On this date in 1964, future NFL kicker John Carney was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Carney, a three-time All-Pro, would go on to play for eight teams, most notably the Chargers from 1990-2000. He played in four different decades, making him only the third player to do so (along with Jeff Feagles and George Blanda). Carney last played in 2010 with the Saints, the team with which he won a Super Bowl the prior season.
Carney, however, was undrafted, which differentiates him from the players discussed below in our latest edition of draft notes:
- We noted earlier today that the Jets will meet with a trio of receiver prospects, and Mike Garafolo of FoxSports.com adds (in a series of tweets) that two more pass-catchers will be visiting with the team tomorrow: Texas A&M’s Mike Evans and Murray State’s Walter Powell. Evans is highly unlikely to last until pick No. 18, so the Jets would have to trade up to acquire him. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News thinks (on Twitter) it would take a trade involving Jets’ top four picks to move ahead of the Buccaneers at No. 7, who are rumored to be interested in the young wideout.
- Late last month, PFR’s Rory Parks penned a piece discussing the degradation of the running back position in the modern NFL; today, Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star takes a look at the same issue, and how it will affect the draft prospects of some collegiate RBs. For example, Arizona tailback Ka’Deem Carey said he was advised to leave school following his junior year: “They definitely were in my ear, saying you have a limited numbers of hits and running backs, you need to go while you have the chance,” said the 21-year-old.
- Within the same post, Paylor cites an interesting quote from NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who observes that the Patriots could be surprising come draft day: “…[T]he Patriots are always kind of one step ahead of the curve and trying to be creative,” said Jeremiah. “I wouldn’t be shocked if they just sit there and said, ‘OK, everybody else wants to pass on all these running backs ― Carlos Hyde is a really good player. LeGarrette Blount is not here anymore, we’re going to pluck him, and we’ve got ourselves a back of the future.’” The Patriots hold the 29th overall selection.
- In a Bears-centric post, the CSNChicago.com staff profiles Indiana receiver Cody Latimer, noting that while he may not be a fit in Chicago (what with the Bears’ depth at the position), the consensus among draftniks seems to be that Latimer lacks separation speed. Their fourth-to-fifth-round projection for Latimer is obviously outdated, however, as the wideout could possibly be a first-round-pick.
- Speaking of the Bears, they are listed along with the Texans among several teams that could look to draft a defensive tackle in the draft in a piece by Nate Davis of USA Today.
- In a separate piece, Davis adroitly profiles the top defensive tackles available in the draft, including Aaron Donald (“models his game after Bengals All-Pro Geno Atkins) and Timmy Jernigan (“lacks elite athleticism and size and probably is a bit short to play end for a 3-4 team”).