents, says ESPNDallas.com’s Todd Archer, who quotes executive VP Stephen Jones: “The seventh-round picks historically are throw-ins [in trades]. I don’t know if the league has caught up to what value a seventh-round pick is, in terms of the quote-unquote ‘charts’ that are out there. If you look at what a seventh-round pick can bring you…I see it as a great opportunity for us to take six players that can help our football team.”
- The Giants would “seriously consider” drafting Johnny Manziel at No. 12, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
- Alabama safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix wants to be an Eagle, and he’s made that clear to Eagles director of player personnel Ed Marynowitz, a former Alabama recruiter, says Jeff Mosher at CSNPhilly.com.
AFC South Notes: Jags, Colts, Titans
With the draft pushed back two weeks this year, the Jaguars’ staff used the extra time to delve back into prospects while trying to avoid falling into the trap of “paralysis by analysis.” Accordingly, offensive coordinator Jed Fisch says he’s been examining prospects in specific game situations — from a coach’s perspective — rather than just watching tape like a scout and assigning a grade.
Said Fisch: “Let me take a look at this guy’s throws to his left versus the other guys this year or the guys last year,’ or, ‘Let’s look at their two-minute drives,’ or, ‘With this offensive lineman, let’s look at all of the outside run plays. Now you’re looking for something different. You have to mix it up the second go-around. The first time, you’re watching them to watch them and then you’re grading. But if you’re making a decision on one guy against another guy against another guy, you comparison shop.”
In other AFC South news and notes…
- The general rule of thumb suggests mining three good players makes for a successful draft, but with 11 selections and roster thin on talent, the Jaguars are looking for four or five legitimate starters in this year’s draft, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.
- Thanks to last year’s Trent Richardson trade — which turned out to be Richardson for the 26th pick — the Colts don’t have a pick in tonight’s first round, but the stakes remain high for GM Ryan Grigson, writes Stephen Holder in the Indianapolis Star.
- The Titans are expected to have a more harmonious draft room than in year’s past, writes Jim Wyatt in the Tennesseean.
- Wyatt also tweeted a list of quarterback prospects the Titans have worked out and/or spent time with.
- Meanwhile, ESPN’s Paul Kuharsky asks the question: “What if the Tennessee Titans draft a first-round QB?” Considering the team will not pick up 2010 first-rounder Jake Locker‘s fifth-year option, the possibility exists the Titans could draft another quarterback, especially if new head coach Ken Whisenhunt isn’t sold on Locker’s long-term prospects. Kuharsky writes, “While the Titans are loyal and patient and committed with regard to Locker, they also aren’t operating with blinders on.”
Texans Notes: Draft, Manziel, Analytics
Draft day is finally here and the Texans control the first overall selection tonight. Not surprisingly, they’re seeking a king’s ransom in trade for the first overall pick: a swap of first-rounders, a second and third this year and a 2015 first-rounder, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
In other Texans news, notes and rumors:
- Aside from the uncertainty about if/how Johnny Manziel’s game will translate to the NFL and if his celebrity will get the best of him, there’s another aspect of his draft prospect that adds to the intrigue: public relations. As evidenced by CBS’ Gregg Doyel’s column and the opinion of Wade Phillips in USA Today, the pressure cooker that is Texas football will be unforgiving if Manziel becomes a superstar somewhere besides Houston.
- McClain believes the Texans will attempt to parlay the first pick of the second round into multiple picks (via Twitter).
- If the Texans plan is to trade down and target Blake Bortles, the Central Florida QB doesn’t know about it, writes McClain.
- Given head coach Bill O’Brien’s past with the Patriots, known for their use of technology and analytics, the Texans are expected to incorporate similar strategies, writes Stephanie Stradley in the Houston Chronicle.
Cowboys Re-Sign Anthony Spencer
TUESDAY, 4:05pm: Spencer’s one-year deal has a base value of just $1.5MM, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). $250K of a $1.25MM base salary is guaranteed, while Spencer can earn another $250K in per-game roster bonuses. Presumably, if Archer’s initial report on the contract’s max value is accurate, there are significant incentives available on top of that $1.5MM.
SATURDAY, 6:25pm: Spencer’s contract is worth up to $3.5MM, reports Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com (via Twitter). However the deal includes no signing bonus up front.
12:50pm: Free agent pass rusher Anthony Spencer has re-signed with the Cowboys, according to his agent Jordan Woy (via Twitter). Spencer, 30, is the longest-tenured Cowboys defender. He played in one game last season before undergoing season-ending microfracture surgery on his knee. In 2012, Spencer produced 95 tackles and 11 sacks in 14 games.
In addition to losing his 2013 season, the injury cost Spencer a lucrative free-agent contract. Instead, he was forced to take a one-year, “prove it” deal, as his health and utility remain question marks heading into training camp. This is the third year in a row Spencer will be on a one-year deal, as ESPN’s Todd Archer points out, though Spencer will make a fraction of what he did the last two seasons when he played as Dallas’ franchise tagged player, earning nearly $20MM.
Draft Notes: Medicals, Manziel, Lee, Pats
Medical re-checks for draft prospects are underway, writes NFL.com’s Chase Goodbread. Notable prospects getting a second look from doctors include Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger, Auburn running back Tre Mason, Indiana receiver Cody Latimer, Washington tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt.
In other draft-related news and notes…
- Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel will be a top-10 pick, according to all the evaluators NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has spoken to (via Twitter).
- USC receiver Marqise Lee has visited the Patriots, Lions, Ravens, Panthers, Dolphins, Saints and Jets, according to Aaron Wilson at National Football Post. Lee racked up 118 receptions for 1,712 yards and 14 touchdowns as a sophomore, but his production fell off in 2013 when he battled injuries and was without the help of Matt Barkley and Robert Woods. Lee does not have elite speed, but is a talented playmaker with return ability. He’s projected as a first-round pick.
- Center is among the Patriots’ draft needs, and Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com looks at six prospects who could be available to the team in rounds 2-7.
- Florida outside linebacker Ronald Powell, a talented albeit inconsistent prospect, has visited with the Raiders, conducted private workouts for the Patriots, Lions and Colts, and drawn interest from the Eagles and Saints, according to Wilson at NFP.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league will consider expanding the draft from three days to four, via NFL.com.
Seahawks Hire Jeff Ireland As Draft Consultant
Former Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland is assisting the Seahawks’ draft preparations, reports Fox Sports’ Alex Marvez, who says Ireland and the team could discuss a full-time role after the draft.
Ireland served as the Dolphins’ GM from 2008 until January when he was jettisoned — not coincidentally — amidst the team’s bullying scandal involving Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Under Ireland’s leadership, the Dolphins managed a mediocre 35 wins over his his last five years at the helm, in part because of his poor drafting and inability to assemble a productive, cohesive offense. Notable busts on his record include Chad Henne, Phillip Merling and Pat White, while last year’s No. 3 overall pick Dion Jordan has already hit the trade block. Several other players drafted in the first four rounds have also struggled to establish themselves.
Aside from constructing a lackluster roster, Ireland did not do the organization any favors from a public relations standpoint, either. In 2010, he infamously asked draft prospect Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. In 2012, he swore at a fan. And most recently, it was revealed that Martin’s agent brought the bullying issue to Ireland’s attention, at which point the GM suggested Martin fight Incognito.
Ireland began his professional scouting career working for the National Scouting Combine before working for the Chiefs as an area scout, then climbing the ladder in Dallas, where he earned the respect of Bill Parcells, who handed Ireland the reins in Miami.
The Super Bowl champs hiring a controversial executive would be mildly surprising if not for the fact Ireland and Seahawks GM John Schneider are “buddies,” notes NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (via Twitter).