Giants Schedule Pre-Draft Visits With QBs, RB Saquon Barkley
The Giants plan to meet with the draft’s top four quarterbacks — USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen — next week, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, New York will also used one of its 30 allotted pre-draft visits on Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Provided the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, the Giants will have their choice of three signal-callers, Barkley, offensive lineman Quenton Nelson, or edge rusher Bradley Chubb with the second pick. While New York intends to deploy veteran Eli Manning as its starting quarterback once again in 2018, the club could use this opportunity to find its passer of the future.
But Barkley would likely give the Giants a better chance to win in the near-term, as Big Blue’s running back depth chart is currently uninspiring. At present, New York has veteran Jonathan Stewart, plus recent draft picks Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins, at running back, but Barkley would immediately take over as the club’s starter if drafted.
Draft Rumors: Browns, Allen, Jets, Giants
Baker Mayfield will be the first of the big four passers to visit the Browns. The Oklahoma product is flying into Cleveland on Monday night to begin his visit, one that will last through Tuesday as well, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports. Josh Allen‘s meeting at Browns headquarters in Berea, Ohio, will commence on Wednesday, Cabot reports, and Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold are coming in shortly after that. Three of these powwows are expected to be completed by the end of this week, with Cabot reporting one may occur early next week. Hue Jackson said last week he is “very close” to determining which of these QBs will be his preference going into the draft. The Browns are widely expected to select a quarterback at No. 1 overall. John Dorsey said he wants these QBs to visit consecutively to allow for easier comparisons between them.
Mayfield will visit the Giants and Jets next week, and both he and Rosen are meeting with seven teams. The only difference between these prospects’ schedules thus far is the Dolphins have not arranged a Rosen meetup, while the Chargers have, and the Bolts are not known to have set up a Mayfield summit.
Here’s more out of Cleveland and some other NFL cities as draft month begins.
- Jets representatives will fly to Wyoming to work out Allen this week, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (Twitter link), before the 6-foot-5 signal-caller visits their Florham Park, N.J., facility shortly after. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports the Jets meeting will take place early this week as well. The Jets have been connected to Allen for months and were rumored to be planning a workout soon.
- The Allen/Browns connection should not be dismissed, Rapoport notes (video link). Citing a source who’s known Dorsey for a long time, the new Cleveland GM has long preferred big-armed passers. Patrick Mahomes qualifies as the latest such investment, and although the former NFL linebacker was not a high-ranking Packers exec when they traded for Brett Favre in 1992, Dorsey was a scout for Green Bay at the time. He was with the Packers as their director of college scouting when the team made the Aaron Rodgers pick in 2005. Alex Smith is the outlier, but the Chiefs held the No. 1 pick in a 2013 draft that was not flush with quarterback upside. Allen is viewed as the top arm talent in this draft.
- Should the Browns make this decision and bring Allen to northeast Ohio, the expectation is the Giants will draft Darnold. Surveying various executives and scouts, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tweets every one of them said the Giants would take Darnold if Allen goes to the Browns. Dave Gettleman has not been as direct as Dorsey and Jackson have about the position his team is targeting in Round 1, and it’s not certain the Giants are going to draft a quarterback despite theirs having recently turned 37.
- Lamar Jackson will not count toward one of the Dolphins‘ 30 visits since he went to high school in the Miami area, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. The Dolphins have not been linked to a Jackson meeting just yet, but they were on hand at the Louisville phenom’s pro day. And since a meeting will be fairly easy to set up, it’s likely the Fins will host the dual-threat passer.
- Hayden Hurst will visit the Jaguars on Tuesday, Rapoport tweets. Rated by many as the top tight end in this year’s class, the South Carolina product will meet with a team that just released one of its cornerstone players in Marcedes Lewis. Jacksonville has been busy at this position this offseason, agreeing to deals with Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Niles Paul. But the team looks to be exploring the notion of further investing at tight end with the No. 29 overall pick.
Draft Rumors: Patriots, Jets, Darnold, TEs
Despite using second- and third-round draft choices on quarterbacks in recent years, the Patriots are still reaping the benefits of their 2000 sixth-round investment. But with Tom Brady going into his age-41 season, Robert Kraft knows quarterback plans have to be front and center now that Jimmy Garoppolo is out of the picture. The owner said the team has to think about drafting another passer this year.
“I’m going to put my fan hat on, and obviously at some point we have to,” Kraft said (via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com) regarding how high of a priority finding a quarterback in this draft is. “Not just that, but think what happened in the ’08 season when in the first quarter against Kansas City, Tom goes out. How many people would have said that Matt Cassel would have led us to an 11-5 season?
“I put my faith and confidence in Bill (Belichick). He knows his responsibilities. Anything can happen, even if Tom comes in (and is in) tip-top shape.”
Brian Hoyer is under contract for two more seasons on a three-year, $4.82MM deal. Both he and Brady’s contracts run through 2019.
Here’s the latest from the draft world as we begin draft month.
- Expected to select a quarterback at No. 3 overall, the Jets are going to be spending some key hours with prospects this month. They’ve already worked out Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield, and Mike Maccagnan has plans to arrange some for-Jets-eyes-only throwing for Josh Allen, Calvin Watkins of Newsday reports. However, the Jets GM does not plan to schedule a private workout for Sam Darnold. Maccagnan watched Darnold play in person at USC, when the Trojans faced Rosen’s UCLA Bruins in November, and attended his pro day. Nevertheless, it’s interesting the Jets won’t use every avenue they have to evaluate Darnold, even if he’s been the quarterback most closely connected to the Browns at No. 1. The Jets have been closely tied to Allen for months.
- Longtime Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer does not anticipate any Jets/Darnold prep work mattering, expecting the Browns to take the USC product at No. 1. She notes the team is close to settling on a consensus for what to do with that seminal selection. Hue Jackson said that process is winding down as well.
- It’s looking like South Carolina’s Hayden Hurst will be the first tight end selected in this year’s draft, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein notes. One NFL personnel man said it “wasn’t even close” between Hurst and the field, which also includes Penn State’s Mike Gesicki and South Dakota State’s Dallas Goedert. Zierlein writes Gesicki still has a chance to be a first-round pick after a take-notice Combine but adds it’s becoming clear TE-needy teams will gravitate toward Hurst, who is a top prospect despite catching just three touchdown passes with the Gamecocks in three seasons.
- It’s not outside the realm of possibility that four quarterbacks could go in the top four, should a team trade with the Browns and move into the No. 4 slot, but NFL.com’s Chad Reuter sees one of the passers being available by the time the Bears pick at No. 8. Reuter suggests the Saints as being the team that trades into that draft slot and selects Mayfield, nearly mirroring the move the Chiefs made (from No. 27 to No. 10) last year to take Patrick Mahomes. Mayfield’s 6-foot frame being similar to Drew Brees and his profile as a player who could use some developmental time would line up with the Saints, who would have to almost certainly surrender their 2019 first-rounder and then some to move from 27 to 8.
Jets Acquire No. 3 Pick From Colts
The Jets are moving up. The team has acquired the third-overall pick from the Colts (via Indy’s Twitter). In exchange, the Jets have sent Indy their first-rounder (No. 6) a pair of upcoming seconds (No. 37 and No. 49), and a 2019 second-round pick.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Jets “explored all options,” including the possibility of adding the top-overall pick from the Browns. Meanwhile, the Colts heard offers from several teams, but they ultimately felt good about the package they received from the Jets.
The general consensus seems to be that the Jets will ultimately use their new pick to take a quarterback. By acquiring the selection, the organization is assuring that they can take one of the top prospects in the draft, a list that includes Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Baker Mayfield. Of course, choosing a quarterback with the third pick will only complicate the Jets’ quarterback plans heading into 2018.
Assuming they take a quarterback in the draft, the team will clearly be leaning on the youngster to lead the organization in the future. However, for at least next season, the Jets would likely turn to veteran Josh McCown for the starting gig. After re-signing McCown earlier this week, the organization reportedly told the signal-caller that he’ll be their starter next season. The Jets also added Teddy Bridgewater, and they’re rostering Bryce Petty, Christian Hackenberg, and Joel Stave. At least two of those latter three quarterbacks will be let go prior to the season.
In recent years, we’ve seen several teams trade into a top-three selection in the draft. Last season, the Bears moved up to No. 2 and sent San Francisco No. 3, No. 67, and No. 111. In 2017, the Titans traded the No. 1 pick (along with No. 113 and No. 177) to the Rams for No. 15, No. 43, No. 45, and No. 76 (along with a first- and third-rounder in 2017). That same year, the Browns traded No. 2 (and a conditional fifth-rounder) to Philly for No. 8, No. 77, No. 100, a 2017 first-rounder, and a 2018 second-rounder.
What does this all mean? Well, it seems like both teams could justify the haul they gave up/received. According to ProFootballTalk.com’s “Draft Trade Chart,” Indy received solid value for the No. 3 pick. That selection was given a value of 2,200, and their new 2018 selections equal out to a 2,540 value (that also doesn’t account for the 2019 second-rounder). From that perspective, you could argue that the Colts won the trade. However, when you consider the trades from previous seasons, the Jets did an admirable job of not including an additional first-rounder in the package.
NFL Draft Rumors: Griffin, Lions, Jets
UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin did wonders for his draft stock by running a 4.38 second 40-yard-dash, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) reports. Griffin is getting considerable buzz in Indianapolis and one head coach remarked to Rapoport that Griffin may have put himself in consideration as a fourth-round pick. Teams were wary about Griffin’s ability to play at the next level because of his amputated left hand. They’re looking at him in a whole new light now, though Rapoport says that evaluators are now going back to the tape to see if Griffin plays as fast as he looked at the combine. Griffin’s 4.38 was the fastest recorded time for a linebacker at the combine in more than a decade.
Here’s more on the NFL Draft:
- Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, Boise State linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, and Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen are all on the rise after strong showings in the combine, Rapoport reports (on Twitter). Allen was once viewed as a second-tier QB in this year’s draft, behind USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen. There’s no longer a clear consensus on the order of this year’s top signal callers with talk that Allen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield are climbing boards league-wide.
- We’ve been hearing a lot about Vander Esch’s rise in particular in recent weeks. LVE’s 4.65 second 40-yard-dash was faster than expected and Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com hears that he could go as high as No. 14 when the Packers are called to the podium. Pauline’s understanding is that he won’t get past the Steelers at No. 28 and the Eagles, who pick at No. 32, have already come to the conclusion that he’ll be gone by then.
- Delaware defensive tackle Bilal Nichols is a name to watch for the Jets and Lions, according to Pauline. Nichols tweaked his hamstring during the 40-yard-dash and was unable to finish the drill, but he should be ready to go before his pro day on March 20.
Peter King On Browns, McCarron, Tannehill
Here’s the latest from Peter King of The MMQB:
- The Browns have four picks in the top 35 of this year’s draft, but coach Hue Jackson is still pushing for the team to acquire A.J. McCarron, King hears. If the team does go for McCarron in March, the plan would be for the team to also draft a rookie quarterback to be groomed behind him. The Browns, of course, nearly landed McCarron before last year’s trade deadline before a paperwork snag tanked the deal. One has to wonder if McCarron would be skeptical about the Browns’ level of commitment to him in such a scenario, particularly after seeing how Mike Glennon‘s arrangement worked out with the Bears. Then again, McCarron might be faced with a similar scenario with any team that shows interest him.
- It has been said that the Dolphins are committed to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, but King is not convinced after speaking with executives at the combine. Miami is look at QBs at No. 11 overall and several people who spoke with King believe they’ll select a signal caller there. Tannehill has missed the last 19 Dolphins games with back-to-back ACL tears.
- After speaking with several GMs, scouts, and coaches, this is King’s rough consensus for the top ten player’s in the draft: Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, USC quarterback Sam Darnold, North Carolina State edge rusher Bradley Chubb, Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, and Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith.
East Notes: Giants, Foles, Patriots
New Giants head coach Pat Shurmur and GM Dave Gettleman — in stark contract to their predecessors at this time last year — recognize that Big Blue needs to make significant improvements to its O-line in order to return to contention in 2018, as Paul Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Schwartz views the rapid improvement that the Vikings’ O-line made from 2016 to 2017, in large part due to heavy free agent and draft investment, as an indication that New York will be able to make a similar jump under Shurmur.
Justin Pugh and Weston Richburg are unrestricted free agents and there is no guarantee that either will be re-signed, John Jerry can be cut without many salary cap implications, and the new regime has no connection to Ereck Flowers, so the Giants’ line will be in for a major overhaul, and Schwartz thinks Shurmur is the right man to lead that change.
Now for more notes from the league’s east divisions:
- Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that Shurmur was able to retain Giants assistant offensive line coach Lunda Wells, who also garnered interest from the Raiders and other teams. New York will promote Wells to tight ends coach. In addition, the team is expected to retain RB coach Craig Johnson, per Schwartz (via Twitter).
- Carson Wentz believes he will be ready for the start of the 2018 season, which is already leading to speculation as to what the Eagles will do with Nick Foles, who has guided the team to a berth in Super Bowl LII in Wentz’s absence. Jimmy Kempski of the PhillyVoice says the team’s medical staff also believes Wentz will be available when Week 1 of the 2018 season rolls around, and Foles will count for $7.6MM against the cap in 2018, the last year of his current deal. Rather than let Foles leave in free agency after 2018, Kempski speculates that Philadelphia could trade Foles to a QB-needy team this offseason. Of course, the Eagles have the luxury of simply holding onto one of the best backups in the league if they do not get an offer they like.
- Patriots QB Tom Brady had an appointment earlier this week to remove the 12 stitches on his throwing hand that he played with in the AFC Championship Game last Sunday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Brady is expected to be fully healthy for Super Bowl LII.
- James Harrison has given the Patriots‘ defense a nice boost since joining the team on December 26, and the 39-year-old said he does not intend to retire at the end of the season. Per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Harrison says he may want to play for up to two more years.
- Assuming the Jets are not able to land Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold in this year’s draft, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com believes Gang Green would prefer Josh Allen over Baker Mayfield (Twitter link). Although Allen may be more raw than Rosen or Darnold, some believe he has the highest ceiling of any signal-caller in the draft.
Browns Notes: Allen, Mayfield, Thomas
Browns GM John Dorsey holds the No. 1 pick in the draft and he is considering a larger pool of players than you might expect. Speaking to reporters at the site of the Senior Bowl this week, Dorsey indicated that both Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Wyoming’s Josh Allen are in the mix.
“In 2013, I had the first pick in the draft with the Kansas City Chiefs, and there really wasn’t a quarterback prospect there,” Dorsey said (via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com). “Actually in this class there are four to five prospects that make you think at least are they worthy of that position. So now I think what you do is you let the process unfold.”
USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen, of course, are also believed to be in the running. It’s not immediately clear who the fifth player might be, if there is one.
Here’s more on the Browns:
- We’ve heard rumblings of rookie quarterbacks not wanting to go to the Browns in the past, but Allen says that he would embrace the opportunity to help engineer Cleveland’s comeback. “If I’m fortunate enough to become a Cleveland Brown, you can expect everything from me,” Allen told 92.3 The Fan. “I want to be the guy that turns around the Cleveland Browns. The guy that does that is going to be immortalized in Cleveland forever.”
- Tackle Joe Thomas, who is still undecided about whether he’ll play in 2018, endorsed the team’s decision to retain coach Hue Jackson in an essay for The MMQB. Thomas was also optimistic about what the future may hold for the Browns, citing the team’s cap room and draft capital. It’s possible that these factors will motivate Thomas to return, but he may also wait until we get closer to the start of free agency to announce his plans.
- On Wednesday, the Browns formally announced the hiring of former Pittsburgh play caller Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator.
AFC North Notes: Browns, Ravens, Bengals
The Browns have again landed the No. 1 pick, and after years of stalling, the franchise is expected to try its hand at a first-round quarterback again. But a third name might be creeping into the race alongside Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. projects (Insider link) Josh Allen to be the name called to go to Cleveland at No. 1, and a “high-level personnel executive” concurs. The NFL exec told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com he expects John Dorsey to take Allen at No. 1 overall, and this anonymous decision-maker likens the Wyoming product to a young Ben Roethlisberger. Although, Rosen and Darnold — prior to the workout season — are viewed as readier prospects to run an NFL offense. Cabot notes the same exec told her two years ago the Browns would be set up for 15 years if they were to take Carson Wentz. A three-quarterback pursuit for said No. 1 pick, coupled with the anticipated plethora of available passers on the free agency and trade markets, would make this one of the more interesting offseasons in modern NFL history.
Here’s the latest out of the AFC North:
- Ben McAdoo remains in the running for the Browns’ OC position, Cabot reports. Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan also interviewed for the post, but Cabot reports Ryan wants to call plays. She adds the Browns might not give him that opportunity due to a lack of experience doing so but notes McAdoo may get that chance since he’s done so previously. Mike Mularkey remains on the radar for this job as well, but Cabot notes he has yet to interview. ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported McAdoo is taking his time in making a decision about where he lands.
- The Browns finishing the process of hiring an OC without meeting with ex-Steelers play-caller Todd Haley would make for a big surprise, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets. Haley’s also been connected to the Jets’ OC job.
- Ravens officials believe the team has the makings of forming a “special” offensive line in the near future, and Jeff Zreibec of the Baltimore Sun expects the team to target a right tackle in the draft to round out the group. Zreibec writes a Round 1 choice on a tackle to complement 2016 first-rounder Ronnie Stanley shouldn’t be dismissed. The Ravens lost Marshal Yanda, Nico Siragusa and Alex Lewis to season-ending injuries, but Austin Howard graded out well at right tackle. Howard is under contract for the 2018 season, what would be his age-31 campaign, and it would cost the Ravens $2MM in dead money to jettison him.
- The Ravens are no stranger to accumulating compensatory picks, and Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap expects the team to receive a third-rounder for Ricky Wagner‘s departure. The Bengals are also expected to collect a third-round pick after Kevin Zeitler‘s trip across Ohio. Interestingly, the Broncos‘ one-year rental of Russell Okung stands to earn them a third-round choice in Fitzgerald’s view.
- Speculation swirled about a Hines Ward hire to run the Steelers‘ wide receivers group, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes. But the Steelers instead hired Darryl Drake, a 14-season NFL coaching veteran who coached Ward at Georgia. Ward worked with the Steelers as a coaching intern last summer.
Draft Rumors: Darnold, Browns, Nelson, Jackson, Allen
While Josh Rosen made headlines with his comments about a preference to land with a better team that held a lower pick rather than a bad one holding a high draft choice, Sam Darnold took the more diplomatic route. The USC quarterback — who has not yet made a decision about forgoing his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2018 draft — said Wednesday (via ESPN) he’d be “honored to play for any team.” This could be key regarding the top of the draft, where both Darnold and Rosen are expected to come off the board if they declare. A report that emerged Sunday revealed Rosen is higher on the Giants than the Browns, who will hold the No. 1 pick, and may reconsider staying in school if the Browns are to pick him. Of course, a similar report surfaced about Darnold last month. Darnold denied that rumor today, however. This interesting leverage game remains in a holding pattern with both passers having yet to announce they’re going to enter the draft.
Here’s more 2018 draft buzz.
- Lamar Jackson is not expected to threaten Rosen or Darnold’s spots atop the draft, and the former Heisman Trophy winner may be put through an interesting process by some interested teams if/when he declares. Various scouts told ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper Jr. they believe some teams will ask the Louisville phenom to work out as both a quarterback and wide receiver, with the goal being to see if Jackson could transition if he didn’t work as a passer. This is not the first time this has come up regarding Jackson, who has rushed for a staggering 3,974 yards and 49 touchdowns in three Cardinals seasons, nor is it the first time a run-heavy quarterback has been mentioned as a wideout at the next level.
- Quenton Nelson‘s stock appears to be rising, and SI.com’s Albert Breer spoke with an NFL exec who said the Notre Dame guard is a better prospect than Zack Martin was when he came out of South Bend three years ago. Breer tabs Nelson as a top-three overall prospect. Martin went 16th to the Cowboys in 2014 and became the first rookie offensive lineman to land on the top All-Pro team in 57 years. No pure guard has gone in the top 10 since Jonathan Cooper in 2013, but the Redskins moved 2015’s No. 5 overall pick (Brandon Scherff) to guard immediately.
- The sense in the scouting community is Josh Allen will fall toward the middle of the first round while the two Pac-12 passers go off the board at the draft’s outset, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com notes. Allen remains viewed as a less pro-ready prospect than the other two despite possessing possibly greater physical upside. However, smaller-program passers have done well for themselves in recent drafts. Carson Wentz rocketed up the 2016 board to No. 2, and Blake Bortles (Central Florida) went No. 3 in 2014. The Jets have done extensive homework on Allen, and the Broncos are getting to work on the Wyoming talent as well.