Browns Notes: Manziel, Draft, Gordon, Brooks
Following the first night of the draft, Browns GM Ray Farmer dismissed the notion that owner Jimmy Haslam tried to influence any of the team’s selections, including the trade up for Johnny Manziel. Farmer reiterated that point today, according to Pat McManamon of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
“I can tell you with 100% certainty that Jimmy Haslam at no point demanded, requested, tried to influence the process in any way,” Farmer said.
Here’s more on the Browns:
- Farmer confirmed that, before trading up to No. 22 for Manziel, the Browns attempted to move up to the Titans’ pick at No. 11, tweets Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter), the Browns GM said the club had “a bundle” of potential targets in mind as it tried to trade up.
- Farmer on the Cowboys not taking Manziel at No. 16: “I don’t think I was surprised as much as I was happy” (Twitter link via Ridenour).
- Although there are published reports suggesting Josh Gordon is facing a season-long suspension, Farmer said he still can’t comment on the situation, adding that he understands fans’ frustration and disappointment (Twitter link via Cabot).
- Agent Scott Bergman tells PFR (via Twitter) that his client, running back Jourdan Brooks, has been invited to try out at Cleveland’s minicamp. Brooks, who played his college ball at Morgan State, previously spent time in camp with the Bengals.
Draft Notes: Titans, Ravens, Saints, UDFAs
Titans’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt said the team considered taking quarterback Zach Mettenberger in an earlier round, but moved up in fear that another team was prepared to take him, reports Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (via Twitter).
- Titans’ Director of College Scouting Blake Beddingfield says that the team will sign 12 or 13 undrafted rookie free agents following the draft, reports McCormick (via Twitter).
- The Ravens are out of draft picks, but that won’t stop them from aggressively pursuing Missouri defensive end Michael Sam as an undrafted rookie free agent, reports Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (via Twitter). The team did trade back into the draft, but elected to take receiver Michael Campanaro out of Wake Forest.
- Saints’ head coach Sean Payton says the team will look to sign a quarterback as part of their undrafted rookie free agent class, reports Mike Triplett of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Poll: Best Late Round Quarterback?
Just because they don’t have the fanfare of a Johnny Manziel or Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t mean the day three quarterbacks are destined to be career backups. A handful of high-caliber NFL quarterbacks do get selected in the later rounds.
Not every quarterback drafted in the sixth round is going to turn into Tom Brady–most first-round quarterbacks won’t accomplish half of what Brady has–but many if not all of these fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-round quarterbacks will have a chance to push for a starting job at some point in their career, either by performance or by injury.
The question is, which of these quarterbacks is going to have the best chance to find success as a starter in the NFL? That takes a combination of talent and opportunity, where some of these draftees have definite roadblocks in front of them in the form of quarterbacks entrenched as starters.
Of course, a few more quarterbacks will still come off the board in the next 50+ picks, and a couple more will be snagged as undrafted free agents. Maybe Stephen Morris of Miami, Tahj Boyd of Clemson, Garrett Gilbert of SMU, Keith Price of Washington, Brett Smith of Wyoming, or Connor Shaw of South Carolina ends up being the best of the group, although they are still waiting to hear their names called.
Which day three quarterback will have the most NFL success?
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Aaron Murray, Georgia - Chiefs 22% (178)
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A.J. McCarron, Alabama - Bengals 21% (171)
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David Fales, San Jose St. - Bears 19% (158)
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Tom Savage, Pitt - Texans 13% (110)
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Zach Mettenberger, LSU - Titans 11% (89)
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Logan Thomas, Va. Tech - Cardinals 5% (40)
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Not Drafted Yet 5% (38)
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Keith Wenning, Ball St. - Ravens 4% (31)
Total votes: 815
Titans Acquire No. 178 From Redskins
The Titans have moved up in the sixth round of the draft, acquiring the 178th overall pick from the Redskins, according to Mike Jones of the Washington Post (via Twitter). Tennessee, who had previously been set to pick 186th, sent that pick and No. 228 to Washington in the swap, per Jones (via Twitter).
The Titans used the pick to take Zach Mettenberger of LSU. Mettenberger is a big, strong armed quarterback, in the mold of what Ken Whisenhunt has failed to develop since working with Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh. The LSU signal caller is coming off a torn ACL, but had been impressive in pre-draft workouts as he began to move up draft boards.
Of course, as much as his stock was improving, it was leaked that he was one of ten players who had a flagged drug test at the NFL Scouting Combine. Mettenberger’s camp held that his test was flag due to a diluted urine sample, not a banned substance.
AFC Notes: Quarterbacks, Jaguars
Titans’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt said the team was considering quarterbacks in the fourth round, reports Terry McCormick of TitansInsider.com (via Twitter). They are one of the many teams that seem interest in the secon and third tier signal callers in this draft.
Here are some other notes from around the AFC:
- Although they have Alex Smith, the Chiefs considered taking a quarterback in round one, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). The team has been unable to get Smith signed to an extension, but ultimately went in another direction early. They instead took Aaron Murray out of Georgia in the fifth round.
- The Bengals are in a similar situation to the Chiefs, and also considered a quarterback in the first round, according to Rapoport. They selected A.J. McCarron of Alabama, one pick after Murray in round five. McCarron will likely be Andy Dalton‘s backup in 2014, before they make a decision about Dalton’s future with the team next offseason.
- Jaguars’ general manager Dave Caldwell said there was not much talk of trading down today on day three, according to Ryan Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (via Twitter). The Jaguars only had discussion that included 2015 selections.
NFC West Notes: Seahawks, Cards, Rams, 49ers
The Seahawks traded down multiple times before picking for the first time in this year’s draft, from 32nd to 40th to 45th. However, when they eventually did make a selection, they nabbed the player they had ticketed for that No. 32 pick in the first place, in Colorado wideout Paul Richardson — Richardson’s name was the one the Seahawks had ready at the end of the first round on Thursday, GM John Schneider told reporters, including Terry Blount of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the NFC West:
- Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said his team has interest in a big receiver, but hasn’t found the right guy yet and doesn’t want to force the issue (Twitter link via Blount).
- Cardinals GM Steve Keim admitted that he tried to get back into the second round via trade tonight, but didn’t find a taker, as Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com tweets. It’s not clear which player Arizona was targeting.
- According to Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, St. Louis suspected that another team wanted to draft Lamarcus Joyner, which is why the Rams moved up to No. 41 to take him. The club the Rams suspected of targeting Joyner then ended up trading down, says Fisher (Twitter link via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com). As Wagoner suggests (via Twitter), the Titans were the only team between No. 41 and the Rams’ original spot to trade down, so perhaps Fisher’s old team was eyeing Joyner as well.
- Asked about the possibility of acquiring more draft picks after a flurry of trades today, 49ers GM Trent Baalke replied, “The more darts you have, the more balloons you can pop” (Twitter link via Scott Kegley of 49ers.com).
- Baalke also weighed in on the topic of the team’s punt returner, suggesting that it’s not an area the 49ers feel a need to address: “LaMichael James did an excellent job for us a year ago, and that’s his job. We don’t feel an urgency to go out and replace LaMichael. That’s his job” (Sulia link via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee).
Eagles Trade With Titans, Move To No. 42
The Eagles have acquired the No. 42 overall pick in the second round from the Titans, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The Eagles gave up their fourth round pick (No. 122) to go from No. 54 to No. 42, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. The Eagles will use the pick to take wide receiver Jordan Matthews out of Vanderbilt, according to La Canfora (on Twitter).
The 6’3″, 205 pound wide receiver didn’t come into the draft with as much hype as Marqise Lee, who was snagged by the Jaguars at No. 39, but he comes with tremendous hands and solid route running skills. Matthews worked out for a number of teams individually, including the Falcons, Raiders, and even the Titans, but he’ll go to Philadelphia to join Nick Foles & Co.
Cowboys Trying To Move Up From No. 47
6:07pm: In addition to the Cowboys, the Jets and Titans are also looking to move up in the second round, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
5:37pm: Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported earlier this afternoon (via Twitter), that the Cowboys are trying to make a “big move up” in the second round to secure help for their front seven. Now, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (via Twitter) provides more details on that report, tweeting that he’s hearing the Cowboys are trying to jump ahead of the Falcons (No. 37) to land Boise State edge rusher Demarcus Lawrence.
The Cowboys had been expected to select a defender in the first round last night, but when a number of their targets came off the board before No. 16, they switched gears and nabbed offensive tackle Zack Martin. A move up into the top four picks of the second round would be tricky for the Cowboys, who are currently at No. 47. As our list of draft picks by team shows, only a handful of clubs have more picks to work with than Dallas, but six of the club’s remaining 10 picks for 2014 are seventh-rounders.
Browns Looking To Trade Up For Manziel?
8:32pm: A league source believes Cleveland was trying to trade up for Johnny Manziel, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.
8:22pm: The Browns made a strong effort to trade up again to No. 11, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (on Twitter). However, the Browns bailed before the Titans submitted their pick. The Titans will keep the pick and select tackle Taylor Lewan, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
The Browns have been incredibly active so far tonight, having already traded from No. 4 to No. 9 to No. 8. The Browns picked up the Bills’ 2015 first round pick and more along the way, so they certainly have the assets to move up from No. 26 or acquire another first-round pick in tonight’s draft.
Cleveland bailing on talks with the Titans could indicate that they have a deal struck elsewhere, but we’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case.
Jets Draft Notes: QBs, Trading Up, CBs
The Jets continue to be linked to quarterback prospects, writes NFL.com’s Mike Huguenin. His colleague Ian Rapoport tweeted the team is “doing a lot of groundwork” on fringe first-rounders, specifically naming Derek Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo as players to watch. Here’s more on the Jets:
- Rapoport adds (via Twitter) that New York may also be looking to trade up in the first round, likely in order to land a receiver. The Titans, who have the 11th overall pick, are one of the teams the Jets have spoken to about a deal, per Rapoport.
- With Rapoport’s reports in mind, the Jets’ need for a man-cover cornerback make for an interesting storyline, if not a potentially conflicted draft room, as Manish Mehta points out in the New York Daily News. If the Jets stay put at No. 18 and have a chance at one of the draft’s top three corners – Justin Gilbert, Kyle Fuller, or Darqueze Dennard – it would be interesting to see what the club decides.
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com provides five Jets-related items to watch for during the draft, reiterating that the club has interest in trading up.