Buccaneers Acquire 61st Pick From Colts
The Buccaneers have acquired the 61st pick from the Colts in exchange for No. 65, according to Mike Chappell of Fox59 (Twitter link), and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times tweets that the Bucs will select Hobart guard Ali Marpet. Stroud also reports (Twitter) that the teams will swap fourth-round picks, Indy receiving the 109th choice and Tampa getting No. 128.
Top Teams In Round Two Taking Calls
3:54pm: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) adds the Seahawks and Falcons to the list of teams that may want to move up to the early part of the second round.
3:36pm: There were only two trades completed during the first round of the NFL draft last night, but it sounds like the action could pick up tonight when the second round gets underway. According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter), both the Titans and Buccaneers, picking 33rd and 34th respectively, have fielded calls for their picks. Breer adds that clubs interested in moving up may be targeting wide receivers and/or offensive linemen.
Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirms that the Titans and other teams at the top of the second round are indeed receiving trade inquiries. According to Schefter, one team with interest in moving up is the Steelers.
It’s not clear which player the Steelers would be targeting if they were to move up in the second round, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets that the team has its eye on a particular cornerback, and may have to move up to land him. If Pittsburgh doesn’t get that player, the team may wait until the third round to take a corner, according to Dulac.
There’s no shortage of teams that may have interest in moving up in the second round. Earlier today, Marc Sessler of NFL.com identified the Cowboys, Browns, Cardinals, Lions, and Saints as candidates to trade up; other clubs that have an excess of picks and may not want to use them all include the Colts, Texans, 49ers, Chiefs, and Broncos.
Buccaneers Sign Jameis Winston
3:09pm: Winston’s rookie contract is worth $25.35MM, including a $16.7MM signing bonus, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
3:07pm: The first player selected in last night’s draft is also the first member of 2015’s draft class to sign his rookie contract. Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told reporters today, including Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link), that quarterback Jameis Winston has already officially signed with the team.
While the exact value of Winston’s four-year rookie contract isn’t yet known, it figures to be a little bigger than the deal signed by last year’s first overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney’s four-year, $22.273MM pact was fully guaranteed and featured a signing bonus worth about $14.519MM. Like Clowney’s deal, Winston’s will include a fifth-year option, which would apply to the 2019 season.
Winston is the clearly the biggest piece of Tampa’s offseason rebuild, following the club’s signing of free agents Henry Melton, Chris Conte, and Bruce Carter, and acquisition of George Johnson. Winston figures to immediately slot in as the Bucs’ starting quarterback, ahead of 2013 draftee Mike Glennon.
NFC Draft Notes: 49ers, Thompson, Bucs, Gregory
NFL.com’s Marc Sessler explores which teams could move up during Friday’s portion of the draft. The Cowboys and Cardinals top the list, as the writer believes the teams could make a move for a targeted running back. The Lions are a candidate to move up and grab a defensive lineman, while the Saints could target a young quarterback.
Let’s take a look at some more draft notes from the NFC…
- 49ers GM Trent Baalke told reporters (video link on 49ers’ website) that he didn’t draft defensive end Arik Armstead as insurance against Justin Smith‘s possible retirement. Smith’s status for 2015 and beyond is still up in the air but Baalke has said all along that his uncertain status wouldn’t affect the team’s draft plans.
- If linebacker Shaq Thompson hadn’t been selected by the Panthers at pick No. 25, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times says (via Twitter) the Cowboys were ready to “pounce” at No. 27.
- Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times says (via Twitter) the Buccaneers are “thrilled” that offensive tackles Jake Fisher (Oregon) and T.J. Clemmings (Pittsburgh) are still one the board. The writer notes that the team will target one of the lineman with pick No. 34.
- Meanwhile, ESPN’s Ed Werder says Randy Gregory is on the Buccaneers draft board, which indicates that the embattled linebacker is also being considered at pick No. 34 (Twitter link).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eagles Rumors: Bradford, Kelly, Mariota
Chip Kelly did not trade up for Marcus Mariota, but he did manage to make himself one of the most talked about people last night. The latest from Philly..
- The Eagles are backpedaling publicly, but they were offering up Sam Bradford to the Titans and Buccaneers “like he was a slice of pizza,” Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report tweets.
- The Titans communicated to the Eagles last night that they’d have to top the Robert Griffin III deal to get Mariota, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. Despite denials from both Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt and Kelly, Breer hears (link) that one concept discussed would have had the Eagles sending first-round picks in ’15, ’16, and ’17, plus a second-round pick, but that still wasn’t enough. He adds that players were not seriously discussed in those talks.
- After the Eagles tried to trade Bradford and failed, the quarterback now has the upper hand in contract talks, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.
King On Rivers, Eagles, Mariota
Philip Rivers was never in serious play for the Titans, Peter King of The MMQB writes. The Chargers made it clear they were not trading him from the get-go and that proved to be the truth. Here’s the latest from King..
- The Eagles never offered players as part of a package to obtain Marcus Mariota. In fact, King says that Chip Kelly never offered the widely rumored packages of either three first-round picks or two first-round picks and Sam Bradford, in an attempt to obtain the No. 2 pick from the Titans. The Titans basically scared off suitors because they continually told teams they wanted to take Mariota and that would it would take a king’s ransom to obtain the pick. [It should be noted that King’s report doesn’t address the mammoth offer reportedly made to the Bucs for the No. 1 pick. Kelly has denied that story but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter) stands by it.]
- The Bears expressed some interest in moving up from No. 7 to No. 2 to pick Mariota, but the Bears weren’t all that desperate for him and the Titans had no interest in Jay Cutler.
- Ken Whisenhunt, meanwhile, told King that he always wanted Mariota and any talk to the contrary was untrue. “I said it all along—he excited me. I really wanted him. In the end, it wasn’t a difficult decision to stay at two and pick Marcus,” the coach said.
- King gets the sense that if Kelly had gone crazy and offered three ones and a couple of starting defensive players, the Titans brass would have had to sit down and consider it. However, that still probably wouldn’t have gotten it done as the Titans really wanted their quarterback of the future.
- The Mariota pick might have been made possible in part by a conversation between Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Whisenhunt in which the ex-Eagles coach explained how he was glad that he took Donovan McNabb in 1999 rather than trading that pick to Mike Ditka‘s Saints, who were gunning for Ricky Williams.
Bucs Draft Jameis Winston First Overall
The Buccaneers have selected Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston with the first overall pick. The 2013 Heisman winner has long been cemented as Tampa Bay’s probable choice with the top selection, with Oregon QB Marcus Mariota also having generated consideration.
Winston emerged as a national name during the 2013 season, during which he passed for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns en route to leading the Seminoles to the National Championship. During his redshirt sophomore season in 2014, Winton took a bit of step back, throwing for just 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. However, he did take FSU to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, and finished his career with a 26-1 record.
Of course, Winston has been involved in his share of off-the-field trouble, including a sexual assault allegation and shoplifting incidents. Some in the Bucs’ ownership group were reportedly uncomfortable with tabbing Winston as the club’s face of the franchise, but he apparently alleviated many of those concerns through the predraft process.
Winston is the clearly the biggest piece of Tampa’s offseason rebuild, following the club’s signing of free agents Henry Melton, Chris Conte, and Bruce Carter, and acquisition of George Johnson. Winston will immediately slot in as the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback, ahead of 2013 draftee Mike Glennon.
Details On Eagles’ Proposed Trade Package
According to multiple reports, the Eagles have been most aggressive in their efforts to move up to the top of the draft to land quarterback Marcus Mariota, having had discussions with both the Titans at No. 2 and the Buccaneers at No. 1. Now, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com has details on what Chip Kelly and the Eagles are offering to move up from No. 20.
According to Rapoport (via Twitter), Philadelphia’s proposed package would include two first-round picks (including this year’s), a third-round pick, defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, cornerback Brandon Boykin, linebacker Mychal Kendricks, and more. Rapoport adds that Sam Bradford has also been included in the Eagles’ offers (Twitter link).
Rapoport’s report on the Eagles’ proposal backs up Jason La Canfora’s tweet that Philadelphia’s offer is “substantial.” According to La Canfora, the Browns remain willing to include both their first-round picks in an offer to the Titans, but Cleveland likely won’t come close to trumping the Eagles’ offer (Twitter links).
For now, at least, the Titans and Buccaneers both appear inclined to stay put.
Bucs Committed To Drafting Winston; Deal Unlikely
5:50pm: The Buccaneers are committed to drafting Winston with the first overall pick at this point, and don’t feel they’ll receive enough value to make a trade worthwhile, tweets Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
5:35pm: Within the past hour, the Bucs have been receiving calls about trading the first overall pick, including one from the Eagles, but nothing is happening on that front at the moment, per Werder (all Twitter links). Werder adds that NFL sources who are most familiar with Tampa Bay’s coaching staff and management team are convinced that the club won’t give up its chance to draft Winston.
4:56pm: While a number of teams have spoken to the Titans about the No. 2 overall pick and Marcus Mariota, it’s “pretty clear” that the Eagles are the team most aggressively pursuing that selection, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Meanwhile, Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report tweets that the Titans aren’t the only team at the top of the draft getting calls about their pick — the Buccaneers are also receiving inquiries about the first overall pick.
If the Titans aren’t budging off of No. 2, it makes sense that the Eagles would contact the Bucs about the first overall pick — Tampa Bay might not want quite as massive a haul as Tennessee, and perhaps talking to both teams could give Philadelphia some leverage in trade discussions. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, there are indeed rumblings that the Eagles could set their sights on that first overall pick, though it’s not clear what combination of picks and players the Bucs might want for it.
Although the Eagles still could make a last-ditch effort for that first overall pick, Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter link) has been assured twice by his “most trusted” Bucs source that, as of 45 minutes ago, the team isn’t discussing a deal with Philadelphia. However, Werder adds (via Twitter) that GM Jason Licht‘s colleagues have told him he’ll be surprised how many offers come in late, so Tampa Bay isn’t locking in that No. 1 pick quite yet.
I doubt the Eagles will put an offer on the table that makes the Bucs part with the first overall pick, but if the club has any lingering doubts about Jameis Winston‘s off-field behavior, the idea of loading up on draft picks and/or established NFL veterans could have some appeal. At this point though, a deal appears very unlikely.
Draft Rumors: Collins, Gregory, DGB, Spain
There’s “some suspicion” that LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins may go undrafted all three days this weekend, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Even though Collins is not considered a suspect in a Louisiana police investigation, the case involves a shooting death and NFL investigators haven’t been able to uncover much info on it, so teams figure to play it safe until they know more. In an effort to buy time to clear his name, Collins asked for permission to withdraw from his draft and be eligible for the supplemental draft instead, but the league denied that request.
Here’s more on the draft:
- A personnel man whose team has a top-10 pick tells Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) that his team is preparing to draft Nebraska edge rusher Randy Gregory tonight. “We’re not going to let him get past us,” Getlin’s source said. That sounds like it could be a smoke screen, given all the negative reports swirling around Gregory this week. Still, according to Getlin, this personnel man believes Gregory may be the most talented player in the draft, likening him to Derrick Brooks and Jason Taylor (Twitter links).
- A source close to Dorial Green-Beckham‘s camp tells Danny Parkins of 610 AM in Kansas City (Twitter link) that the Chiefs, Cowboys, Bengals, Texans, and 49ers have shown “a lot” of interest in the young wideout within the last 36 hours.
- West Virginia offensive lineman Quinton Spain, who received a fourth-round grade from some teams, worked out for the Jets, Steelers, Bengals, Titans, Falcons, and Buccaneers, according to Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
- Albert Breer of the NFL Network identifies six teams he believes can control this year’s draft.