HEADLINES

Tyler Higbee

Pauline’s Latest: Jets, Titans, Conklin, Giants

April 13th, 2016 at 5:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Most NFL people that Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via WalterFootball.com) has spoken with tell him that the Jets could still look to take an offensive tackle in the first round even after trading for Ryan Clady. With that in mind, the Jets are bringing Jason Spriggs of Indiana to Florham Park, New Jersey for an official visit on Thursday.

Many view Spriggs as the best pure left tackle in the draft outside of Ole Miss star Laremy Tunsil. Spriggs has been rising on draft boards around the league and the Hoosiers senior has already visited the Broncos and Saints and worked out for the Titans and Ravens.

Here’s the latest from Pauline:

  • Recently, it was reported that the Titans would consider trading down from No. 1 to select Notre Dame’s Ronnie Stanley. Pauline hears that Michigan State’s Jack Conklin is also in the conversation if the Titans move down. Pauline previously ID’d Conklin as a possible Top 12 pick in this year’s draft.
  • The Giants continue to show strong interest in Laquon Treadwell, who is in the conversation at No. 10 overall, Pauline hears. Pauline also adds that several teams do not agree with the assertion that Treadwell is only the second-best wide receiver in this year’s class. While some reports would indicate that the Ole Miss product is slipping down draft boards, that might not be the case.
  • Speaking of the Jets, Pauline hears that they are very high on tackle Brent Qvale, a UDFA they added in 2014. However, Pauline gets the sense that the Clady signing means that Gang Green does not see him as being quite yet ready for a starting role. Qvale lined up at both left and right tackle during weekly practice in 2015. Sources tell Pauline that Qvale is likely to replace Breno Giacomini in 2017 if he continues to progress.
  • Western Kentucky tight end George Fant is garnering attention from NFL scouts, Pauline writes. Fant, a former WKU basketball player, has also received consideration at offensive tackle, but scouts believe that he should be a tight end because of his soft hands. If Fant drops some additional weight (currently 296 pounds), the belief is that he can make it work at TE. Fant has (or has had) workouts with a number of teams including the Bengals, Broncos, Cardinals, Chargers, Saints, and Seahawks. While Fant is apparently rising up draft boards, fellow Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee is seeing his stock fall due to an off-the-field incident.

Draft Rumors: Higbee, Boehringer, Miller

April 12th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee plead not guilty to charges stemming from his alleged altercation on Sunday, as Peter Schrager of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Higbee, considered to be one of the top tight ends in this year’s class, contends that the other man involved in the skirmish put his hands on his girlfriend, prompting Higbee to intervene. The other participant in the fight has been booked five times since 2014.

As Schrager notes, Higbee’s court date is on May 5th, days after the draft on April 28th-30th. Prior to the incident, teams were viewing Higbee as a Day 2 or Day 3 player, so they’ll be interested to hear his side of the story.

Here’s the latest NFL Draft news:

  • German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer had team visits with the Chiefs, Packers, and Vikings last week, as Andy Fenelon of NFL.com writes. On Monday and Tuesday, he met with the Rams, on Wednesday he’ll visit the Seahawks, and next week he’ll visit the Saints, Falcons, and Panthers. Boehringer started turning heads in the NFL last month and one scout estimated in March that he could go in the fourth round. Based on the number of teams interested in him, one has to wonder if Boehringer could go even earlier.
  • Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio (Twitter link), Ohio State receiver Braxton Miller said 10 clubs ventured to Columbus to work him out, and while a few have had do drills in the slot (where’s expected to play in the NFL), many had him work outside. The Titans, Bengals, and Ravens are just three of the teams known to have interest in Miller.
  • Like Miller, Michigan State defensive tackle Joel Heath also appeared on SiriusXM (Twitter link), and also discussed his specific NFL position, saying he’d be willing to move to the offensive line if that helped his pro prospects.
  • Washington, on the lookout for possible pass rushing help, is hosting Eastern Kentucky outside linebacker Noah Spence for a pre-draft visit today, according to John Keim of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • The Vikings met with McNeese State running back Derrick Milton last week, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who adds that Milton impressed Minnesota at their regional combine. Milton began his collegiate career at Mississippi State before transferring prior to the 2014 season.
  • Florida defensive end Alex McCalister met with the Eagles, as McAlister himself reported on Twitter. McCalister posted 12.5 sacks for the Gators over the past two seasons.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

Draft Updates: Higbee, Titans, Byard, Reed

April 11th, 2016 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the top tight end prospects in this year’s draft, Tyler Higbee was charged with second-degree assault, alcohol intoxication in a public place, and second-degree fleeing or evading police on Sunday, Zach Greenwell of the Bowling Green Daily News reports.

The 23-year-old Western Kentucky product was considered a potential Day 2 pick, but these charges will undoubtedly cloud his draft weekend. Higbee caught 48 passes for 563 yards and eight touchdowns last season but missed five games due to a knee injury that he told reporters at his pro day was 75-80% healed.

Here are a few more Monday draft updates:

  • Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa are among the standout prospects visiting the Titans this week, tweets Jason Wolf of the Tennessean. The Titans are believed to like Bosa, but Tunsil remains the odds-on favorite to come off the board first overall if the club keeps its pick.
  • West Virginia cornerback Daryl Worley has made pre-draft visits to the Eagles and Cardinals, and has private workouts for the Panthers, Lions, and Jaguars, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • After a busy few days last week, Middle Tennessee State defensive back Kevin Byard will be on the move again this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Byard will be visiting the Cardinals today and the Rams tomorrow, followed by the Saints and Bengals.
  • In addition to making previously-reported visits to the Panthers, Lions, and Saints this week, Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed will also make trips to meet with the Bills and Bears, tweets Rapoport.
  • UCLA wide receiver and return man Devin Fuller has several visits and workouts left on his schedule, tweets Rand Getlin of the NFL Network. Per Getlin, the Dolphins, Packers, and Chargers are among the teams that will get a close look at Fuller.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Bosa, Jones, Elliott, Jack

April 6th, 2016 at 8:33pm CST by Zachary Links

About seven Cowboys coaches were in Columbus, Ohio, recently to work out top Buckeyes prospects, including Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets.

Owners of the fourth pick in the draft, the Cowboys’ selection window resides in the neighborhood where Bosa currently is expected to go off the board, with the team in need of running back help as well.

Here are some other draft items as we advance further into the month where prospects dominate the NFL news cycle.

  • Also involved in Ohio State scouting, the Ravens put a full-court press on Buckeyes talents Wednesday, assessing their stock in multiple cities. They visited with Bosa in Baltimore and worked out Braxton Miller and Michael Thomas in Columbus, NFL.com’s Albert Breer tweets. The Ravens, who pick at No. 6, also interviewed Myles Jack and Vernon Hargreaves n Baltimore.
  • The Bengals recently worked out Jones, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. He’ll also visit with the Cardinals and Bills, per Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Texans are meeting with Illinois wide receiver Geronimo Allison in Florida today, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Packers are bringing in BYU wide receiver Mitch Mathews, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (on Twitter). Mathews, he adds, is the type of receiver that the Packers like to target in the late rounds.
  • The Buccaneers worked out Southern Utah cornerback LeShaun Sims on campus last month, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets.
  • Bucs offensive line coach George Warhop went to Nebraska to work out offensive tackle Alex Lewis last month, Auman tweets.
  • The Saints worked out Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee this week, according to Nick Underhill of The New Orleans Advocate (on Twitter).
  • Western Carolina wide receiver Karnorris Benson worked out for the Falcons on Wednesday, Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle tweets.

Sam Robinson contributed to this report

Draft Rumors: Browns, Bears, Bucs

April 3rd, 2016 at 5:36pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Browns are set to meet with Stanford QB Kevin Hogan, according to Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com (via Twitter). This is a potentially intriguing development, as Cleveland has been expected to take one of this year’s top quarterback prospects with the No. 2 overall pick despite having signed Robert Griffin III late last month. Hogan is considered more of a mid-round talent, but he certainly has his fans in the scouting community after setting a Stanford school record for victories (36). The Browns may just be doing their due diligence, but if they pass on a quarterback with the No. 2 overall selection with the intention of picking up a signal-caller like Hogan or Christian Hackenberg later in the draft, it could have major ramifications for the teams picking immediately behind Cleveland in the first round.

More of the latest draft-related news…

  • German wide receiver Moritz Boehringer will host a private workout for teams Friday, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Boehringer, who could go as high as the fourth round, has already met with Minnesota officials. He also has visits scheduled with the Bears, Rams, Panthers, Chiefs and Broncos, per Andy Fenelon of NFL.com.
  • The Bears look poised to draft a quarterback this year, writes John Mullin of CSNChicago.com, as the team dedicated a sizable amount of its interview time at the February combine to signal-callers. “It’s a good position in the draft,” general manager Ryan Pace said last month. “We’ve gotta be smart.” Other than entrenched starter Jay Cutler, the Bears’ in-house options under center include 2014 sixth-round pick David Fales and Matt Blanchard – who signed a reserve/futures contract in January.
  • The Buccaneers invited Western Kentucky tight end Tyler Higbee to their pro day, but the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is only doing private workouts and top-30 visits, tweets Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. Higbee hauled in 38 passes, averaged 14.8 yards per catch, and racked up eight touchdowns last season.
  • Former Georgia Tech and Florida linebacker Anthony Harrell will attend the Buccaneers’ local workout on April 15, Auman reports (on Twitter).

Rory Parks contributed to this post.