HEADLINES

Damore’ea Stringfellow

Dolphins Sign 14 UDFAs

May 5th, 2017 at 4:46pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Dolphins announced the signings of 14 undrafted free agents Friday. Here’s the list:

Chad Kelly Not Invited To Draft Combine

February 15th, 2017 at 1:52pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL invited upwards of 300 players to this year’s draft combine in Indianapolis, but Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly and Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon were not among those on the list. Kelly was not invited to the NFL combine based on off-field issues, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. The same presumably goes for Mixon after video surfaced of him striking a woman.

In accordance with rules passed by the NFL last year, players with felony or misdemeanor convictions are not permitted to attend the combine. All players who wish to participate must submit to a background check. If a player’s background check unearths any conviction involving violence, he is turned away.Chad Kelly (vertical)

After suffering a a torn ACL and lateral meniscus in the fall, it’s not certain that Kelly would have been able to participate in combine drills even if he was invited. If Kelly is healthy enough to work out between now and late April, it’s a good bet that he’ll be able to get interested teams to watch him up close. That will go a long way towards dictating where Kelly might go in the draft. Recently, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller wrote that Kelly is “still an intriguing quarterback prospect in a bad overall class.” Meanwhile, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report heard back in November that the Ole Miss product was being viewed by evaluators as a Day 3 prospect.

We also have conflicting reports on Mixon. One area scout assigned to the Sooners told Albert Breer of The MMQB recently that he’s confident some team will weather the PR storm and draft him. Hours later, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted that Mixon is still undraftable in the eyes of many teams.

Other notable prospects left without invites include Kansas State linebacker Elijah Lee, Ole Miss wide receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow, Michigan offensive linemen Erik Magnuson and Kyle Kalis, Baylor receiver Ishmael Zamora, and Houston linebacker Steven Taylor.

Draft Notes: Garrett, Trubisky, Mixon

February 11th, 2017 at 10:00am CST by Ben Levine

Myles Garrett is a candidate to picked first-overall in the upcoming draft, but the Texas A&M defensive end is hoping a specific team with a late first-rounder will make a deal to select him. In a video published on ESPN.com, Garrett urged Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to make a deal to acquire the talented defensive lineman.

“I’m speaking to you, Jerry,” Garrett said (via Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com). “Mr. [coach Jason] Garrett, make it happen. Dak Prescott is leading our team right now. I need you to take Tony Romo, take a couple picks and give them to Cleveland so you can pick me up. Please. I’d love to play in Dallas. Just make it happen.”

Of course, following those comments, Garrett had to backtrack and clarify that he’d be fine being selected by the Browns with the top pick in the draft.

“People might say they’re this, they’re that or I made a comment about cold weather and they kind of put it toward Cleveland,” Garrett explained. “It doesn’t matter to me. I’ll play wherever they put me, and it’s about your mindset. If you go out there with a mindset that you’re going to turn things around, you can make that contagious and people start to believe in it, you can turn into a winning program wherever you go.”

Let’s take a look at some other notes pertaining to this year’s draft class…

  • While Alabama’s Cam Robinson and Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk were previously considered to be the best offensive tackles in the draft, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller believes Utah lineman Garett Bolles is now the top prospect at the position. While the 24-year-old’s age may hurt his draft stock, Miller points to Robinson’s lack of production and Ramczyk’s injury concerns as reasons why Bolles could be the first offensive tackle selected. In fact, the writer believes the Utah lineman could be taken in the first 10 or 15 picks.
  • While there are questions regarding the top quarterback prospect in this year’s draft, one general manager told Miller that UNC signal-caller Mitch Trubisky is “a top-five lock.” While Trubisky is competing with Deshaun Watson and DeShone Kizer to be the first quarterback selected, Miller believes most teams regard the UNC product as the top prospect at the position.
  • Alex Marvez of The Sporting News points out (via Twitter) that only 16 quarterbacks were invited to this year’s NFL Scouting Combine. There are generally 19 or 20 signal-callers who participate in the event, and Marvez believes the low numbers are indicative of the “projected quality at the position.”
  • Despite some recent talk to the contrary, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) says that many teams already view Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon as undraftable. The offensive weapon certainly has the skill, as he finished this past season with 1,274 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on only 187 carries. Of course, troubling off-the-field issues have clouded Mixon’s draft status.
  • Ole Miss wide receiver Damore’ea Stringfellow was not invited to the combine, reports Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (via Twitter). Stringfellow pleaded guilty to assault following a 2014 altercation, and he was also charged with disorderly conduct in early 2015. The wideout finished this past season with 46 catches for 716 yards.

Zach Links contributed to this post.