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Jihad Ward

South Notes: Saints, Falcons, Colts, Ward

April 27th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis spoke to reporters today about his team’s draft plans, and took the opportunity to take a shot at one reporter who wasn’t involved in the presser. After Ian Rapoport of NFL.com suggested earlier this week that the Saints had a discussion about trading up to No. 1 before the Rams acquired the pick, Loomis said today that his club had “absolutely no conversations” with any teams at the top of the draft (Twitter link via Evan Woodbery of the New Orleans Times-Picayune). “Another miss by that reporter,” Loomis added.

It’s not the first time Loomis has been dismissive of a Rapoport report — last January, he asserted that Rapoport “has about a 30% accuracy rate if you pay attention to things he puts out there.” As I wrote when Rapoport first tweeted about the Saints’ talks for the No. 1 pick, it’s not clear whether he was suggesting the team actually spoke to the Titans about a deal, or simply had an internal discussion about the idea of moving up. Either way though, Loomis’ comments today confirm that New Orleans never seriously considered the possibility at all.

Let’s round up a few more items from across the NFL’s South divisions…

  • Loomis did confirm today that the Saints were in the mix for Josh Norman before the standout cornerback ended up in Washington. “We made a strong offer,” the Saints GM said (Twitter link via Woodbery).
  • The Saints are considered likely to select a quarterback at some point in this draft, and Loomis didn’t dispute that notion, telling reporters that his team looks into QB prospects every year. “I don’t see [this year] as being dramatically different,” Loomis said (Twitter link via Woodbery).
  • While it remains to be seen which player the Falcons will draft in the first round, the team appears prepared to stand pat at No. 17, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who says the Falcons have no plans to trade down.
  • Colts general manager Ryan Grigson and head coach Chuck Pagano had dinner with Illinois defensive lineman Jihad Ward last night, a source tells Ian Rapoport (Twitter link).

NFC Draft Updates: Eagles, Hackenberg, Ifedi

April 7th, 2016 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

A report last Thursday indicated that Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg had a workout lined up with the Eagles this week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that it will happen tomorrow.

As Rapoport notes, Philadelphia is taking a look at all of the top QB prospects in this year’s draft class, so the club will be an interesting one to keep an eye on in three weeks. While some observers are convinced that new head coach Doug Pederson and the Eagles will take a signal-caller early, others believe it’s just a smoke-screen.

As we wait to see exactly what Pederson, Howie Roseman, and Co. have up their sleeves, let’s check in on some other draft updates from around the NFC….

  • We heard on Wednesday that Texas A&M tackle Germain Ifedi has a busy schedule of pre-draft visits and workouts. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle adds a couple more teams to the list of potential suitors for Ifedi, tweeting that the Vikings are hosting him for a visit and Seahawks assistant Tom Cable is working him out.
  • Ohio State safety Vonn Bell has a visit with the Rams on tap for early next week, per Rand Getlin of the NFL Network (Twitter link).
  • Jihad Ward of Illinois has 12 pre-draft visits lined up with teams, and is meeting with the Cardinals, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. Ward transitioned from receiver/safety to the defensive line during his time as a JUCO player. In his first year with Illinois (his junior season), he recorded 51 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and four fumble recoveries.
  • Wisconsin safety Michael Caputo visited Washington today, Aaron Wilson tweets.
  • The Seahawks are slated to work out BYU flex tight end Terenn Houk, tweets Aaron Wilson.

Zach Links contributed to this post.