Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews is a possibility for the Rams with the no. 2 overall selection, and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch makes the case. Aside from the prospect’s outstanding blocking, competitiveness and durability, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher coached Bruce Matthews, Jake’s father.
In other draft-related fodder…
- If Rams GM Les Snead opts to trade out of the No. 2 spot, he believes there’s multiple players teams would trade up for and they’re not just quarterbacks. “I actually think there’s more than one player that people would want to move up for,” Snead told Greg A. Bedard of mmqb.si.com. “I just don’t know what they’d want to give to move up,” Snead said. “At the top maybe there’s four or five players who were one step or one notch ahead of the very good, and sometimes a team might say we need to get that guy. You don’t know the value of what people would be willing to give. The fact that there could be multiple teams eyeing one of those guys could drive up the price a little bit.”
- This year’s crop of quarterback prospects is polarizing, says ESPN’s Mel Kiper in a conversation with ESPNBoston.com’s Mike Reiss: “There are about a dozen quarterbacks that could be starters, and out of those dozen, there are some that argue that all 12 will never be a successful starter. This is a crazy year for quarterbacks. A lot of them. A lot of quantity. How much quality is debatable.”
- LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger is scheduled to fly to Jacksonville to meet with the Jaguars, tweets NFL Network’s Albert Breer, who says the Raiders, Vikings, Titans and Lions will meet with Mettenberger in Baton Rouge (via Twitter). Coming off a November ACL tear, Mettenberger will throw at LSU’s pro day on Wednesday.
- The Dolphins, in their quest to find a legitimate right tackle solution, have been linked to Notre Dame’s Zack Martin, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the team also likes a Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield from Michigan, citing a team official. Meanwhile, a story published by Dan Parr at NFL.com quotes anonymous league evaluators who question Lewan’s toughness and physicality.
- Speaking of offensive linemen, the Falcons are also in need, and Dawson Devitt of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution provides a primer detailing several OL prospects who could be available at different stages of the draft.
- The Eagles will work out Canadian offensive tackle prospect Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).
- Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard has pre-draft visits scheduled with the Bengals, Jets and Rams. He has already met with the Steelers, writes Jeff Howe in the Boston Herald.
- Louisville safety Calvin Pryor is visiting the Steelers today, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
- Towson running back, Terrance West, who shredded I-AA competition with 2,500 yards and 41 touchdowns as a junior, has his pro day today. Nearly half the league has shown interest, including the Ravens, Browns, Titans and Cardinals mentioned in a draft diary piece in the Baltimore Sun.