North Notes: Packers Execs, Browns, Lions
In the past year, the Packers have denied its three highest-ranking personnel executives under GM Ted Thompson the opportunity to interview with other NFL clubs, as Bob McGinn of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. Eliot Wolf was not allowed to speak with the Lions in November about their GM job, Brian Gutekunst was not permitted to interview with the Eagles in 2015 for a major front-office position or with the Titans in January 2016 for Tennessee’s director of player personnel position, and Alonzo Highsmith was denied the chance to interview with Washington last year for its director of player personnel job.
Thompson, the man responsible for denying those opportunities, has attempted to “make it up” to Wolf and Gutekunst by giving them more grandiose titles and higher salaries, even though their duties did not change much, but Highsmith has remained senior personnel executive since May 2012. Those executives have expressed a small degree of frustration, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, but by and large they enjoy working for Thompson and are part of a generally positive environment. Wolf, of course, is widely viewed as Thompson’s heir apparent, although scouts who have recently interacted with the 63-year-old GM say they cannot envision his retiring anytime soon. Thompson has three years left on his current contract.
Now for some more notes from the league’s North divisions:
- In a different piece, McGinn spoke with an NFL personnel executive who said the Packers really need to focus on the defensive line in this year’s draft, particularly with the team’s first pick, No. 27 overall. Although that executive believes Green Bay can “get by” with its skill positions, he believes the Packers, after addressing their defensive line, should grab a running back, and should also fortify their offensive front.
- In her latest mailbag, Mary Kat Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that the Browns and head coach Hue Jackson were simply not high enough on Jared Goff or Carson Wentz to justify staying put with the No. 2 overall selection, particularly when the Eagles’ presented them with a bounty of draft picks that they could not refuse. Jackson has indicated he might like another quarterback just as much or more than Goff and Wentz, and Cleveland will stockpile talent until it can justify pulling the trigger on that particular signal-caller.
- Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press takes a look at five players that may be available when the Lions are on the clock with the N0. 16 overall selection. True to Birkett’s statement that Detroit is one of the biggest wildcards in this year’s draft, each of the five players Birkett lists plays a different position.
- The Ravens are no strangers to picking up quarterbacks in the later rounds of the draft, having selected Keith Wenning in the 2014 draft and Tyrod Taylor in 2011, and Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com thinks Baltimore could do it again this year. With Ryan Mallett‘s contract set to expire at the end of the 2016 campaign, Brown sees Kevin Hogan, Dak Prescott, and Brandon Allen as potential fits.
Community Tailgate: Sleepers And Busts
With the NFL draft rapidly approaching, there are plenty of topics and storylines to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those stories. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. We’ll highlight one of the top talking points in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.
Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.
Today, we want to know two things. First, who do you think might be the biggest “bust” in Thursday’s draft? We are now all but certain that two quarterbacks, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, will be off the board after the first two picks, and while both players have the potential to be franchise-caliber signal-callers, neither are a “sure thing”–to the extent sure things exist in the draft–like Andrew Luck was when he was selected in 2012. Maybe you see one or both of Goff and Wentz as a bust waiting to happen, a la Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell.
Or perhaps you’re not as high on a player like Joey Bosa or Jalen Ramsey as many draft pundits appear to be. Ramsey is widely considered to be the best defensive back prospect to enter the draft in at least a couple of years, but maybe you see something in his footwork or relative dearth of interceptions–just three in his collegiate career–that give you pause. Or maybe you subscribe to the belief that Bosa has already hit his ceiling and will not become the dominant pass rusher that his draft stock would seem to indicate.
Predicting sleepers is an inherently more difficult exercise than predicting busts, but we’d like for you to give it a shot anyway. Can former Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller become a successful wide receiver at the next level? Will Western Kentucky’s Tyler Higbee or Southern Mississippi’s Mike Thomas make their new club’s GM look like a genius in a few months?
Let us know what you think. Give us the players you don’t believe will live up to the hype, and give us a hidden gem or two as well. You don’t need to explain your answers, of course, but it’s always encouraged.
East Notes: Norman, Jets, Dolphins
The addition of Josh Norman should pay big dividends on the field for Washington, at least for the next couple of seasons, but Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com is already looking ahead to the difficult choices that the team will have to make in 2017 as a result of the deal. For instance, Tandler suggests that Washington is gambling it will be able to sign Kirk Cousins to a long-term contract sometime before the start of the 2017 league year. If it has to put the franchise tag on Cousins again next season, at a projected value of $24MM, then Cousins and Norman, whose 2017 cap hit is $20MM, would be taking up more than a quarter of its overall cap space, a clearly untenable situation.
Further, regardless of what happens with Cousins, the Norman contract will also force some difficult decisions with regards to Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, Junior Galette, and Chris Baker. Of course, Washington was probably not planning on retaining all of those players anyway, but it is now a near certainty that at least a couple of those players will be moving on after the 2016 season, particularly Garcon and Jackson. As such, Tandler further opines that the Norman contract increases the likelihood that Washington will take a wide receiver early in this week’s draft.
Now let’s take a look at some more notes from the league’s East divisions:
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com weighs in on the Norman contract, and his examination of the overall contract, the cash flow, and the guarantee structure reveals that the deal is even more favorable to Norman than it appears on the surface, and is arguably the best contract for a cornerback in the entire NFL. The whole article is worth a read, but since the contract structure indicates that Washington wants to retain Norman for at least the first three years of the deal, Fitzgerald believes the key for Washington is to let this be the one risky contract the club signs in the next two years and not compound the risk by restructuring in 2017.
- Jets head coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan have very different quarterback philosophies, as Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com points out. Bowles believes he can win with a competent game manager as long as he has a strong defense, whereas Maccagnan thinks teams should draft a quarterback every year and create something of a pipeline. Those differing viewpoints may well lead to a real conflict for New York on Thursday, when the team could have the opportunity to draft Paxton Lynch–the last time it could draft a first-round quarterback talent for the next couple of seasons, as the 2017 and 2018 classes of signal-callers are considered very lean–or it could fill a major defensive need by selecting a cornerback or an edge rusher. For what it’s worth, Cimini believes the Jets will pass on Lynch and will ultimately re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick while continuing to groom Bryce Petty.
- Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald has grown weary of the newly-popular cliche that running backs in today’s NFL are a dime a dozen. As Beasley points out, 14 qualifying running backs averaged at least 4.5 yards per carry in 2015, and all but three went in the first two days of the draft. Plus, four of Pro Football Focus’ 10 highest-graded backs last season were first-round picks; second- and third-rounders made up most of the rest. As such, Beasley suggests that the Dolphins, who currently have only one running back guaranteed to be on the team in 2016 (Jay Ajayi), will take a running back in the early rounds of this week’s draft. Of course, we heard recently that Miami could trade up from their No. 13 overall selection in an effort to land Ohio State star Ezekiel Elliott, but even if the Dolphins don’t have the chance to take Elliott, there are a number of other talented collegiate backs that could be a fit in South Beach and that could be had on Day 2 of the draft. Devontae Booker and Kenyan Drake, both of whom visited the Dolphins in recent weeks, are two such players.
Draft Notes: AFC North, NFC South
Let’s take a look at some notes from around the AFC North and NFC South as the draft draws ever closer:
- The Browns were expected to take a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick even after signing Robert Griffn III, and Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com believes that the Rams’ leapfrogging Cleveland to take the No. 1 overall selection should not change that. Regardless of whether Los Angeles selects Jared Goff or Carson Wentz, Cabot believes the Browns should simply take whichever player is still on the board, as both have franchise quarterback potential.
- The Steelers have not drafted a cornerback in the first round since 1997, and as Mark Kaboly of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review observes, no team has gone longer without drafting a first-round CB; indeed, half the league picked a corner in the first round during the past five years alone. But with a shaky secondary and as many as six corners with first-round potential in this year’s draft class–all of whose pro days were attended by the Steelers–2016 could be the year that Pittsburgh finally breaks that streak, injecting some much-needed talent in its defensive backfield in the process.
- Another AFC North club is on the lookout for cornerback help, and as Clifton Brown of CSNBaltimore.com writes, the fact that Virginia Tech corner Kendall Fuller had a positive medical recheck on his injured right knee is great news for the Ravens. Baltimore assistant GM Eric DeCosta believes there will be a run on corners between the 25th and 40th overall picks, and a healthy Fuller projects to be drafted in that range. If the Ravens do not draft Jalen Ramsey or Vernon Hargreaves III with their No. 6 overall selection, they will certainly be in the market for a CB with the No. 36 overall choice.
- Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer attempts to decipher what the Panthers‘ offseason moves say about their draft intentions, noting that while GM Dave Gettleman checked a number of boxes this offseason, he did not address all of his team’s needs. For instance, although Charles Johnson will return on a team-friendly one-year deal, Person believes 2016 will be Johnson’s last season in Charlotte, which means that a young, disruptive pass rusher like Clemson’s Kevin Dodd might be a good selection for the club with its 30th overall pick. And, since Carolina did not bring back Roman Harper and may be a little reluctant to hand a starting safety job to Tre Boston, the team may elect to nab a safety like Vonn Bell or Jayron Kearse on Day 2 of the draft. Given that there is little cornerback depth behind Josh Norman–who may also be playing his last year in Charlotte–a corner might also be a high-round target for the club.
- Taking a page out of the Rams’ and Cardinals’ playbooks, the Falcons are searching for safety-linebacker hybrids that are strong against the run but who can also cover running backs and tackle in the open field, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. To that end, Atlanta has visited and/or had private workouts with players like Su’a Cravens, Keanu Neal, and Deion Jones, whose physical tools are similar to those of Los Angeles’ Mark Barron and Arizona’s Deone Bucannon.
- The Buccaneers need to improve their pass rush, and they addressed that need to some degree in free agency by signing defensive end Robert Ayers. But as Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht observes, Malik Jackson and Sylvester Williams proved last year that an interior defensive lineman is often just as valuable to jump-starting a team’s flagging pass rush unit (article via Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times). As such, an interior lineman like Louisville’s Sheldon Rankins and Mississippi’s Robert Nkemdiche may be just as intriguing to Licht as ends like Eastern Kentucky’s Noah Spence and Oklahoma State’s Emmanuel Ogbah.
Poll: Who Should The Rams Take With The No. 1 Overall Pick?
When the Rams traded a king’s ransom to the Titans to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, it was apparent that Los Angeles made the move in order to select one of this year’s top two quarterback prospects, Carson Wentz or Jared Goff. After all, as good as Laremy Tunsil and Jalen Ramsey might be, no team, especially a team that needs a franchise signal-caller, will give up what LA gave up in order to select a tackle or a defensive back.
Since the trade, of course, there have been a number of conflicting reports as to which of the two QBs the Rams prefer. Last night, we learned that Los Angeles would meet with both Wentz and Goff–both of whom have already worked out for the club–in an effort to firm up their final, critical decision. But most writers and pundits are skeptical that the team would forfeit so much draft capital without knowing exactly which player it wants, and it appears that the Rams may just be trying to create a smokescreen in order to generate interest in the first overall pick, or, at the very least, to maximize the buzz around the team as it moves to Los Angeles.
So while the Rams may know full well which player they will take–assuming they do not trade down to the No. 2 overall selection–the rest of us do not. But that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss who the Rams should select to guide them into the next era of the franchise.
With Goff, the Rams would be getting a player who set Pac-12 conference records in 2015 with 4,719 passing yards and a whopping 43 TD passes. He also let California to its first Bowl victory since 2008. Scouts love his ability to make every throw on the field and his mechanics, although there is some concern about the fact that he struggles with his accuracy from time to time and that he is a “rhythm passer” who benefited from an uptempo passing game where he could take all of his snaps from the pistol or shotgun.
The biggest knock on Wentz, of course, is that he played for an FCS program, North Dakota State, and even though the Bison have become the Patriots of the FCS, the competition that Wentz faced was not nearly as daunting as what Goff went up against on a weekly basis. On the other hand, Wentz also has good mechanics and good field vision, and unlike Goff, he played in a pro-style offense. Wentz sometimes struggles with his footwork and with anticipatory throws–i.e., throwing receivers open–and although his intelligence and work ethic are undisputed, it will surely take him a little longer to adjust to the speed of the professional game.
What do you think? Is Goff the right man for the job in LA, or is it Wentz? Is Goff, who has already been exposed to some degree of spotlight at California, more ready to lead Hollywood’s new club, or is small-school wonder Wentz ready to emerge from the shadows? And, even though we all know the Rams will take one of the two, do you think they should shock the football world and draft someone else entirely?
East Notes: Wilkerson, Pats, Giants
We have known for some time that the Jets are looking to trade Muhammad Wilkerson, who is an immensely talented but also highly expensive and potentially movable asset. Wilkerson, who has not yet signed his franchise tender, is not expected to show up tomorrow for the start of New York’s voluntary offseason program, as we learned last night, and Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com does not expect him to sign the tender anytime soon.
But Cimini believes that the only way a Wilkerson trade makes sense is if the team is able to use him to land one of the top two quarterbacks in this year’s draft, Carson Wentz or Jared Goff. And now that the Rams have grabbed the No. 1 overall selection from the Titans, the only way that the Jets can assure of themselves of Wentz or Goff is if they swing a deal with the Browns, who hold the No. 2 overall pick. The Browns, who of course have a number of roster holes to fill and a good deal of cap space, may be willing to swap first-round picks with the Jets, while netting Wilkerson and a few more draft picks in the process, and then select a quarterback from the second-tier of this year’s class of signal-callers. The question, though, is whether Wilkerson would want to sign a long-term deal with the Browns, which is probably not the case, even though the Browns could meet his contractual demands.
This is just my speculation, but unless the Browns select a player other than Wentz or Goff with the No. 2 overall pick–assuming of course, that the Rams take one of the two with the No. 1 selection–then it’s hard to imagine the Jets moving Wilkerson. As Cimini writes, it does not make much sense for Gang Green to use Wilkerson as a trade chip to move up to select a player like Memphis QB Paxton Lynch, who may fall to the Jets anyway and who is not a considerably more promising prospect than, say, Michigan State’s Connor Cook.
Let’s take a look at a few more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- As Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com writes, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has developed a “blind spot” for former Florida and current Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and his program, and Reiss believes Belichick needs to reevaluate his reliance on Meyer. Reiss observes that Chad Jackson, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Spikes, Aaron Hernandez, and now Dominique Easley have all produced poor results considering their draft position, and all were products of Meyer’s program.
- Paul Schwartz of The New York Post examines what the Giants might do to address their back seven in this month’s draft, and he writes that the team would “definitely” select a corner with the No. 10 overall selection, particularly if Vernon Hargreaves III is still available–which become a little more likely after the Rams-Titans blockbuster trade–but that the No. 10 pick is a little too high for Eli Apple or Mackensie Alexander. Schwartz believes it is also too high for the only inside linebacker that could reasonably be considered at that spot, Alabama’s Reggie Ragland. The team seems content to go into 2016 with a youngster at free safety to pair with Landon Collins, and while Jalen Ramsey will be long gone by the time the Giants are on the board, there are a number of worthwhile Day 2 and Day 3 targets that could step in and compete with New York’s current crop of safeties. Schwartz names Karl Joseph, Justin Simmons, and Keanu Neal as a few possibilities.
- Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com reports that Washington is likely to release Andre Roberts and perhaps Adam Hayward at some point in the near future, which would give the club enough cap room to sign its draft picks and still have about $5MM to roll over into next year (unless Jordan Reed gets a contract extension).
- In the same piece, Tandler also observes that Noah Spence, who visited Washington last week, may be a perfect fit for the team’s No. 21 overall selection. Spence has some off-field red flags, but he is arguably the best pure pass rusher in this year’s draft, and given Junior Galette‘s potential departure at the end of the 2016 season, Spence could make a great deal of sense.
Giants Sign Kelvin Sheppard
MONDAY, 10:38am: The Giants have officially signed Sheppard, the team confirmed today in a press release.
SUNDAY, 11:19am: The Giants will sign free agent linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, according to a tweet from Sheppard himself. Big Blue had brought Sheppard in for a visit last week.
Sheppard was drafted by the Bills in the third round of the 2011 draft and appeared in all 32 regular season games for Buffalo from 2011-12, including seven starts in his rookie campaign and 15 starts in the 2012 season. 2012 was Sheppard’s most productive year as a pro, as he racked up 80 tackles to go along with a pair of sacks for Buffalo. He was then traded to the Colts in exchange for Jerry Hughes, and he spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Dolphins on a pair of one-year contracts.
Pro Football Focus’ grades (subscription required) suggest Sheppard has typically fared better against the pass than the run, scoring much better in pass coverage and as a pass rusher than as a run stopper. He will serve as useful linebacker depth for the Giants, who were also interested in Nathan Stupar before he ultimately signed with the Saints.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sunday Roundup: Foles, Hillman, Jets
With a potential Colin Kaepernick trade to the Broncos on hold for now, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders whether Rams signal-caller Nick Foles could be a fit in Denver. Per Florio, a source with knowledge of the Rams’ quarterback dynamics has already predicted that Foles likely will be gone by the start of training camp, and that he definitely will not be on the team before Week One.
Foles’ $6MM roster bonus was paid on March 11, but that bonus was already fully-guaranteed, so the only additional obligation arising from keeping Foles into March 2016 came from his base salary, which is a modest $1.75MM (if Foles is traded, of course, that base salary goes with him). So the Broncos, who are asking that Kaepernick reduce his $11.9MM salary for 2016 to $7MM to facilitate a trade, could have Foles for just $1.75MM in 2016 (not including $4.5MM in incentives, but if Foles were to earn those incentives, the Broncos certainly wouldn’t be complaining).
Of course, the Broncos are not as strapped for cap space now that they have traded Ryan Clady, and as Florio points out, Denver may not have inquired into Foles simply because he played so poorly in 2015. As far as the Rams are concerned, Florio believes they will “squat” on Foles unless and until they draft a quarterback later this month, at which time the two sides will likely part ways.
Now for some more notes from around the league on this Sunday afternoon:
- Free agent running back Ronnie Hillman, who has not found much of a market for his services, could be returning to the Broncos, according to Mike Klis of 9News.com, who reports that the two sides have exchanged contract proposals. Troy Renck of The Denver Post confirms the report (via Twitter), and he also tweets that head coach Gary Kubiak expressed an interest in retaining Hillman last month. Both Klis and Renck say that Denver will draft a running back later this month regardless of whether Hillman returns.
- A jury in a civil trial Friday decided a California woman, Christin Myles, failed to prove that Jets WR Brandon Marshall assaulted her outside a Manhattan nightclub four years ago, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter) and Larry Neumeister of The Associated Press (article via The Denver Post). Myles had sued Marshall, who was not in court for the verdict, for unspecified damages.
- The Jets are working out free agent wideout Kyle Williams today, per Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Williams was drafted by the 49ers in the sixth round of the 2010 draft and is best-known for his two fumbled punt returns in the 2011 NFC Championship game. He sat out the entire 2014 season and signed with the Broncos prior to the 2015 campaign, but he tore his ACL last August and missed the entirety of the 2015 season as well.
- Like a number of other NFL scribes, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes the Browns will draft a quarterback with the No. 2 overall selection in this month’s draft and have that player compete with the newly-acquired Robert Griffin III. Cabot also believes the team will look to move Josh McCown on draft day or sometime thereafter; in any event, she does not expect Cleveland to string McCown along through training camp.
- There are a number of free agents still available that might help the Giants address their remaining needs, but as Paul Schwartz of The New York Post writes, GM Jerry Reese is likely to continue ignoring free agents who may have another season or two left in the tank but who are otherwise past their prime, like Anquan Boldin, Owen Daniels, and Nate Chandler.
Draft Rumors: 4/10/16
Let’s take a look at some of today’s draft rumors. We will update this page as necessary throughout the day:
- Memphis QB Paxton Lynch will meet with the Jets on Thursday, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). The Jets, of course, are still looking to bring back free agent signal-caller Ryan Fitzpatrick, but the two sides remain far apart on contract terms. Lynch is widely-regarded as one of the top three quarterback prospects in this year’s draft. Mehta confirms that Gang Green will also visit with Ohio State TE Nick Vannett tomorrow.
- Alcorn State QB John Gibbs, Jr. worked out for the Texans at their local prospect workout yesterday, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle. As we learned yesterday, prospects like Oklahoma State DE Emmanuel Ogbah and UCLA OT Caleb Benenoch were also in attendance.
- According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), there are several themes emerging with regards to the top CB prospects in this year’s draft. Some evaluators prefer Ohio State’s Eli Apple to Florida’s Vernon Hargreaves III–Hargreaves has been ranked almost universally as the best corner in the draft outside of Jalen Ramsey–and some prefer Miami’s Artie Burns to Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander and Houston’s William Jackson III.
- Western Michigan WR Daniel Braverman–who was not even invited to this year’s Scouting Combine–has already visited the Vikings, Saints, and Dolphins, and is set to visit with the Raiders, Seahawks, and Bengals this week, according to NFL Network’s Rand Getlin. (Twitter links). Braverman had a whopping 109 receptions for 1,367 yards last season.
Fallout Of Ryan Clady Trade
Let’s take a look at the fallout of, and reactions to, yesterday’s trade that sent Ryan Clady and a seventh-round draft pick from the Broncos to the Jets in exchange for a fifth-round draft choice:
- A number of writers have pointed out that the trade, which saved the Broncos $8.9MM in salary cap space, creates room for the club to add a quarterback. However, as Mike Klis of 9News.com writes, the deal has no impact on whether Denver acquires current 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick. Klis says that cap room had nothing to do with the Broncos offering Kaepernick a reduced 2016 salary of $7MM, and that they are offering him that salary because that is the current market value for elite backup quarterbacks (although Kaepernick would undoubtedly be the favorite to win the job as Denver’s starting QB, there would be an open competition between him and Mark Sanchez). As such, the most recent reports surrounding the Kaepernick-to-Denver rumors–that a deal is not dead, but is not likely at the moment–remain valid. Klis observes that the next deadline for a Kaepernick trade appears to be April 28, the first day of the 2016 draft, as any potential swap figures to include draft picks.
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com says there is, of course, reason for the Jets to be concerned about the deal. After all, they are replacing the recently-retired D’Brickashaw Ferguson, one of the most durable players in recent history, with a player who has missed 30 of the past 48 games because of severe foot and knee injuries. On the other hand, Clady, when healthy, is a superior player, and just like the Brandon Marshall trade last year, this deal looks like a low-risk, high-reward move that could pay major dividends for second-year GM Mike Maccagnan. As ESPN’s Field Yates tweets, over the past two years, the Jets have turned a pair of fifth-round picks into Marshall, Clady, and two seventh-round picks.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com says that the Clady trade should not preclude the Jets from selecting a tackle in the draft. Instead, he believes that, if the team has the opportunity to draft a tackle they like, they should pull the trigger and have that player begin his career on the right side of the line (Twitter links).
- With Clady no longer available, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times points out that there are no longer any difference-making left tackles who the Seahawks could target (barring, of course, any potential cuts). Although Clady was unlikely to end up in Seattle anyway, it is now a near certainty that the Seahawks will head into the 2016 campaign with Garry Gilliam and Bradley Sowell battling for the left tackle job, with the team likely adding more competition in the draft. ESPN’s Sheil Kapadia tweets that the Seahawks did not pursue Clady more strongly because of financial reasons, not because of the draft choice they would have needed to part with.
- Similarly, the Lions–who were connected to at least some degree to many of the left tackles on the trade and free markets his offseason–now have no other choice but to deploy Riley Reiff at left tackle to open the 2016 campaign, as Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Pres writes. The team could target a LT in the draft, but outside of Laremy Tunsil–who is not falling to the Lions–no first-year players project to be immediately better than Reiff.