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.
AFC East Links: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Pats
The Bills certainly gave up a lot for the opportunity to draft wide receiver Sammy Watkins, including this year’s and next year’s first-round pick. Understanding that he’ll soon be working for new owners, general manager Doug Whaley knew he needed to make a big splash. If he was indeed intending to make a big move, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com opines that the team should have instead pursued All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham.
Had they signed Graham to a contract that the Saints “wouldn’t or couldn’t match”, they would have still been able to grab a serviceable player with their ninth overall pick. Florio says that the two future first rounders that the Bills would have had to surrender would have been worth the cost, especially since Whaley may be fired before those drafts even come around.
Let’s check out some more notes from the AFC East…
- The Dolphins have 11 wide receivers but will only keep around six, tweets ESPN’s James Walker.
- Jets quarterback Matt Simms should be worried about his job security, writes ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. With the drafting of Tajh Boyd, there doesn’t seem to be a spot on the roster for the veteran.
- In the same article, Cimini says the team will rely on one of their rookie receivers to play opposite Eric Decker.
- The Patriots‘ drafting of Dominique Easley was the riskiest first-round pick in Bill Belichick’s tenure, says Mike Reiss of ESPN.com.
AFC East Notes: Patriots, Jets, Bills
Versatility was the theme of day 3 for the Patriots, as each of the seven players taken on Saturday figure to fill multiple spots on the depth chart, writes Zuri Berry of Boston.com.
“I feel like we improved our team today,” coach Bill Belichick said. “We had seven picks and we kind of had them in clumps there, but I felt like we were able to take some players that will be able to compete.
“We’ll see how it all goes.”
The Patriots‘ day 3 picks were Florida State center Bryan Stork, Wisconsin running back James White, Stanford offensive tackle Cameron Fleming, Florida guard Jon Halapio, Concordia-St. Paul defensive end Zach Moore, Georgia Tech defensive back Jemea Thomas and Michigan wide receiver Jeremy Gallon.
Read below for more from the AFC East:
- Boston.com’s Erik Frenz passes along a post-draft depth chart, penciling in second-round pick Jimmy Garoppolo as the third-string quarterback behind Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett.
- The 12 draft picks by the Jets all share similarities that helped them land in New York. “There’s pretty much a common thread with these fellas,” general manager John Idzik said, via newsday.com’s Kimberley A. Martin. “They fit our profile. They’re aggressive, they have a passion for our game, they’re great teammates. They fit the Jet profile.”
- Five trades in three days highlighted an exciting extended weekend for the Bills, wrote Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News. The most notable moves were trading for running back Bryce Brown, trading away wide receiver Stevie Johnson and trading up for Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins at No. 4 overall.
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald aggregated notes and feedback from media analysts on the Dolphin’s Saturday draft picks, as well as adding his post-draft thoughts, specifically his concerns at cornerback.
AFC Notes: Browns, Texans, Pats, Jets, Jags
Despite reports of Josh Gordon facing a possible season-long suspension and Nate Burleson suffering a broken arm in minicamp, Browns GM Ray Farmer “isn’t concerned” with the team’s depth at receiver, he told reporters tonight, including Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). Farmer indicated that Burleson’s injury isn’t expected to sideline him for any games, and pointed to the final day of the draft, trades, and additional free agent signings as ways the club can fortify its group of wideouts, if need be (Twitter link via Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle).
Let’s round up a few more leftover Day Two draft items from around the AFC…
- General manager Rick Smith confirmed that the Texans had a few conversations about moving down from the No. 33 pick, but the club ultimately liked UCLA guard Xavier Su’a-Filo better than any trade offers (Twitter link via James Palmer of CSN Houston).
- Discussing the Patriots‘ selection of Eastern Illinois signal-caller Jimmy Garoppolo, head coach Bill Belichick said the club wanted to address its quarterback situation “too soon rather than too late” (Twitter link via Ben Volin of the Boston Globe). The Pats would have been set for the 2014 season, with Tom Brady returning and Ryan Mallett on the last year of his deal, but there’s a good chance neither of those players will be on the roster within a few years.
- We heard earlier tonight that the Jets were pushing hard to trade up in the second round to nab USC wideout Marqise Lee, and while GM John Idzik didn’t confirm that Lee was his target, he admitted he made calls about moving up (Twitter link via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News).
- Asked about whether he’ll use all nine of the Jets‘ remaining 2014 draft picks, Idzik was noncommittal: “It’s good to have some ammunition” (Twitter link via Mehta).
- In non-draft news, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell and head coach Gus Bradley strongly suggested today that wide receiver Justin Blackmon is done in Jacksonville, as Hays Carlyon of the Florida Times-Union details.
East Notes: Manziel, Patriots, Cowboys
Here’s the latest from out of the NFL’s two East divisions:
- ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that the Patriots were considering taking Johnny Manziel at pick No. 29 (via the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin on Twitter). This report clashes with a leaked Pats scouting report on Manziel, which painted the quarterback in a largely negative light.
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones conceded that Manziel was the highest player left on Dallas’ board when it picked at No. 16, but noted that the team simply has too much invested in Tony Romo, according to Charean Williams of the Fort-Worth Start Telegram (via Twitter).
- The Dolphins’ selection of Jarvis Landry could mean the team parts ways with Brian Hartline after the 2014 season, tweets Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post. Miami could save a little over $6MM by cutting Hartline after the coming season.
- Jace Amaro, taken by the Jets in the second round (No. 49), thought New York might select him in the first round, according to SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link).
- Eagles coach Chip Kelly agrees with the sentiment that this draft is exceptionally deep, tweets Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. “There are guys right now still on the board that we have rated in the third round that will be there tomorrow,” said Kelly.
Jags Acquire Pick No. 93 From Pats
The Jaguars have traded up, acquiring the 93rd pick from the Patriots, tweets Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post. The Pats received picks Nos. 105 and 179 in return (Twitter link).
The Jaguars used the pick to select offensive guard Brandon Linder, tweets ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco. Jacksonville is having a solid draft, first selecting a franchise quarterback in Blake Bortles, giving him weapons in Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson, and now adding protection up front in the form of Linder.
Ryan Mallett Rumors: Friday
The latest surrounding the Patriots’ backup QB:
- Before the Patriots took Jimmy Garappolo, Texans general manager Rick Smith repeated that the team had no discussions regarding a Ryan Mallett trade, per ESPN’s Ed Werder (on Twitter).
- Werder also notes on Twitter that the Texans were considering taking Garappolo themselves in the third round. Werder adds that Houston “remains adamant” in not wanting to trade for Mallett.
- ESPN’s Adam Schefter agrees, tweeting that he expects Mallett to remain with the Patriots.
- However, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Patriots were waiting to see if a desirable quarterback fell to them before considering dealing Mallett. With Garappolo in tow, the Pats have the leeway to move their backup QB.
- If the Texans do acquire Mallett, they would sign him to a one-year extension, adds Rapoport (via Twitter). Mallett is currently signed only through the 2014 season.
AFC East Rumors: Pryor, Bills, Johnson
New Jets safety Calvin Pryor says that his big hits will provide an “intimidation factor” for the Jets’ defense, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. “Believe me, there is a huge thing with his hitting ability; big hits still win games,” head coach Rex Ryan said. “They’ll flip the momentum of a game faster than anything in my opinion, and I’ve always said that, and this young man will provide that for us.” More on that and some of the fallout from the Bills‘ big trade today..
- The Bills had been shopping Stevie Johnson for a while before agreeing to send him to San Francisco today, tweets Albert Breer of NFL Network (on Twitter). Breer’s understanding is that Buffalo tried to deal him to Tampa as part of the Mike Williams trade last month.
- Johnson would have counted $8.5MM against the Bills‘ cap in 2014, but with the dead money accelerating onto this year, his cap number is now $10.225MM, tweets Tim Graham of The Buffalo News.
- This may not come as a huge surprise, but Jets coach Rex Ryan says that the team wasn’t interested in drafting Johnny Manziel at No. 18, writes Kimberley Martin of Newsday.
- After serving as Tom Brady‘s backup for three years, undrafted quarterback Brian Hoyer was cut loose by the Patriots in 2012. After getting his break in Cleveland and subsequently blowing out his knee, he now finds himself in a battle with Manziel for the No. 1 job with the Browns. Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com laments the QB’s bad luck.
Pats’ Ryan Mallett “Not Available” In Trade
3:50pm: Texans GM Rick Smith told reporters that he has no interaction with the Pats regarding Mallett, Werder tweets.
2:44pm: Yesterday, before the draft got underway, we heard reports that the Patriots were in talks with the Texans regarding quarterback Ryan Mallett. Now, Ed Werder of ESPN hears that Tom Brady‘s backup is “not available,” (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk).
The Texans, who hold the first pick of the second round, did not land a QB last night and watched Teddy Bridgewater come off the board at No. 32 following the Vikings’ move up the ladder. While one might think this would give them additional fuel to find a QB on the trade market, that apparently won’t lead the the Arkansas product coming to Houston.
As it stands, the Texans are set to head into the 2014 season with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, and T.J. Yates on the depth chart. They could also bring a familiar surname back into the locker room if they tap Fresno State QB Derek Carr with the No. 33 overall pick tonight.
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.