Draft Notes: Vikings, Eagles, Pats
NFL teams morph into private detective units between the end of the season and the draft, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe writes. Most teams go to tremendous lengths to discover everything they can about a prospect, particularly the ones being considered for the top of the first round, with several millions of dollars and potentially the future of the franchise at stake. This year, Jameis Winston is the one under the microscope and teams have gone through to great lengths to learn everything possible about him. Here at PFR, we don’t do much sleuthing, but do keep a watchful eye on every bit of draft news. Here’s the very latest..
- North Dakota State defensive end/outside linebacker Kyle Emanuel remains a name to know for the Vikings next weekend, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets, but the Eagles have done more homework on him than anyone.
- Central Florida left tackle Torrian Wilson had a private workout for the Patriots and participated in the Dolphins’ local prospect day, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post. Wilson, a four-year starter, was an all-conference second-team selection and named the Golden Knights’ Outstanding Offensive Lineman. He was recruited by Stanford, Louisville, Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Michigan and South Florida before committing to UCF years ago.
- Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star rated the top inside linebackers in this year’s draft. At the top of the list is UCLA’s Eric Kendricks, followed by Clemson’s Stephone Anthony, and Miami’s Denzel Perryman.
Eagles Could Still Trade Bradford
After making one of the more surprising trades in recent memory when they dealt for Sam Bradford last month, the Eagles have insisted that they are not planning on using Bradford as a trade chip to move up in the draft to select Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. However, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Philadelphia has done nothing to dispel that rumor since the deal was completed.
Specifically, the team has engaged in no contract talks with Bradford, who is entering the final year of his current deal and is owed nearly $13MM in 2015. Of course, Bradford could have some say in that as well. One team that could deal for Bradford would be the Browns, who are in desperate need of a franchise signal-caller and who have already tried to acquire the Oklahoma product this offseason. Under the framework of a three-team deal that Florio has put together, Cleveland would receive Bradford, Philadelphia would move up high enough in this year’s draft to select Mariota, and a third team could receive multiple high-round draft picks from bot the Eagles and Browns.
But if Bradford had his druthers, he surely would not want to be shipped to Cleveland, and if he were to sign a new multi-year deal with the Eagles, he would only become more valuable to a team like the Browns, which could keep him under club control beyond 2015. And that’s not to mention the financial aspect of a new contract, which would certainly require extensive negotiation. Bradford, after all, is hoping to play his way into a big payout in 2016 and is not willing to accept a “substandard” contract.
So the saga continues, despite the Eagles’ insistence that Bradford is not a stepping stone to Mariota. However, if a trade were to happen, one would think that the parameters would already be in place, or at least preliminary discussions would have been held. But just as there has been no chatter surrounding a new deal between the Eagles and Bradford, there have similarly been no substantiated rumblings about Philadelphia trading him. In any event, it looks like all possibilities remain on the table, and only Thursday night will bring any real clarity.
In addition to the Bradford piece, there are a few more Eagles nuggets to pass on today:
- The Eagles cannot hide their interest in UConn CB Byron Jones, and Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the case for Philadelphia to grab the speedy, physical corner with the No. 20 overall pick.
- In a separate piece, McLane examines the size, speed, and other physical measurables that head coach Chip Kelly–whose “big people beat up little people” mantra has become a catchphrase–and vice president of player personnel Ed Marynowitz use to weed out certain players from their draft board. Although scheme, position, fit, and intelligence of course remain important components of the team’s evaluation process, if a player does not have the right build, the odds are he will not wind up on the Eagles’ radar. McLane wonders if that process is unnecessarily restricting the crop of talent from which Philadelphia picks.
- Speaking of Marynowitz, Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer examines the challenges that await the newly-promoted 31-year-old.
- Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com writes that the Eagles will not be selecting Alabama safety Landon Collins with their first round selection. Collins is widely regarded as the best safety in an otherwise weak class.
East Notes: E. Manning, Cowboys, Dolphins
Eli Manning is entering the final year of his contract with the Giants, and there have been no discussions about an extension, writes Jordan Raanan of NJ.com. However, the lack of negotiations has not phased the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
“I haven’t made a big deal about it,” Manning said. “[It] is not something I’m going to argue about or make a fuss about.”
Of course, Manning did receive a six-year, $97.5MM deal from the Giants back in 2010, a contract he is going to play out, so he has reason to be patient as his next contract negotiations approach. One would think that he is in line for one more big payday, even though he will be 35 when he hits unrestricted free agency next winter. New York could put the franchise tag on him if it comes down to it, though it is difficult to imagine Manning finishing his career on anything other than a multi-year deal with Big Blue.
Let’s take a look at some more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- Ralph Vacchiano of The New York Daily News believes there is only one direction for the Giants to go with the No. 9 overall pick in the draft: offensive line. Even if an elite wide receiver prospect like Amari Cooper or Kevin White falls to New York, Vacchiano believes the team should resist temptation and grab one of the top offensive linemen like Brandon Scherff or Ereck Flowers.
- Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News looks at the top priorities for the Cowboys heading into the draft. He lists cornerback and defensive line as the two positions the team absolutely must address.
- For a number of reasons, the Cowboys have been pretty successful in the draft under head coach Jason Garrett. Garrett and assistant director of player personnel Will McClay have a good eye for talent, executive VP Stephen Jones has wielded a “firm and disciplined hand,” and owner Jerry Jones is meddling a little less. As David Moore of The Dallas Morning News writes, the one drawback to success in the draft is that other teams want to poach the successful team’s players, which has happened with the Cowboys this offseason. Running back DeMarco Murray, linebacker Bruce Carter, and special teams ace Dwayne Harris were all part of Garrett’s first draft class and all left in free agency, so the team must now deal with the unique challenge that drafting well presents: not only adding talent to the nucleus of the roster, but replacing lost talent in the most cost-effective manner possible, which includes mining hidden gems in the lower rounds. Dallas must show they are up to that task if they are to repeat as NFC East champions.
- John Keim of ESPN.com takes a look at a number of Robert Griffin III-related questions in his latest mailbag, including the ramifications of Washington‘s decision to either exercise or not exercise RGIII’s fifth-year option.
- In a couple of Dolphins-related items, James Walker of ESPN.com examines whether Miami would really be willing to roll the dice on Georgia RB Todd Gurley and what the holdup is in exercising Ryan Tannehill‘s fifth-year option.
- In Bill Belichick‘s 15 drafts with the Patriots, the team has traded up 17 times and traded down 17 times. As Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald writes, New England is one of two teams holding five of the top 101 picks in this year’s draft, so you can expect more wheeling and dealing from the Pats this week.
- Despite the buzz surrounding Marcus Mariota and the disappointment surrounding Geno Smith, Manish Mehta of The New York Daily News believes the Jets should go with the “strategically smart” decision and trade down from their No. 6 overall pick to select Stanford OT Andrus Peat.
AFC North Notes: Steelers, Wilson, Mosley, Browns
For years, the Steelers have had no problem finding value in pass-rushing outside linebackers. It wasn’t long ago that they were one of the few teams running a 3-4 defense, and were able to find defensive ends that were considered undersized and transition them to a new position, writes Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Those times are gone however, as many other teams have transitioned to either a 3-4 or a multiple defense and have learned to value the athletic pass rushers who have questions about putting their hand in the dirt and playing like a traditional pass rusher. It is much harder to find those classic Steelers’ linebackers late in the draft, and that used to be a huge advantage for the team’s defense on draft day.
Here are a few more notes from around the AFC North:
- The Ravens have shown interest in 6’2″, 205-pound cornerback Julian Wilson out of Oklahoma, writes Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun. “I met with them and it was really good,” said the versatile cornerback. “We went over board work, going over coverages my team was doing and some Ravens stuff. They wanted to see if I had a good understanding of the game.“
- With the NFL Draft less than a week away, the Ravens are looking at the success of last year’s first-round pick for what they expect to add to the team. C.J. Mosley is following an excellent rookie season by doing all the right things, writes Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun. “Learning the little things about the defense, definitely,” Mosley said. “Definitely getting back stronger after I get this cast off [he had left wrist surgery this offseason] and still learning from my vets, because there are still a lot of things to learn as far as [being a] defensive player, being a young player. Getting in touch with Daryl Smith more and seeing the things that helped him progress each year in his long career, that can help me out.“
- The Browns have been quiet about their plans for the NFL Draft despite having two top-20 picks, but that hasn’t stopped other teams from dreaming about them. Tucker Bagley of PhillyMag.com has rounded up a few Eagles’ stories, two of which has Philadelphia using Cleveland as a jumping board in a three-team trade to get Marcus Mariota. Cleveland would likely settle for some combination of Sam Bradford and draft picks in those situations.
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.
NFC East Notes: Giants, Hardy, Bradford, Polk
The Giants‘ top three most-played safeties from 2014 – Antrel Rolle, Quintin Demps, and Stevie Brown – are no longer under contract with the team, and the club missed out on Devin McCourty in free agency. However, GM Jerry Reese doesn’t view the position as an area of need, as Conor Orr of NFL.com details. While Reese may not consider safety to be as important a position as some other spots on the field, it would still be a surprise if the Giants don’t grab one or two at some point in the draft.
Here’s more from around the NFC East:
- There are some “smart people” around the NFL who believe Greg Hardy‘s suspension will ultimately be reduced from 10 games to something in the neighborhood of two to six games, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Even if Hardy’s appeal isn’t successful, the NFLPA may file a lawsuit on behalf of the Cowboys defensive end, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Hardy’s stint in Dallas is off to an ominous start, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports, who reports that the defensive end was involved in an altercation with Cowboys teammate Davon Coleman today. A source tells Garafolo that Hardy questioned Colemans’s effort during conditioning drills, and a verbal altercation nearly turned into a physical one. Meanwhile, Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links) hears that Coleman incited Hardy by calling him a “woman beater.” According to Getlin, there’s some concern among the Cowboys that Hardy is already at odds with another member of the club’s defensive line.
- Heading into the final year of his rookie deal, Sam Bradford isn’t willing to settle for a “substandard” contract extension, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Instead, the former first overall pick is hoping to submit a strong 2015 campaign and reassess his market value at that point. There’s also not 100% certainty that the Eagles will hang on to Bradford through the draft, so the QB wants to make sure he knows where he’ll be playing before he locks himself into a long-term extension.
- Earlier this afternoon, the Eagles rescinded Chris Polk‘s RFA contract tender, making him an unrestricted free agent. According to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Philadelphia was open to re-signing the running back at a lower salary, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement.
Eagles Rescind RFA Tender For Chris Polk
After a March shopping spree that included two major running back signings, the Eagles appear to have decided they no longer require a back to whom they tendered an offer earlier in the offseason. According to Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com (via Twitter), the Eagles have rescinded their RFA tender for Chris Polk.
Polk, 25, took on a slightly larger role in Philadelphia’s offense last season behind LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, totaling 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries. After agreeing to a trade that sent McCoy to the Bills, the Eagles – presumably expecting Polk to play an even more significant part on the offense in 2015 – assigned him a $1.542MM RFA tender.
Later in March, however, the Eagles landed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews to go along with Sproles, creating a back log on the running back depth chart. If the team hadn’t rescinded Polk’s RFA offer, he would have had to sign an offer sheet with another club by today. Philadelphia’s decision to withdraw the offer allows Polk to hit the unrestricted FA market without potential suitors having to worry that the Eagles might match their offers.
East Notes: Jennings, Eagles, Cowboys
When Greg Jennings reached a contract agreement with the Dolphins earlier this week, we learned almost immediately that it was a two-year, $8MM pact. Now, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports has a breakdown of the specifics. Per Marvez (Twitter link), the wideout’s deal features a $3MM signing bonus, base salaries of $900K (2015) and $3.9MM (2016), and annual workout bonuses of $100K. That means Jennings’ cap hit for this season should be $2.5MM before jumping to $5.5MM in ’15.
According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter), before the Vikings released Jennings, they offered him a pay cut to $4MM, plus $3MM in incentives. However, that offer didn’t include any guarantees, so it makes sense that the veteran would elect to hit the open market instead.
Here are a few more Friday morning items out of the NFL’s East divisions:
- UConn cornerback Byron Jones, who has already visited the Eagles and has been cited as a potential target for the club, is working out for Philadelphia’s brain trust this morning, tweets Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net. According to Pauline, Huskies wideout Geremy Davis and defensive tackle B.J. McBryde are also participating in the Eagles’ workout.
- The Cowboys are working out Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney today, per Pauline, who notes (via Twitter) that the club is sending a defensive line coach to attend the workout.
- Even if they expect Greg Hardy to have to serve his full 10-game suspension, the Cowboys aren’t likely to elevate pass rusher above running back or cornerback when it comes to their draft needs, writes David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.
- Washington is sending its defensive staff to Macon, Georgia to meet with University of Kentucky edge rusher Bud Dupree on Monday, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
- Florida defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. told Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio (on Twitter) that the Giants called him Thursday night to chat as a part of their pre-draft process. The Giants pick at No. 9, but Fowler could very well be gone by that point.
- In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Field Yates identifies five general managers who need a strong draft in 2015, lest they find themselves in hot water after the season. Bills GM Doug Whaley tops Yates’ list.
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.
Eagles VP On Mariota, Kelly, Draft
In a chat with reporters earlier today, Eagles V.P. of player personnel Ed Marynowitz did his best to downplay talk that they could move up from No. 20 to No. 2.
“Philosophically, we are opposed to ‘mortgaging the future’ was Chip’s term,” Marynowitz said (via PhiladelphiaEagles.com). “Really, the way we look at it is draft picks — every draft pick you have is an opportunity to improve your football team. So the more opportunities we have to improve our team, we’re excited about that. So I’d rather have more picks than less picks. I think Chip shares the same philosophy. That doesn’t preclude us from moving up and doing something. I think you never say never. But, philosophically, we have eight picks and we’d like to pick eight players or more, not less.”
While we wait to see whether Marcus Mariota is in the Eagles’ plans, let’s check out some of the highlights from Marynowitz’s presser with the local media:
On how he quantifies “mortgaging the future”
I think there is an internal number on that that we’re not going to share outside the building, but we know what mortgaging the future is internally.
On how Chip Kelly defined his role upon hiring him
We just kind of had a conversation, and I just told him I’m here to support the head coach. It’s my belief in terms of our philosophy that everybody in the organization is here to support his vision. So my responsibility and my role is to do it in the player personnel area, no different than Derek’s (Eagles Director of Public Relations Derek Boyko) responsibility is to do it in the media realm. So I just told Chip that I’m here to support him and his vision. That doesn’t mean I’m going to agree with Chip. I know that’s a common thing that everybody throws out: ‘Is this guy just a yes man and do you agree?’ I’m never one to agree just to agree. To support the head coach, I don’t believe you have to tell him he’s right in everything that he says. You’re not going to disagree to disagree either. But I’ve never been afraid to voice my opinion.
Marynowitz mentioned wide receiver, corner and offensive line as three positions of strength in the draft and the Eagles lost players or released players in all three of those areas. Is that coincidence?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence. We can’t control some of the depth of the draft at each position. Certainly it’s a good opportunity that there is depth at those positions, but in terms of perceived need or what those are, again, we’re just kind of looking to acquire really good players at all spots, but we’re excited there is an opportunity.
On this year being yet another poor draft class for safeties
I think the safety position, or the traditional safety position, is a little bit of a dying breed. You don’t see as much of the true box-down safeties anymore. It’s becoming more of a pass happy, spread league and the majority of the guys with size and length are playing corner now. I mean, there is certainly an affinity for those guys to cover the big wideouts now. So a lot of those guys, especially the ones that we look for, we’re looking for guys that can cross-train and maybe play both. The way we play our safeties, we like those guys to be able to roll down and play slot coverage. In order to play man coverage, they have to have the athleticism to do that. Typically, the traditional box-safeties don’t have that.