Jaguars Eyeing Amari Cooper At No. 3?
A year ago, the Jaguars surprised many NFL observers and fans by selecting Blake Bortles with the third overall pick. General manager David Caldwell reportedly withheld his strong interest in Bortles from his own staff until about a week before the draft, and at this time last year, it still seemed possible that the quarterback could slide to late in the first round.
One AFC personnel executive, who claims he identified Bortles as the Jags’ target prior to draft night last year, tells Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports that he believes Jacksonville is locked in on Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper this time around.
“I think the third spot could shock people [again],” the source said, discussing the Jaguars’ pick. “I think they like Cooper more than they are letting on. You hear things and they have been pretty good about what’s getting out there. It’s a lot like it was last year.”
The Jags, having selected two receivers early in last year’s draft, would seem to have greater needs at other positions. While Jacksonville certainly wants to give Bortles the weapons necessary to succeed, the team has Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, and Allen Hurns under contract, and landed Julius Thomas in free agency this offseason. A defensive playmaker such as Dante Fowler Jr. or Leonard Williams would seem to be a better fit.
Nonetheless, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is also hearing increased chatter that Cooper could be the Jags’ pick at No. 3. As Florio points out, there’s an outside chance that the Alabama wideout goes as high as second overall to the Titans, but if he’s available at No. 3, the Jags may pounce.
While selecting Cooper would raise some eyebrows around the league, Caldwell said recently that the team needs one difference-making player rather than two solid contributors, and the young receiver fits that bill. That also helps explain why the Jags haven’t yet received any calls about trading down, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter).
South Notes: Jaguars, Cooper, Falcons
A look at the AFC and NFC South..
- Various sources who spoke to Peter King of TheMMQB.com named Amari Cooper, Dante Fowler Jr., and Leonard Williams as targets they’d heard “reliably” linked to the Jaguars at No. 3. For his part, King says he believes there are some within the organization who want Cooper and others who want Fowler. Considering Jacksonville barely conveyed any interest in top target Blake Bortles prior to last year’s draft, it wouldn’t surprise me if the team ends up making another unexpected pick this time around.
- While lots of teams are looking into moving down, the Falcons are a team looking to move up, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter). Rival executives believe that their target is an impact defender.
- D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution looked at Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff’s draft-day trading record. As the record shows, Dimitroff has been very busy in years past, including the 2011 blockbuster deal for Julio Jones.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Rapoport On Browns, Vikings, P.J. Williams
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com has passed along a handful of noteworthy draft nuggets via Twitter this afternoon, so let’s check out what he has for us….
- According to Rapoport (Twitter link), the Browns have spoken to Washington within the past week about possibly moving up to No. 5. Cleveland has two first-rounders to work with, and Washington GM Scot McCloughan indicated today that he was open to moving down and picking extra picks, so there could be a match there. Of course, as Rapoport adds, the Browns have “touched base” with most teams in the top 10.
- Another pick to keep an eye on is the No. 11 selection, which currently belongs to the Vikings. Rapoport tweets that Minnesota wants ammo to move around in the draft, and points out that the 11th pick is an appealing one because fifth-year option prices decrease outside of the top 10. As such, there may be potential trade partners interested in moving up to that spot.
- Lawyer Jonathan Simon tells Rapoport (Twitter links) that the DUI case against Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams has been dismissed. According to the paperwork filed in the case, the signs of impairment claimed by the arresting officer were not corroborated on video. The timing of the dismissal is good news for Williams, whose draft stock may have taken a hit if the case had moved forward.
- Rapoport identifies the Dolphins, Jaguars, and Texans as some teams that may be interested in drafting Georgia running back Todd Gurley (Twitter link).
- Oklahoma’s Jordan Phillips and Mississippi State’s Preston Smith are two defensive linemen who could sneak into the back of the first round on Thursday, tweets Rapoport.
Sunday Roundup: Draft, Weddle, J. Houston
Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league on this Sunday afternoon, including one note on the first overall pick in Thursday’s first round:
- Multiple teams have reached out to the Buccaneers recently to determine what it would take to move up to the No. 1 overall pick, according to Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). However, Getlin adds in a second tweet that although the Bucs have listened, no offer has been strong enough for the team to seriously consider trading down just yet.
- Similarly, Conor Orr of NFL.com writes that Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie has fielded calls on Oakland’s No. 4 overall selection.
- In a separate piece, Orr writes that the Chiefs are keeping the lines of communication open with star outside linebacker Justin Houston, who was slapped with the franchise tag in March. Kansas City has a little under three months to work out a long-term deal with Houston, and the fact that talks are still ongoing and are still progressing is a good sign that something will get done.
- Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic believes Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon would be the perfect first-round choice for the Cardinals, who hold the No. 24 overall pick.
- Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post feels the Broncos should take an offensive tackle in the first round, even if they have to trade up a couple of spots to do it. Renck goes on to examine some of the prospects that could be available when Denver is on the board.
- Chargers safety Eric Weddle feels “highly disrespected” by the team’s refusal to engage in contract talks despite his desire to retire with the organization, but Matt Calkins of U-T San Diego believes the Chargers are taking the right approach.
- Given that the Jaguars feel better about their roster than they have in the past two seasons, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union would not be surprised if the team traded a couple of picks to move into the back of round 1 or up in rounds 2-3.
- Continuing a theme among NFL beat writers, Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean looks at the offensive side of the Titans‘ roster heading into the draft and offers his predictions as to what the team will do to address its deficiencies on that side of the ball during draft weekend.
- Washington GM Scot McCloughan‘s history suggests he will select an edge rusher with his top pick in this year’s draft, writes Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com. Although Tandler says Randy Gregory‘s red flags will probably keep him off McCloughan’s board, Vic Beasley and Dante Fowler, Jr. would both be good bets.
Draft Links: Cooper, Perriman, Raiders, Ravens
Alabama wideout Amari Cooper figures to be one of the first two wideouts selected in next week’s draft (along with West Virginia’s Kevin White). It seems unlikely that the talented 20-year-old will fall outside the top-10, as Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun reports that Cooper met with nine teams drafting within that range.
That list includes Washington, the Buccaneers, Titans, Jaguars, Jets, Bears, Falcons, Giants, Rams and Browns. The Raiders and Vikings were the only teams selecting in the top-12 to not host Cooper.
Let’s take a look at some other draft notes from around the league…
- While Cooper and White are expected to the be the first two receivers off the board, NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell believes Central Florida’s Breshad Perriman could emerge as a top pick. “I think Cooper is the top receiver prospect this year,” Cosell writes for Yahoo! Sports. “But if you asked me who is No. 2 among White and Perriman, that’s a tougher question. I really like Perriman…Perriman is a big powerful, explosive, fast guy. Although he and White are about the same size, on film Perriman looks like the bigger guy. I could see ranking Perriman even with or ahead of White, although I’m in the minority on that.”
- ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson wonders (on Twitter) if Florida defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. could be in play for the Raiders during the first round. The junior compiled 2.5 sacks during the 2014 season, finishing his college career with 14.5 sacks.
- CSNBaltimore.com’s Clifton Brown believes the Ravens will make trades during this year’s draft, but not during the first round. The writer wonders if the team could move up during the second round to secure Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams.
AFC South Notes: Colts, Greene, Titans, Jags
The Colts have thought outside the box as they’ve attempted to round out the bottom of their roster. As Stephen Holder of the Indy Star points out, the team currently has four former CFL players, two college basketball players and a Kenyan rugby player under contract.
The mix of different backgrounds isn’t unusual to general manager Ryan Grigson, who is willing to look anywhere to make his team better:
“If you have elite athletic traits, you can do this. This isn’t one of those specialized sports, like golf. If you have a level of toughness and you can move and you have instincts, if you have those at an elite level, you’re going to get a chance.”
Let’s take a look at more notes out of the AFC South, including additional whispers from Indianapolis…
- The Colts may have a tough time retaining both Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen, but ESPN.com’s Mike Wells opines that the team should hold on to the tight end pair. As the writer points out, the best case scenario would be for the duo to establish themselves as one of the best pairings in the league, forcing the team to re-sign both players.
- If Antonio Andrews has a solid showing in minicamp, Paul Kuharsky would anticipate the Titans cutting veteran running back Shonn Greene.
- NFL Network’s Mike Mayock believes it would be difficult for a team to acquire the Titans first-round pick unless an established veteran quarterback becomes available. “Trading up to 2 is a big deal, because if you look at the old trade value chart, 1 through 4 have by far the highest values, and then there’s a precipitous drop to No. 5 and it gets a lot easier to start trading,” Mayock said (via Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean). “So trying to get up to 2 is really hard, unless you have an existing player like San Diego has with Philip Rivers or perhaps Philadelphia has with Sam Bradford.”
- Michael DiRocco is the under the impression that Jaguars wideouts Tandon Doss, Bryan Walters and Ace Sanders will all be fighting over one roster spot, with the writer giving punt return specialist Doss the early advantage.
Extra Points: Jets, Eagles, Peterson
It sounds as if Jets GM Mike Maccagnan is more likely to trade back in the draft to acquire more picks than move up, Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. “Philosophically, I’m not opposed to moving up in the draft to go get a player if you feel that is a player that is going to be an extremely good player, but I would personally like to get more picks,” said Maccagnan. “To me, it’s more opportunities to get more talent.” Here’s more from around the NFL..
- The Eagles worked out at least three players Friday at UConn, including cornerback Byron Jones, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
- With or without Adrian Peterson, running backs are on the Vikings‘ draft list, Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press writes. The Vikings have Matt Asiata, but he’s not considered a long-term starter. The 5’9″, 208-pound Jerick McKinnon, drafted in the third round last year, was solid as a rookie but is not regarded as durable enough for a No. 1.
- Recent history suggests waiting until after the first round to draft a tight end is the right move, Ryan O’Halloran of The Florida Times-Union writes. The Jaguars believe they have a potentially effective duo in Julius Thomas and Marcedes Lewis, so they probably won’t be in the market for a tight end high in the draft.
- Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell has a poker face heading into the draft, Gene Frenette of The Florida Times-Union writes. Earlier today, we rounded up highlights from Caldwell’s chat with local reporters.
Jaguars GM On Jennings, Blackmon, Draft
Jaguars GM David Caldwell isn’t opposed to trading a draft pick for a veteran player. “Depends on the player,” he told Ryan O’Halloran (on Twitter) and the rest of the Jaguars’ beat writers. But how about Vikings running back Adrian Peterson?
“He’s on the Vikings,” the GM said flatly.
Caldwell declined to really comment on AD, but he had plenty more to tell the group of local reporters. Here’s a look at the highlights of his presser..
- The GM said he never made an offer to wide receiver Greg Jennings before he signed with the Dolphins, O’Halloran tweets. The Jags were among the teams interested in the veteran, along with the Panthers and Saints. The 31-year-old ultimately got a two-year, $8MM deal from Miami.
- Caldwell says he’s not disappointed that the team hasn’t heard anything regarding wide receiver Justin Blackmon‘s status, Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com tweets. For now, the Jaguars will be going forward as planned without him.
- The Jaguars have narrowed their choice at to three-to-five players if they stay put at No. 3, O’Halloran tweets. So far, he says he has yet to receive a call on the pick (link).
- Caldwell said about 200 players are on the Jaguars’ board, O’Halloran tweets.
- Caldwell emphasized the need for a difference-maker rather than two solid players, John Oehser of Jaguars.com tweets.
South Notes: Bucs, Blackmon, Wisniewski
The Buccaneers aren’t expected to trade the No. 1 pick, but that hasn’t stopped teams from asking, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes.
“It’s fair to assume someone is going to have to make a really good offer, yeah,” Bucs GM Jason Licht said. “And this time of year you get a lot of calls every day. Not making offers but just throwing, gauging your interest of if you would be open to it or not. And that will continue. But it would have to be an offer that makes this franchise, that sets this franchise even further ahead than what you thought you were going to with the decision you made.”
As the Bucs continue to mull their options for that first overall pick, let’s check in on some more notes from around the league’s two South divisions….
- Asked by a reader about Justin Blackmon‘s future with the Jaguars, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union suggests the wideout is “done-zo” in Jacksonville. It’s a response to a chat question rather than the subject of an actual report, but O’Halloran, who views Amari Cooper as a strong option for the Jags at No. 3 overall, sounds pretty confident that Blackmon won’t play another game for the franchise.
- Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post has the details on Stefen Wisniewski‘s one-year deal with the Jaguars, tweeting that the veteran center will earn a $1.25MM base salary to go along with a $500K signing bonus. The contract also features $250K in per-game roster bonuses, $500K in playing-time incentives, and an injury waiver.
- West Virginia wide receiver Mario Alford, one of the fastest players in this year’s draft class, visited and worked out privately for the Falcons, according to Wilson. Wilson adds that NFL teams have primarily been working out Alford as a slot receiver, even though he mostly played outside at WVU.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
North Notes: Manziel, Peterson, Browns
Browns GM Ray Farmer told reporters, including Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter), that he did not try to trade Johnny Manziel to the Eagles, despite rumors to the contrary. Recently, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported that the Browns tossed out the idea in a conversation with Philadelphia, but it didn’t gain any traction. As for the Eagles, they apparently didn’t have any real interest in making that happen. Here’s more on the Browns and the rest of the AFC North..
- Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that the Cowboys are not in the running for Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson. “Whoever says otherwise is 1,000 percent wrong,” he said. “The Cowboys have not spoken to the Minnesota Vikings about Adrian Peterson. It has not happened. They haven’t offered a draft pick, they have not picked up the telephone to talk to the Minnesota Vikings about Adrian Peterson. It simply has not happened.” Robinson says the Cardinals, Buccaneers, and Jaguars are the teams in the mix for No. 28 at present and he wouldn’t rule out the Falcons joining that group. Robinson is 100% confident that the Vikings would trade Peterson to the Cardinals if they were to offer up their first-round pick, but it remains to be seen if they’re willing to do that.
- Farmer said that he’ll add to the competition at quarterback if he finds a viable option, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal tweets. He’s not, however, desperate for a signal caller. “It’s constantly reported we’re [quarterback] starved and we’ll do whatever it takes to get one person. I don’t know why that is,” the GM said (link). The Browns’ collection of quarterbacks currently includes Manziel and veteran Josh McCown.
- When asked if he’d take a running back in the first round, Farmer responded, “Sure. Why not?” (via Ulirch on Twitter). The Browns own the No. 12 and No. 19 picks in the draft.
- The team has yet to decide on an interim GM that will be in charge while Farmer is suspended, Cabot tweets.