2014’s Most Balanced And Unbalanced Drafts
Teams entered last week’s NFL draft with many different positions and areas they planned to focus on, but depending on how the draft played out, many clubs didn’t end up addressing all their needs. For instance, few would have guessed heading into the draft that neither the Panthers nor the Ravens would come out of the weekend having added an offensive tackle.
Whether intentional or not, a handful of teams ended up specifically focusing on one area of the ball in the draft, selecting far more offensive players than defensive players, or vice versa. Listed below are the teams who had the most offensive-heavy drafts, teams who had defensive-heavy drafts, and the clubs who managed to perfectly balance their picks. Let’s check out the lists….
Most offensive-heavy drafts:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6 offense, 0 defense): After spending big to add defensive end Michael Johnson and cornerback Alterraun Verner in free agency, the Buccaneers were the only NFL team not to draft at least one defensive player. Instead, the club focused on adding weapons for new quarterback Josh McCown, including wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (6 offense, 3 defense): It wasn’t until they drafted their fifth player, in the fourth round, that the Jaguars eventually selected a defensive player, having focused early on landing a quarterback (Blake Bortles) and pass-catchers (Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson).
- New England Patriots (6 offense, 3 defense): After nabbing defensive tackle Dominique Easley in round one, the Patriots turned to offensive players for their next five picks, including second-rounder Jimmy Garoppolo.
- Washington Redskins (5 offense, 2 defense): The Redskins picked a couple defenders in the first four rounds, grabbing linebacker Trent Murphy and cornerback Bashaud Breeland, but they tipped the scales by leaning heavily toward offensive players with their late-round picks.
Most balanced drafts:
- New York Jets (6 offense, 6 defense)
- Cincinnati Bengals (4 offense, 4 defense)
- Carolina Panthers (3 offense, 3 defense)
- Cleveland Browns (3 offense, 3 defense)
- Denver Broncos (3 offense, 3 defense)
- San Diego Chargers (3 offense, 3 defense)
- Tennessee Titans (3 offense, 3 defense)
Most defensive-heavy drafts:
- Atlanta Falcons (7 defense, 2 offense): Offensive and defensive lines were viewed as two of the top priorities for the Falcons, but after addressing those positions in the first two rounds, Atlanta went on a linebacker frenzy in the mid-to-late rounds, snatching up four of them.
- Dallas Cowboys (7 defense, 2 offense): The Cowboys reportedly had three defensive players on their wish list in the first round, but when Anthony Barr, Aaron Donald, and Ryan Shazier came off the board, the team picked offensive tackle Zack Martin instead. Dallas remedied that by making seven of its final eight picks defensive players.
- Minnesota Vikings (7 defense, 3 offense): The Vikings made defense their focus in the mid-to-late rounds — their last five picks were defenders, including three defensive backs. Minnesota also selected a defensive player with its first pick, drafting linebacker Anthony Barr ninth overall.
- Oakland Raiders (6 defense, 2 offense): The Raiders’ approach looked similar to the Vikings’, as Oakland grabbed a linebacker (Khalil Mack) with its top-10 pick, then used its last five picks on defenders, with a couple offensive players sandwiched in between.
- Philadelphia Eagles (5 defense, 2 offense): Losing DeSean Jackson made wide receiver a priority for the Eagles in the draft, so the team snatched up Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff in rounds two and three. Outside of those two picks though, it was an exclusively defensive draft for Philadelphia.
Pro Football Rumors’ list of draft results by team was used in the creation of this post.
NFC Rumors: Glennon, Hardy, Cowboys, Bears
Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith reaffirmed that Mike Glennon is the team’s quarterback of the future, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be the QB of the present, writes Roy Cummings of The Tampa Tribune.
“I made it clear right away that Josh McCown is our starter, which he is,” Smith said during an interview on WDAE (620 AM). “And hopefully for quite a few years he will be. And I said I really like Mike Glennon. Mike’s a young player coming up. In an ideal situation you don’t want young players to have to come in and start right away, you want them to be around an established veteran.”
Glennon was believed to be a trade candidate earlier this offseason but Smith’s kind words have put that talk to rest. More from around the NFL:
- With this week’s legal run-in, Greg Hardy has seriously jeopardized his future with the Panthers, writes David Newton of ESPN.com. The Panthers guaranteed the Pro Bowl player $13.1MM in 2014 not just because he collected a team-best 15 sacks last season, but because he appeared to have matured past the mistakes he made early in his NFL career and at Ole Miss. The club was considering locking Hardy up long-term this year, but that seems unlikely today.
- What would the Cowboys have done in the draft if they hadn’t traded up to get Demarcus Lawrence early in the second round? Cowboys COO Stephen Jones told season ticket holders on a conference call today that Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy would have been the selection at No. 47 followed by LSU guard Trai Turner in the third round, according to Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune if there’s any chance the Bears could swing a trade for help in the secondary. Biggs says that while many would like to see a blockbuster like a deal for Chiefs safety Eric Berry, that type of thing won’t be in the cards thanks to his sizable salary.
- Bears sixth-round pick David Fales appears to be a good fit for the team, writes Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. Fales last season threw for 4,189 yards, 33 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and completed 64.1 percent of his passes in 12 games.
- Released running back Bradley Randle says the Vikings might end up bringing him back, writes Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
Cowboys Sign 24 Undrafted Free Agents
No NFL team has been more active in undrafted free agency so far than the Cowboys, who announced that they’ve added two dozen new players to the roster following the draft. Courtesy of Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com, here’s the complete list of Dallas’ rookie free agent signings:
- Josh Aladenoye, OT, Illinois State ($5K bonus, per Todd Archer)
- Chris Boyd, WR, Vanderbilt ($3.5K bonus)
- Brian Clarke, G, Bloomsburg ($1.5K bonus)
- Davon Coleman, DT, Arizona State ($1.5K bonus)
- J.C. Copeland, FB, LSU ($2K bonus)
- Andre Cureton, G, Cincinnati ($3K bonus)
- Casey Kreiter, LS, Iowa ($1.5K bonus)
- Ben Malena, RB, Texas A&M ($2K bonus)
- Cody Mandell, P, Alabama ($2K bonus)
- Glasco Martin, RB, Baylor
- Jordan Najvar, TE, Baylor ($1.5K bonus)
- Ronald Patrick, G, South Carolina ($1.5K bonus)
- Dashaun Phillips, CB, Tarleton State ($7.5K bonus)
- Jarrod Pughsley, G, Akron ($5K bonus)
- Marvin Robinson, S, Ferris State ($2K bonus)
- Dontavis Sapp, LB, Tennessee ($1K bonus)
- Jocquel Skinner, CB, Bethel ($1.5K bonus)
- Keith Smith, S, San Jose State ($2K bonus)
- Ryan Smith, S, Auburn ($1.5K bonus)
- Dustin Vaughan, QB, West Texas A&M ($5K bonus)
- L’Damian Washington, WR, Missouri ($7K bonus)
- Chris Whaley, DT, Texas ($5K bonus)
- Joe Windsor, Northern Illinois ($1.5K bonus)
- Evan Wilson, Illinois State ($2.5K bonus)
Minor Moves: Seahawks, Cowboys, Colts, Chiefs
With teams adding draft picks and undrafted free agents, cuts may have to be made in order to clear spots on 90-man rosters for the new arrivals. We can expect those cuts to dominate today’s list of minor transactions. Here are the latest moves, with updates added to the top of the list throughout the day:
- A little over a month after signing a three-year deal with the Seahawks, long snapper Jorgen Hus is on waivers, having been cut by Seattle, per Brian McIntyre (via Twitter).
- Guard Chris DeGeare, defensive tackle Frank Kearse, wide receiver Lance Lewis, defensive end Tristan Okpalaugo, linebacker Quinton Spears, and linebacker Jabara Williams have been cut by the Cowboys, per Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Earlier updates:
- The Colts have waived four players, according to Craig Kelley of Colts.com (via Twitter): Linebacker Alan Baxter, fullback Stephen Cambell, tight end Martell Webb, and kicker Carson Wiggs.
- Wideout Rashad Ross has been waived by the Chiefs, tweets Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
- After adding a quarterback (A.J. McCarron) in the draft, the Bengals have released Josh Johnson, per Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).
- The Dolphins have also parted ways with a quarterback, cutting Jordan Rodgers, the younger brother of Aaron Rodgers, the team announced today (via Twitter). In addition to Rodgers, wide receiver Michael Rios was also waived.
- The Bills have released running back Anthony Allen, according to a team release. Allen had signed a futures contract with the club in January.
- The Bills are waiving offensive tackle Jamaal Johnson-Webb, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Johnson-Webb spent some time on Buffalo’s practice squad last season and signed a futures contract with the club after the season.
- The Chiefs are cutting fullback Eric Kettani, according to Wilson. Like Johnson-Webb, Kettani didn’t actually see any playing time for his club, having signed a futures contract following the 2013 season. Wilson notes that the Navy product is expected to draw some interest in free agency, however.
- Defensive back Charles Mitchell has been waived by the Broncos, the team announced today (via Twitter). The former Falcon didn’t appear in a regular season game for Denver.
La Canfora On Draft, Browns, Jags, Easley
Based on what Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com was hearing during and after the draft, he believes the Browns traded down from No. 4 to No. 9 in the first round in the hopes that Texas A&M receiver Mike Evans would still be on the board. When Evans was snapped up by the Buccaneers seventh overall, Cleveland went another direction and never did address the receiver position in the draft. Here’s more from La Canfora, with a focus on draft-related what-ifs:
- The Jaguars “resisted several opportunities” to move out of the No. 3 overall slot and trade down with teams who were hoping to land Khalil Mack or Sammy Watkins, says La Canfora. We heard this morning that Jacksonville also considered trading with the Falcons, who were targeting Jake Matthews.
- Before they traded up to No. 22, the Browns were close to making deals with the Titans at No. 11 and the Cowboys at No. 16.
- If the Patriots hadn’t selected Florida’s Dominique Easley with their first-round pick, the Seahawks likely would have kept their first-rounder and used it on Easley rather than moving down. Similarly, the Cardinals would have selected Ryan Shazier if he was there at No. 20, but began attempts to trade down once he came off the board, ultimately swinging a deal with the Saints.
- Offensive tackle Ju’Wuan James likely would’ve been selected by the Panthers at No. 28 if the Dolphins hadn’t drafted him 19th overall.
- La Canfora continues to hear from sources that at this point rumors of a Ryan Mallett trade between the Patriots and Texans are just that — rumors.
- Defensive tackle Ego Ferguson, who was selected by the Bears in the second round, has been frequently identified by evaluators as one of the draft’s biggest reaches, says La Canfora.
NFC Notes: Cowboys, Bradford, Bortles, Lions
The Cowboys didn’t come away from the 2014 draft having selected a new quarterback, which head coach Jason Garrett says is just fine. Garrett explained the thinking to Todd Archer of ESPN.com:
“The thing you’re concerned about is developing them for somebody else,” Garrett said. “You develop them for two, three, four years and he goes and plays for another football team. We don’t think that’s a worthwhile thing. There’s been a theory around the league, teams like Green Bay for years always took a guy late and if that player develops into something that was a good thing for their team or to trade to somebody else. … It’s a philosophy a lot of teams, they agree with that. But when you have other issues on your team I think it becomes a little bit of a luxury to do that.”
Here’s more from around the NFC:
- While there have been rumblings about possible Sam Bradford trade talks lately, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said on today’s Dan Patrick Show that the club has neither made or received any calls about Bradford’s availability (link via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk).
- If the Jaguars hadn’t selected Blake Bortles with the third overall pick, neither the Vikings or Titans would have drafted him, but the Cowboys would’ve considered it at No. 16 and the Cardinals would’ve pulled the trigger at No. 20, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter).
- The Lions strongly considered picking a quarterback on the third day of the draft, but the club’s targets came off the board before Detroit had a chance to select them, writes Justin Rogers of MLive.com.
- If the conditional pick traded to the Eagles by the Bills in this weekend’s Bryce Brown trade doesn’t change hands next year, it can become a 2016 third-rounder if Brown rushes for 800+ yards in either of the next two seasons, according to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News provides an interesting look at how safety Jimmie Ward became the 49ers’ man in the first round last Thursday.
- Longtime Vikings college scouting director Scott Studwell resigned from the position following this weekend’s draft, and will transition into a new role within the organization, writes Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune.
Assortment of Rookies Invited to Minicamps
We’ve been keeping track of team’s official undrafted free agent signings (today we had signings by the Jets, Bears and Colts). Considering the number of prospects available, team’s will also invite players to their rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
There have been a handful of successful players who had to initially audition for teams, including Hall of Famers Night Train Lane and Marion Motley. Of course, it’s very unlikely for a player to overcome such adversity, but the signings are still notable.
Below is a list of players who will be brought in for mini tryouts, most coming from The Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson:
- Cowboys invited Citadel defensive back Brandon McCladdie (Twitter).
- Redskins invited Maine outside linebacker Michael Cole (Twitter).
- Giants invited East Carolina strong safety Chip Thompson (Twitter).
- Raiders invited Central Washington guard Mike Nelson (Twitter).
- Raiders invited Memphis defensive tackle Johnnie Farms (Twitter).
- Packers invited Oklahoma State linebacker Shaun Lewis and Memphis quarterback Jacob Karam (via Twitter of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein).
NFC East Notes: Eagles, Cowboys, Hart
As if conditional picks based on a player’s performance weren’t convoluted enough, the 2015 draft pick included in the swap the Eagles and Bills pulled off today hinges on the performance of two players, Steve Johnson and Bryce Brown. Eagles GM Howie Roseman told reporters today, including Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link), that he doesn’t think he’s been involved in such a complicated deal before. Roseman also called the trade a win for both sides: “We weren’t looking to dump [Brown], but … there was opportunity for value” (Twitter link).
Here’s more on the Eagles and one of their NFC East rivals:
- The Eagles were hoping to land at least one offensive lineman in the draft, but according to Roseman (Twitter link), the run in the third round was like nothing he’d ever seen. The Eagles GM referred to missing out on offensive linemen as a “dagger in the heart,” per Tim McManus of PhillyMag.com (Twitter link).
- Speaking of that third-round run on linemen, it sounds like it affected the Cowboys too. Executive VP Stephen Jones said the club was close to trading back up into the third round to draft a lineman, but Dallas’ target came off the board a few picks earlier than expected. Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the details and quotes from Jones, who said the trade would’ve seen the Cowboys give up a 2015 pick.
- Oregon defensive end Taylor Hart, who the Eagles snagged in the fifth round, had a third-round grade according to the team. Roseman said that he felt as if Philadelphia could wait on Hart since not many teams needed 3-4 ends (Twitter link via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
NFC East Notes: Brown, Graham, Hart, Martin
The Eagles have been fielding calls from the Bills about tailback Bryce Brown for a while, reports Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and Jeff McClaine of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The team finally moved Brown to the Bills in exchange for a conditional future pick.
Here are some other draft weekend notes from the NFC East:
- Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly said he does not expect any other players on the roster to be traded during the draft, reports Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (via Twitter). That could be good news for Brandon Graham, who was thought to be on the trade block this weekend.
- Kelly wanted the Eagles to take Oregon defensive end Taylor Hart with the first pick in round four, reports the team insider of PhiladelphiaEagles.com (via Twitter). The team’s general manager Howie Roseman proved to be a smart draft manager, saying he would still be available when they selected at the top of the fifth round.
- The Cowboys almost missed their top draft pick Zack Martin of Notre Dame, as a coin flip gave them No. 16, one spot ahead of the Ravens. The Rams were in talks to exchange picks with the Ravens in order to jump up to No. 17 to select Martin, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Knowing that Johnny Manziel was near the top of the Cowboys’ board when the team selected, Florio writes that if Martin was not on the board, the team might have been more inclined to take the Texas A&M quarterback.
Cowboys Acquire No. 146 Pick From Lions
The Cowboys have traded up to the 146th pick, finding a trade partner with the Lions, reports Detroit Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman (via Twitter). The Cowboys used the pick to select Pittsburgh wide receiver Devin Street (via Twitter). The Lions have moved down 12 spots to No. 158, and pick up pick No. 229 from the Cowboys in the trade, reports the SideLionReport (via Twitter).