Extra Points: Browns, Chargers, Rams, Bills
The Browns may want to think twice about who they select with the top-overall pick. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com that the organization would be making a giant mistake if they pass on Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“I’m just telling you if they pass on Deshaun Watson, they’re passing on Michael Jordan,” Swinney said. “I’m just telling you. I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about. I’m just an old funky college coach. (But) Deshaun Watson is the best — by a long shot.”
Swinney also said Watson would be a perfect fit for Browns head coach Hue Jackson.
“It would be awesome,” he said. “It would be easy and he’ll figure that out. It will be the easiest player he’s ever coached. I’m sure he’s coached some good ones and so I have I, but he’s simple. Very low-maintenance, humble, same guy every day and always ready. He comes to every meeting prepared. That’s how you change things. You change a culture — for me it’s through discipline and recruiting and staffing and all of that stuff. For them, it’s decision-making. It’s who you pick.”
Let’s check out some other notes from around the NFL…
- For those wondering whether the Chargers would ever return to San Diego, owner Dean Spanos all but squashed those theories today. “That’s not even a consideration,” Spanos told Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News. “There’s no looking back. We’re moving forward.”
- The Rams are likely adding Aaron Kromer to their staff as the new offensive line coach, reports ESPN.com’s Alden Gonzalez. Kromer has spent 11 seasons as an offensive line coach, most recently in Buffalo. The long-time coach also served as the Bears offensive coordinator from 2013 through 2014. As Gonzalez notes, the Rams used seven draft picks on offensive linemen between 2014 and 2015.
- The 49ers never formally requested to interview Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, coach John Fox told Rich Campbell of The Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Fangio will instead be sticking in Chicago, and Campbell expects him to be “heavily involved” in coaching the team’s outside linebackers. The team is without an outside linebackers coach after losing Clint Hurtt to the Seahawks.
- The Bills have hired Chad Hall as an offensive assistant, reports Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The former Eagles wideout will join David Culley and Juan Castillo on coach Sean McDermott‘s staff.
AFC North Notes: Browns, Bell, Ravens
Browns coaches represent one of the two staffs summoned to instruct sides at the Senior Bowl, and the team made a specific request. The Browns asked Deshaun Watson to play in the Senior Bowl only to see the Clemson quarterback pass on the opportunity, Peter King of TheMMQB.com reports.
Despite being a junior, Watson was eligible for the game due to having graduated early. Neither of his potential first-round peers, Mitch Trubisky and DeShone Kizer, are eligible to compete in the top college all-star game. Watson would have played for the South team, which the Browns’ staff is instructing. Bears coaches are leading the North squad. The Browns have been linked to both Watson and Trubisky recently, but the latest report coming out of Cleveland pointed to the Browns eyeing Watson with their No. 12 overall pick. The direct communication with the dual-threat passer certainly points to this interest.
“There are going to be other guys that are not participating either, so I won’t hold it against him,” Jackson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. He’s still a draftable player. … Obviously, we wish he were here. It would’ve been a great chance to have an opportunity to evaluate him doing the things we do in meetings and on the practice field.”
Here’s more from Cleveland and other AFC North cities.
- Multiple key Browns assistants are no longer in the picture, with the team firing Ray Horton and watching Pep Hamilton follow former boss Jim Harbaugh to Michigan. The team went with a big name in filling its DC vacancy with Gregg Williams but did not take the same route to fill Hamilton’s role, promoting tight ends coach Greg Seamon to quarterbacks coach, Cabot reports. Seamon followed Hue Jackson from Cincinnati to Cleveland in 2016 after spending 12 years with the Bengals but has a longer history with the coach. Seamon coached Jackson while serving as offensive coordinator at the University of Pacific in the mid-1980s.
- The Browns are also shifting Mark Hutson from assistant offensive line coach to tight ends coach, Cabot reports. Prior to arriving in Cleveland last year, Hutson’s only previous NFL coaching job came in overseeing the Raiders’ tight ends from 2012-14.
- Le’Veon Bell said he injured his groin prior to the AFC championship game, Barry Wilner of the Associated Press notes. The franchise tag candidate played just 11 snaps against the Patriots in the Steelers‘ 36-17 loss. He declined to say when exactly he injured his groin this season but acknowledged he didn’t feel right during warm-ups.
- The Ravens won’t be able to afford Ricky Wagner if the hype surrounding the UFA right tackle continues to build, Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun writes. Pro Football Focus’ Cris Collinsworth listed Wagner as his No. 1 under-the-radar free agent, and NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal recently said he could fetch as much as $10MM per year. That would be quite the raise considering only one tackle, Lane Johnson, averages more than $7MM AAV. But Zreibec sees too many needs for the Ravens to go that high to retain Wagner.
- Zreibec identifies Mike Wallace, Elvis Dumervil, Lardarius Webb and Jeremy Zuttah as potential Ravens cap cuts. Having missed the playoffs three times in a four-year span for the first time since the 2004-07 stretch, Baltimore is projected to have barely $15MM in cap room before any cuts occur. Zreibec expects several veterans to be released. The Ravens can save more than $11MM by cutting both Dumervil and Webb.
Browns Zeroing In On Deshaun Watson At 12?
The Browns could be hoping to land the draft’s No. 1 prospect and address a gargantuan need with both of their first-round picks in the upcoming draft. Cleveland is enamored with Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson but not with the No. 1 overall pick, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report notes. Instead, the Browns are eyeing the national champion signal-caller with the second of their two first-round selections.
Cleveland, of course, holds the No. 1 overall pick but may be hoping to grab both Myles Garrett and Watson in Round 1. A GM and multiple scouts point to the Browns’ brass planning a potential Watson pick at No. 12, the selection they obtained from the Eagles as part of the teams’ Carson Wentz-fronted deal last year.
Connected to multiple quarterbacks — with a previous report pointing to a potential homecoming for Cleveland-area product Mitch Trubisky — and Garrett, the Browns are becoming difficult to pin down thus far, especially after their showing in last year’s draft. Cleveland traded out of its first-round window on multiple occasions to stockpile picks yet passed on the draft’s top two quarterbacks in Jared Goff and Wentz before ultimately taking Cody Kessler in the third round. Miller notes the Browns may have seen something in Watson they did not in the coveted 2016 passers.
While quarterbacks’ stocks generally rise in the months between the season and the draft due to the scarcity of high-end talent at the position, Miller writes the Browns might not have to trade up for Watson. That runs counter to most drafts, but ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper Jr. doesn’t have Watson in the top 25 on his big board (ESPN Insider link). The longtime draft guru does project the two-time Heisman finalist going to the Bills at No. 10 in his initial 2017 mock draft (Insider link), so it’s far from certain Watson would fall out of the top 10 in order for the Browns to select him without trading up.
Draft Notes: QBs, Browns, Alabama
Thanks in part to his heroics this past Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, outgoing Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson‘s draft stock is soaring, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN. After Watson completed 36 of 56 passes for 420 yards and four touchdowns (one rushing) in Clemson’s 35-31 win over Alabama, two NFL personnel directors and one general manager informed Schefter that the 21-year-old will go in the top half of the first round this spring. All regard Watson as a soon-to-be top 10 pick, and it’s possible he’ll go to the Browns at No. 1 overall.
“He struggled some in midseason, so everyone got off him,” said a personnel director. “But these last couple of weeks, he’s skyrocketing up to the top 10 picks, with the two playoff game wins. Now people are going to say, ‘Wait a minutes, he’s played Alabama the past couple of years really well, he won a national championship, he can be a Mariota, he can be a [Dak] Prescott, great character, great kid.’ People will not want to miss him. I think he’s definitely going in the top 10.”
A bit more on Cleveland and the draft:
- While the Browns also own the 12th pick in the draft, odds are they’ll have to take a quarterback at No. 1 – be it Watson, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky or Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer – if they like him enough, several draft experts and talent evaluators told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “A lot of teams need quarterbacks and they will overvalue them and reach,” an NFL personnel executive said. In assessing the three signal-callers, a talent evaluator opined, “[Watson] was very impressive in that game and has a special skill set. Accuracy is always a concern. His body of work makes him safer than Trubisky, but Trubisky has a big upside. Kizer is solid, but I don’t think he’s ready to play right away. Watson appears to be the only one who could hold his own right now.” The Browns reportedly “love” Trubisky, but taking him, Watson or Kizer would mean passing on Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett – with whom they’re also smitten.
- Alabama offensive tackle Cam Robinson, wide receiver ArDarius Stewart and cornerback Marlon Humphrey each declared for the draft Friday. CBS Sports ranks Robinson as the 12th-best player in this year’s class and the top tackle in a weak crop. Humphrey isn’t far behind (No. 15), while the outlet projects Stewart to go in the second round.
- Another Alabama product, edge rusher Tim Williams, is likely to slip out of the first round because of Randy Gregory-esque issues with substances (marijuana, to be exact), according to Charlie Champbell of WalterFootball.com. Like Gregory, whom the NFL handed a one-year suspension earlier this month (already the third ban of his two-year career), Williams has several failed drug tests to his name. Williams picked up 18.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss during his final two years at Alabama, but similarly excellent college production wasn’t enough for Gregory (16.5 sacks, 26.5 TFL) to go in Round 1 in 2015. It seems Williams’ case will be a repeat this year.
Draft Notes: Mixon, Trubisky, Fournette
Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon was/is thinking about entering the 2017 draft, but since the video of him striking a woman has been released, GMs around the league have told people close to him that he won’t get drafted, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com writes. Beyond that, they say there’s even a chance he won’t be signed as a free agent and he may not even get a combine invite if he declares. At this point, Pauline says he should return to OU – if that’s even an option for him.
Just two weeks ago, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report heard that teams were “softening” on Mixon and the first round was still in reach for him. Apparently, teams are changing their tune after viewing the video.
Here’s a look at the latest draft news:
- In a weak quarterback class, UNC’s Mitch Trubisky is the only first round lock, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (video link) hears. That means other QBs like Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer could slide to Day 2. Some scouts are saying that this is the worst crop of quarterbacks since the 2013 draft.
- Running back Leonard Fournette announced (Twitter link) that he has signed on with Roc Nation for representation. The Jay-Z branded agency has been steadily gaining ground in the NFL and the LSU star is their latest big get. Fournette declared for the draft earlier this month and started a minor controversy when he announced that he will be skipping LSU’s bowl game in order to protect his injured ankle. Fournette is widely projected to be a top ten pick this year and two anonymous evaluators recently opined that he is a better talent than Todd Gurley.
- Antonio Garcia of Troy and Martinas Rankin of Mississippi State are two offensive tackles to watch in this year’s draft, Pauline writes. Several teams grade Garcia as one of the top three tackles in this year’s class, with one team believing he’s the best tackle from the senior group. Rankin, meanwhile, still has a year of eligibility, but teams feel that he’ll be a Top 75 pick if he declares. So far this year, he has lined up against seven potential top 75 prospects and he allowed only 1.5 sacks.
Albert Breer On Schwartz, Mayfield, Watson
After a solid start, the Eagles defense has slipped over the past few weeks. They have allowed an average of 28 points in the last three games and that’s not a great reflection on defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Still, he remains a hot coaching candidate, Albert Breer of The MMQB writes.
Schwartz’ head coaching candidacy could be swayed by how things go over the next month. Next up for the Eagles is a intra-divisional showdown with the Redskins and that’s an offense that can put up some points against Philadelphia. Things get a little bit easier after that with games against the Ravens (17th in the NFL in total yards) and Giants (26th), but they close the regular season out against Dallas (4th).
Here’s a look at some more highlights from Breer’s column:
- The Rams recently gave extensions to coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead, but the two men aren’t getting along very well in L.A., Breer hears.
- Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has had a bizarre journey through the collegiate ranks that has led him to being named a Heisman finalist for the 2016 season. Can he continue to succeed at the next level despite having a skill set that isn’t necessarily geared towards the NFL? “He’s got another year (of eligibility) and all signs point to him returning, but he should probably think about that,” said one area scout assigned to the Sooners. “In a weak quarterback class, he could sneak up there where you wind up saying, ‘Oh wow, I can’t believe he went there!’ Normal year, he’s a late-round guy. But he throws a nice deep ball, he’s mobile and can extend plays, he’s shifty and tough and competitive as hell. He’s impressed me. You wanna say he’s a poor man’s (Johnny) Manziel because of how he makes plays, but Johnny was a lot more talented. But Baker has developed as a passer, he’s developed his fundamentals and mechanics, and he’s an interesting one to look at.” Mayfield’s best comp might be Chase Daniel, a career backup who was valued enough to score a lucrative free agent deal from Philly this offseason. He may never be a starter, but he could be worth a later-round pick given that some backups earn $5MM/year or more. The Sooner QB had 3,669 yards and 38 touchdowns through the air plus six rushing scores during the regular season.
- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has garnered draft buzz, but his stock has fallen to the point where he is just the No. 3 QB in this year’s draft behind North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer (assuming all three go pro). Watson has completed a high percentage of his passes over the last couple of months, but scouts are growing increasingly concerned about his playing style. “He’s a heck of college player, and he’s a great kid,” said one NFC exec. “He’s thrown for a ton of yards. But for the pro game, it’s tricky with quarterback. He’s not great reading defenses, and you see him force the ball at times. And if the first read isn’t there, you see his first instinct’s to run. And you can see it, in how his eyes come down. That’ll be a problem in the league. In the pocket, you have to slide and move and buy time. All the great ones have pocket presence. And we just haven’t seen it from him.”
Miller’s Latest: Walker, Watson, Trubisky, Kizer
When reports surfaced earlier this week that defensive tackle Charles Walker would leave Oklahoma immediately in order to prepare for the 2017 draft, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report predicted that the move wouldn’t be well-received by NFL front offices, which already had reason to doubt Walker’s work ethic. In the days since, Miller has spoken with scouts and coaches around the league, and opinions have certainly not changed.
“We’ll put up with a lot of s–t, but not quitters,” one NFL man told Miller. “Talk to anyone [at OU] and they’ll tell you he’s not even hurt,” said another. “He doesn’t want to get hit anymore.” While Miller cautioned that some NFL staffers might have different views, every observer he talked to shared the same outlook. However, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com recently reported that other scouts/coaches might believe that Walker chose the correct path, especially given that he recently suffered the third concussion of his collegiate career.
Let’s take a look at the other highlights from Miller’s notebook, which — as always — is well worth a full read:
- A “longtime NFL GM” reached out to Miller to discuss the 2017 quarterback class, and the former executive offered some interesting observations on the top signal-callers. Clemson’s Deshaun Watson‘s size worries the ex-GM, who compared him to Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The exec also put forth concerns about UNC’s Mitch Trubisky, but was more complementary of Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, predicting he “could be the one we all fall in love with between now and April.” Meanwhile, the former GM called Miami’s Brad Kaaya — whom the Bears are already researching — the “smartest of the crop.”
- Miller posed several questions to an AFC scout, whose most insightful responses were on the topic of domestic violence. Some scouts — such as the one in question — have a hardline stance toward DV, but the staffer admitted that the risk versus reward debate takes place higher up the organizational hierarchy. A team’s owner, general manager, or head coach may be more willing to accept a player with domestic violence background if he is extremely talented, meaning such a decision is more likely to be made on a first-round prospect.
- Alabama’s defense figures to boast several first-round draft picks, but at least one NFL scout isn’t a fan of cornerback Marlon Humphrey, per Miller. “I think he’s overrated,” said the evaluator. “You guys don’t see how stiff he is or that he can’t turn and run.”
Clemson Stars To Enter Draft
A pair of Clemson stars are expected to enter the 2017 NFL draft. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney announced yesterday that quarterback Deshaun Watson and receiver Mike Williams will be honored during this weekend’s Senior Day, an indication that the two players are scheduled to graduate in December. Two other Clemson juniors, running back Wayne Gallman and wideout Artavis Scott, are also expected to graduate this winter.
“They are seniors. Those guys indicated to me back in the summer that this was going to be it for them and they were graduating in December,” Swinney said (via Matt Connolly of TheState.com). “All of those guys are planning on moving on. We definitely want to honor them while we have the opportunity. They’ve earned it.”
Watson and Williams will be of particular interest to NFL teams, as the pair of offensive weapons are both projected to be first-round picks. Watson has connected on 64.4-percent of his passes this season, throwing for 2,497 yards and 24 touchdowns through nine games. The speedy third-year player has also rushed for 370 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A recent mock draft by Rob Rang of CBSSports.com projected Watson to go third overall to the Bears.
After having appeared in only one game in 2015, Williams has bounced back nicely this season. The wideout has hauled in 52 catches for 754 yards and five
touchdowns. Rang had Williams as the second wideout off the board (behind Washington’s John Ross), going 13th to the Chargers.
The other two offensive weapons are a bit tougher to project, as Connolly predicts Gallman and Scott will go in the third and fourth round, respectively. Gallman has run for 634 yards and eight scores this season, averaging a robust 5.3 yards per carry.
“Wayne is definitely ready. He’s going to make a great, great NFL player for somebody,” Swinney said. “People have no idea what they’re getting in that guy. He is something special.”
Meanwhile, Scott has 38 catches for 329 yards and three touchdowns. The wideout led the 2015 Tigers with 93 catches for 901 yards and six touchdowns.
“This is one of the best football players we’ve had come to Clemson since I’ve been here. He is a great football player that just happens to play wide receiver,” Swinney said. “This kid is dynamite and so dependable, tough, hard to tackle, great special teams guy, fast. … He’s going to be a great pro. There’s no question he’s going to be a great player at the next level. He’s like the Swiss army knife. He’s got a lot of options.”
Mort & Schefter: Manziel, Hasselbeck, Martin
When Johnny Manziel takes the field for the Browns on Sunday, he won’t just be auditioning for Cleveland – he’ll be showing his stuff to every team who could want a QB in 2016, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com write. One prominent team executive tells the ESPN duo that he’s not optimistic about the impression Manziel can make on the Browns’ front office given the cast around him.
“He would almost have to be spectacular and the Browns win games we don’t expect them to win. And even then, to what extent has [Manziel] burned bridges there where no matter what he does, either the present regime or the next regime will still be looking for another guy?” the executive said.
Here’s more from their column:
- Two GMs say that if 40-year-old Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has the desire to play another season, he will have an opportunity to be one of the more valued free agents on the open market. Hasselbeck obviously isn’t going to get a $100MM deal, but a deal paying him as much as $5MM to serve as a backup for a contender makes sense. One GM even suggested it was short-sighted to look at Hasselbeck as simply a mentor for a team with a young quarterback. He said Hasselbeck also would be ideal for an established quarterback who is going through a coordinator change.
- Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, and Alabama running back Derrick Henry are this year’s frontrunners for the Heisman trophy and the ESPN duo spoke with NFL personnel people to get their evaluations of their NFL futures. Henry, who will be eligible for the 2016 draft, has drawn comparisons to Eddie George (though perhaps without the same upside) and one exec sees him as a top 20 pick. Watson and McCaffrey both have upside as well, but they will not be eligible until 2017.
- It would not be surprising to see Mark Ingram‘s deal serve as a model for Doug Martin‘s before free agency this winter, Mort and Schef write. After seeing his fifth-year option declined, Ingram inked a four-year, $16MM deal with the Saints last offseason that included $7.6MM guaranteed. Now in a similar spot, the Bucs have made it known that they want to retain Martin.