Draft Notes: Key, Jackson, Kirk, Price, Patriots
Former LSU defensive end and top draft prospect Arden Key has told teams that he has been sober for more than a year, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes.
This is big news from a player who has been speculated to have off-the-field concerns. Key is supposedly being up front with the teams about his issues, which included taking a leave of absence from the Tigers for four months beginning in February 2017 for personal reasons. He will not disclose the reasoning for that absence with the media — which is his right — but is reportedly laying it all out in front of teams.
Rated as one of the top prospects before the start of the 2017 season, Key is now viewed mostly as a potential late-first-round pick, but more likely to go off the board on second day of the draft.
Noted pass rush coach Chuck Smith is a big fan of Key, saying he is a threat to challenge for double-digit sacks the moment he enters the league. His honesty with teams and ability to stay sober for more than a year could put teams more at ease about taking a shot on the talented pass rusher.
Here’s more surrounding the draft:
- Texas A&M wide receiver Christian Kirk visited with the Steelers on Friday, Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Kirk has also visited with the Seahawks and Panthers, a pair of teams in need of a receiver. The Steelers seem set at the position with Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster but have not been shy about adding to a loaded receiver position in the past.
- Former Cardinals head coach and quarterback guru Bruce Arians is a big fan of Louisville product Lamar Jackson, Bob McManaman of AZ Central writes. “I think Lamar puts the time in. He’s going to get better, and he just brings that unique ability to break the game open with his legs. Because he does it. He sits in there and flips it up the field,” Arians said. “He’s been in a pro-style offense. He’s more of a scrambler with designed runs. I don’t think I’d design runs for him. I would just let him, a la Russell Wilson, take what’s there, and whoosh, take off running.” The Cardinals could have interest in Jackson at the No. 15 spot in the upcoming draft.
- In a panel piece on ESPN, a host of writers tabbed left tackle as the position the team should focus on in the first round if everything were to fall perfectly. With the team owning the 23rd and 31st picks, New England could potentially address the position by taking Notre Dame’s Mike McGlinchey late in the first round. The tackle is rated by many pundits as the best at the position this year.
- Ohio State center/guard Billy Price had his NFL Combine medical recheck on Friday, Darren Wolfson of KSTP 5 News reports (Twitter link). He notes the potential first-round pick is expected to receive full clearance soon.
Browns Meet With Lamar Jackson
The Browns will meet with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson on Friday, according to a press release from the team. Jackson is not believed to be in consideration at No. 1 or No. 4 overall, but the Browns could consider him later on if he is still available. 
The Browns are armed with three picks in the second round at Nos. 33, 35, and 64 overall. As unlikely as it seems, the Browns could opt to use both of their top picks on non-QBs and package two of those selections to move up and snag Jackson if they are especially impressed by him.
Taking, say, Sam Darnold at No. 1 overall and using a later pick on Jackson would make little sense since the team already has two QBs with guaranteed money on the roster in Tyrod Taylor and Drew Stanton. However, if Jackson goes into a free fall in the draft, the Browns could select him with the notion of moving him to wide receiver. Jackson has resisted such talk, but many evaluators feel that he has the athleticism to succeed as a receiver.
Will the Browns target Jackson over one of this year’s big four QBs? Occam’s razor dictates that they won’t and are simply doing their due diligence on one of this year’s most intriguing prospects.
Patriots Interested In Lamar Jackson?
Lamar Jackson‘s taken several visits recently as he readies for what will probably be a call from a team that’s selected him in the first round of the upcoming draft. He is not believed to have visited the Patriots yet, but they do appear to be monitoring the Louisville-honed dynamo.
The Patriots are the team that’s shown the most interest in Jackson, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report writes, adding teams have been impressed with the quarterback’s intelligence. During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported he’d also heard plenty connecting the Patriots to Jackson.
Mortensen said he does not expect the Pats to move up from their No. 23 perch to land the quarterback but notes they would be interested in the dual-threat player if he’s there when New England’s initial first-round window opens.
The 2016 Heisman Trophy winner has met with the Saints, Ravens, Chargers and Browns. The latter franchise does not look to be a logical candidate to land Jackson, and the Patriots pick in front of the Saints. The Ravens could be a Jackson landing spot at No. 16. The Chargers haven’t selected a quarterback since 2013, and Philip Rivers may be a reasonable bet to retire after Tom Brady does, having expressed intentions to play into the 2020 season when the Bolts move into their new Los Angeles stadium. Brady, whose contract runs through 2019, also issued some praise (via Instagram) for Jackson this week.
New England has not selected a quarterback in the first round since Drew Bledsoe in 1993, but now that Jimmy Garoppolo is in San Francisco, the AFC East kingpin probably needs to look to identify a legitimate Brady successor. Robert Kraft said as much recently. The Patriots have also been linked to Baker Mayfield, but it would take an un-Patriot-like trade to move up into possibly the top five to have a chance at landing the latest Heisman winner. Jackson may well be gone by the time the Pats pick, but that’s not a lock.
Saints Host Lamar Jackson
The Saints hosted former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson for a visit on Tuesday, sources tell Nick Underhill of The Advocate. The Jackson meeting counts for one of the Saints’ “Top 30” visits.
Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi attended Louisville’s pro day recently and apparently came away impressed by the mobile QB. The Saints are obviously well set at the QB position, but they could consider Jackson as an future heir to Drew Brees.
“I like him. I like him. He’s athletic. He’s got a magic smile to him. He’s a leader,” head coach Sean Payton recently said. “With Lamar, you feel it in the room, and you can tell he can lead. … He’s a special guy. You just have to be around him, interview him, and you can see why he was successful.”
Jackson offers a radically different skill set than Brees, but that doesn’t seem to bother the Saints.
“The trick for a team that takes a quarterback at any point to become or to compete to become a starter, one of our jobs is to look closely at what are the things that player does best,” Payton said. “If he’s your quarterback, you start looking closely at what he did well at Louisville, and you build that way. We’re never wanting to just take any of these players … and enter the game and view them just as Drew entered the game. They’re different athletes.”
AFC Notes: Ravens, Broncos Titans, Patriots
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is set to hold a top-30 visit with the Ravens, which is expected to be one of his final — if not his final — visit with an NFL team prior to the upcoming draft, per Albert Breer of MMQB (on Twitter). The Ravens hold the No. 16 overall pick in the draft.
Jackson has visited with several teams leading up to the draft, including the Browns, who hold the No. 1, 4 and 33 overall picks. Jackson elected to not run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine or his pro day. He’s also had a private workout with the Texans and all 32 teams attended his pro day.
The Ravens made quarterback news earlier this week by signing Robert Griffin III to a one-year, $1MM deal. The Ravens decided to not re-sign Ryan Mallett, who backed up Joe Flacco last season. Griffin, who has not appeared in an NFL contest since making five starts for the Browns in 2016, is joined by Josh Woodrum as the current backups to Flacco heading into training camp.
Here’s more from around the AFC:
- Iowa center James Daniels will be visiting with NFL teams this week and the Broncos are on that list, according to Mike Klis of 9News in Denver (on Twitter). Daniels is expected to go near the second round of the upcoming draft. Connor McGovern is currently projected to start at center for the Broncos.
- Steve Watterson is retiring from his post as the Titans‘ strength and conditioning coach — they announced in a release Friday — after 32 years with the team. Tom Kanavy, who has 22 years of experience in the NFL, will take over the position.
- Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (on Twitter) has the details on the Patriots‘ contracts for tight end Troy Niklas and offensive lineman Luke Bowanko.
- Earlier Friday, we learned that the Chiefs promoted Dave Toub as their associate head coach to go along with his role as Kansas City’s special teams coordinator.
NFL Draft Rumors: Jackson, Patriots, Rudolph
Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson may have erred by opting to go through the NFL draft process without an agent, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com writes. Jackson will avoid paying a portion of his rookie deal to a representative, but in an effort to save some cash, he could be hurting his draft position, which would negate the savings on the standard 1.5% fee.
Reportedly, Jackson struggled in breaking down X’s and O’s on the white board in meetings with teams and his Wonderlic score was poor. Some say the Wonderlic is meaningless, but some execs still use it as part of their evaluation process and an agent would have had him prepped for the test and other aspects of team interviews. An agent would also help to push the narrative that Jackson should be considered above some of this year’s top quarterbacks, including USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen.
Ultimately, Jackson’s decision will look like a smart one if he winds up going in the top half of the first round, Corry argues. But, based on what we’ve heard so far, that doesn’t seem likely. It’s notable that the Texans, who are already armed with a star QB in Deshaun Watson and don’t pick until the third round, recently had a private workout with Jackson.
Here’s more NFL draft news:
- South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst will visit the Panthers on Friday Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Carolina owns the No. 24 overall pick and they could use that selection to give themselves a potent tight end with receiving ability. Greg Olsen will start for the Panthers this season, but he is 33 and entering a contract year. In the past, Olsen has fought for a revamped deal, so it’s conceivable that he will look to push the market next March. Even if Olsen is retained beyond 2018, the Panthers need to consider the future of the tight end position.
- The Patriots, who now own two first-round picks, recently had a private workout with Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph, Rapoport tweets. Rudolph hasn’t garnered as much attention as this year’s top four QBs, but he is a potential first-rounder. Rapoport hears that he has been extremely busy with meetings and workouts, a possible sign that his stock is climbing.
- Rudolph will also have a top 30 visit with the Bills this weekend, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). The Bills own picks at 12 and 22, so he could be in the mix for one of those spots. Rudolph has also met with or had workouts for the Chargers, Saints, Giants, Steelers, and Bengals.
Chargers Meeting With Top QBs In Draft
The Chargers have not needed to worry about a starting quarterback for most of this century, and Philip Rivers has not given indications he’s eyeing near-future retirement. But the team is going to continue to look at passing prospects.
Having already been linked to a Josh Rosen meeting, the Chargers have already met with — or are planning to visit with — the top five quarterbacks in this draft. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), the Bolts are planning visits for Rosen and Sam Darnold, which won’t count toward their 30 prospect summits because they are Los Angeles-based.
Los Angeles, per Rapoport (on Twitter), also recently worked out or met with the other three — Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. But quarterback meetings took place between Bolts brass and recent drafts’ higher-end passing prospects in the past, only for the Rivers-Kellen Clemens setup to remain in place for years. Now, the Chargers are going with Geno Smith behind Rivers. With only Cardale Jones also in the picture, the team does not have an obvious succession plan.
But the Chargers aren’t exactly in position to select one of the top four passers, and Jackson and Rivers possess wildly disparate skill sets. And with the 36-year-old Rivers possibly set to play out his through-2019 contract and pursue another extension, it’s possible these visits will continue the recent pattern. The Chargers hold the No. 17 pick in the first round.
Browns To Host Lamar Jackson On Visit
The Browns will be bringing in all four of quarterbacks linked to them at No. 1 overall this week, with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reporting Josh Rosen‘s visit will round out a busy week of powwows between Browns brass and highly touted passing prospects.
But the most accomplished college quarterback in this draft will also visit the Browns soon. Next week, Lamar Jackson will be summoned to Cleveland to meet with the Browns, Nate Ulrich of ohio.com reports. Yahoo Sports first reported this meeting would commence.
Hue Jackson said at the league meetings last week he wouldn’t neglect the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner and 2017 Heisman finalist, and Ulrich notes the Browns are intrigued by Jackson’s dual-threat abilities. The Louisville phenom is expected to be selected after the Browns’ draft windows open, being projected to go later in the first round.
Jackson already went through a private workout with the Texans, but that would be an incredibly unlikely union due to Houston’s investment in the 2016 Heisman Trophy runner-up. Jackson could still be on the board by the time the Browns pick again at No. 33, but with the franchise widely expected to select a passer at No. 1 overall, a Jackson landing spot figures to be away from Cleveland. John Dorsey said a two-quarterback draft won’t be likely to occur on his watch.
Latest On Lamar Jackson
In a fairly surprising move, quarterback Lamar Jackson elected not to run a 40-yard dash at Louisville’s pro day workout Thursday morning. The former Heisman Trophy winner came equipped with a reason for his decision, though. Jackson also decided to not run the 40-yard dash at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine.
“Game speed is going to tell it all,” Jackson told Mike Mayock during an NFL Network broadcast of Louisville’s pro day. “You got to catch me first.”
All 32 teams in the league were represented at Louisville’s pro day. Some notable coaches and executives in attendance, noted by NFL.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter), included Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and quarterbacks coach Shane Steichen, Patriots vice president of player personnel Nick Caserio and Titans general manager Jon Robinson.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was in attendance as well, according to Mark Caboly of The Athletic (on Twitter), while the Dolphins didn’t feel the need to show up in full force as he’s eligible to work out at the teams’ facility because he lives in the Miami metro area, per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen (on Twitter).
Jackson, who has yet to hire an agent, is widely considered to go in either the first or second round of the upcoming draft. He’s amongst a talented class of quarterbacks that includes Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and the reigning Heisman winner, Baker Mayfield.
There’s been speculation that teams would look to shift Jackson to wide receiver once in the NFL and multiple teams had asked him to work out at the position earlier this month. That speculation certainly could’ve driven Jackson’s decision to not run the 40-yard dash at the combine or his pro day.
NFL Draft Rumors: Darnold, Giants, Chubb
Wednesday’s rainy weather in Southern California isn’t ideal for local residents, but it may have done a favor for quarterback Sam Darnold at USC’s pro day, as Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. The early word from Darnold’s audition indicates that he looked “very, very good” despite the conditions. That could be a major plus for Darnold as he looks to separate himself from other top quarterbacks like Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, Wyoming’s Josh Allen, and UCLA’s Josh Rosen. Rosen also threw in inclement weather at UCLA’s pro day earlier this month and threw well, despite heavy gusts of wind.
Here’s more NFL Draft news:
- The Giants already had a private workout with North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb and he’ll visit the facility in a few weeks, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The Giants need a defensive end after trading Jason Pierre-Paul to the Buccaneers, opening up the possibility of taking Chubb at No. 2 overall.
- The Texans hosted a private workout yesterday for Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, Rapoport tweets. Jackson, is expected to come off the board in the first two rounds, would not be an obvious fit for Houston, but they want to be “prepared for any and all scenarios on draft week,” Rapoport says. However, if Jackson falls, he could be an interesting insurance policy for them in the unlikely event that Deshaun Watson is not ready for the start of the season.
- During the University of San Diego’s pro day, former Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel auditioned for the NFL scouts in attendance and reportedly put on a good show.