Category: NFL Draft (Page 19 of 101)

      Report: Da’Quan Bowers failed at least two physicals

      March 28, 2011 /

      Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers’ pre-draft stock continues to take a hit.

      One scout told SI.com’s Peter King that Bowers “failed at least two physicals that I know of” after having meniscus surgery following the college season. As King points out, three months ago Bowers was a lock to be drafted in the top-5. But if he doesn’t prove to teams that his knee is healthy at his Pro Day on Friday, there’s no telling how far he could fall.

      King also had some interesting stuff to say about Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who more and more is being perceived as a “one-year wonder.” Alabama’s Marcell Dareus has already passed Fairley on most team’s draft boards (or at least presumably based on reports), but the real question is how far the former Tiger will fall. Some mock drafts projected Fairley would be taken No. 1 overall by the Panthers before the scouting combine and now it sounds like he’s not even a lock to go in the top-10.

      One other tidbit from King: The Bills like Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller and Patrick Peterson “a lot.” King isn’t saying that they’ll take either player, but just that they’re high on both. I think the general consensus is that the Bills will go defense at No. 3 and wait until the middle rounds to address their need at quarterback.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Schefter predicts that the Panthers will take Newton

      March 26, 2011 /
      Auburn Tigers’ quarterback Cam Newton (R) throws a pass as teammate Mike Berry (C) blocks Oregon Ducks’ Brandon Bair (L) in the second quarter in the NCAA BCS National Championship college football game in Glendale, Arizona, January 10, 2011. REUTERS/Matt Sullivan (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      After leaning towards Blaine Gabbert last week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter now predicts that the Panthers will select Auburn quarterback Cam Newton with the No. 1 overall pick.

      “Last week, I sensed Blaine Gabbert,” Schefter said in an ESPN Insider Q&A. “This week, I’m more on the Cam Newton bandwagon. The more I hear, the more it sounds like Newton is the player to beat for the No. 1 pick.”

      Schefter goes on to say that the Panthers “need to create buzz to sell some tickets,” which of course is the best reason to draft a player. I mean, if you’re going to invest that much money in a prospect then he better be able to put butts in the seats. Football skills be damned.

      Schefter isn’t a draft guru but I’m convinced he has a wiretap on every GM, head coach and player in the league so his words aren’t to be taken lightly. Still, he’s only making a prediction and not reporting anything, so Gabbert and even LSU’s Patrick Peterson are in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick.

      That said, I had the Panthers taking Newton in my last mock and if I were to update it today, I would still have the former Auburn QB going No. 1. Carolina doesn’t seem enamored with any of the top defensive linemen and as good as Peterson is, a cornerback has never gone No. 1 or even No. 2. I don’t see Peterson making history this year and if the Panther are down to Newton or Gabbert, I think they’ll take the boom or bust player and pin their future on the former Tiger. (What? Newton and Gabbert are both former Tigers? Well that works out well for that last sentence now doesn’t it?)

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Cardinals to take Blaine Gabbert if he falls?

      March 24, 2011 /
      Missouri Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert runs onto the field for a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri on October 23, 2010. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

      I must admit, some of that faded excitement that I had for the draft is returning now that the rumors are flowing. Even though the NFL is trying to ruin the holiday with this CBA mess, little by little the draft is starting to creep back into my heart.

      ESPN’s Chris Mortensen tweets that if the Cardinals “can get” Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert at No. 5 next month, “they will.” Owners Michael and Bill Bidwill took Gabbert to dinner on Tuesday night and Arizona’s coaching staff held a private workout with him on Wednesday. It appears, for all intents and purposes, that the Cardinals are putting on a full-court press for the former Tiger.

      Now the question is whether or not he’ll fall to the Cardinals at No. 5. If the Panthers pass on Cam Newton, they could take Gabbert at No. 1. If the Bills don’t take him at No. 3, the Bengals could certainly nab him at No. 4 depending on how they want to handle the Carson Palmer fiasco. With three quarterback-needy teams picking ahead of the Cards in the first round, Gabbert might not fall.

      But if you’re a Cardinal fan and you want Gabbert, it’s easy to look at the situation and stay optimistic. Carolina could take Newton, Buffalo may address its defensive line and Cincinnati owner Mike Brown reiterated on Monday that he wants Palmer back, so maybe the Bengals go with either A.J. Green or Julio Jones. In that scenario, Gabbert would slip to the Cardinals at No. 5.

      Either way, Arizona needs to acquire a signal caller at some point this offseason and given how there’s no free agency, the Cards would be wise to take one in the draft. John Skelton showed flashes last season but on a whole, the quarterback situation was an absolute mess in the desert last year. Gabbert is a big kid with a strong arm and would be a good fit in Ken Whisenhunt’s balanced offense (which also features elements of the spread).

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Should the Falcons trade up for A.J. Green?

      March 24, 2011 /

      Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Falcons should do everything in their power to move up to select Georgia receiver A.J. Green in next month’s draft. He also appears to be confused on the CBA rules.

      It would take a lot for the Falcons to move up from 27th in the draft to get Green: at least this year’s and next year’s first-rounder pick. He’s worth it. There were 48 NFL scouts at Georgia’s Pro Day Tuesday. The only time they looked disappointed was when a bizarre league rule forced them to leave the field when Green ran pass routes.

      Next year’s “first-rounder pick”? Something that Schultz either fails to mention or fails to realize is that without a CBA, there is no draft next season – let alone draft picks to trade. As it stands today, teams can’t trade their 2012 draft picks because they don’t exist without a CBA. So the Falcons couldn’t include a package with their first rounder next year even if they wanted to. (This rule is also lost upon Schultz’s AJC co-worker D. Orlando Ledbetter, who seems to think that the Falcons might be able to move up by trading away their first two picks this year and their second rounder in 2012. Again, without a CBA in place, the Falcons couldn’t trade their 2012 second round pick.)

      Now, maybe Schultz and Ledbetter do know the rule and they’re basing their assumption that there will be a CBA in place by the draft next month. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t they just say they were working under this assumption? Furthermore, what’s transpired over the last month to make either of them believe that the owners and players are getting closer to agreeing to a new deal?

      Did these two not do their homework or am I missing something here? One would think that writers at a major newspaper such as the AJC would understand the situation before discussing what it would take for a team selecting at No. 27 to move all the way into the top 10 (where Green will undoubtedly be selected) when the league is in the midst of a labor dispute.

      Trading up for Green would seem highly unlikely unless the Falcons were willing to part with their entire draft this year. And considering their needs along the offensive line (three of their five starters are free agents), at defensive end and at nickel back, the Falcons can’t mortgage their draft for one player – even if it is someone as talented as A.J. Green.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Vikings want to draft a rookie to start in 2011?

      March 22, 2011 /

      When the Vikings hired Bill Musgrave as their offensive coordinator in January, they knew one of his best attributes was working with quarterbacks. And in his most recent stop, he worked with a young signal caller that went on to win the 2008 NFL Rookie of the Year.

      That “stop” was Atlanta and that “young signal caller” was Matt Ryan. Musgrave oversaw Ryan’s development with the Falcons as his quarterback coach and if beat writers Judd Zulgad and Tom Pelissero are right, he might have a similar opportunity to work with another rookie QB in Minnesota.

      In his latest column for the Star Tribune, Zulgad writes that Vikings coach Leslie Frazier talked “extensively” about the quarterback position at the NFL coaches breakfast at the league meetings on Tuesday. Per Zulgad, Frazier “made it clear that his desire would be to draft someone and plug him in as the starter.”

      In that same article, Zulgad also quoted Frazier saying that the Vikings would talk internally about different quarterback “scenarios,” which includes trading for Kevin Kolb. But if the team does want to draft a young signal caller, then there will be a couple of options at No. 12 overall.

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      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

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