2014 May - Pro Football Rumors

Draft Notes: Titans, Ravens, Saints, UDFAs

May 10th, 2014 at 5:01pm CST by Rob DiRe

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).

Ravens Acquire No. 218 From Browns

May 10th, 2014 at 4:39pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Ravens have traded back into the draft, acquiring the No. 218 pick from the Browns, reports Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com (via Twitter). The Ravens will send the Browns a 2015 sixth-rounder (via Twitter). The Ravens used this pick to select Wake Forest receiver Michael Campanaro, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).

Cardinals Notes: Thomas, Arians, UDFAs

May 10th, 2014 at 4:19pm CST by Rob DiRe

Cardinals’ head coach Bruce Arians stated that Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas will be playing quarterback for the team, reports Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter). Thomas has experience as a tight end, but Arians noted that his struggles with accuracy can be easily fixed.

Here are some other notes from Urban about the Cardinals draft day three:

Yesterday Arians said that he liked the three quarterbacks on the team’s roster, writes Urban (via Twitter). This turned out to be a smokescreen, with Arians saying today “I lie pretty good.”
Arians held his intentions to draft a quarterback close to his chest, because he was afraid a team would try to jump in front of the Cardinals to target Thomas in the fourth round, writes Urban (via Twitter).
Cardinals’ general manager Steve Keim noted that he wants to add two running backs and between three and five offensive linemen as undrafted rookie free agents, reports Urban (via Twitter).

Poll: Best Late Round Quarterback?

May 10th, 2014 at 3:52pm CST by Rob DiRe

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.

Titans Acquire No. 178 From Redskins

May 10th, 2014 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

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

May 10th, 2014 at 2:45pm CST by Rob DiRe

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.

Falcons Acquire No. 168 Pick From Vikings

May 10th, 2014 at 2:27pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Falcons have moved back into the fifth round, trading for the No. 168 pick previously held by the Vikings, reports Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Vikings had originally received that pick from the Panthers in a separate trade.

Goessling writes that the Vikings will receive two picks, No. 182 and No. 220, in the trade (via Twitter). The Falcons selected inside linebacker Marquis Spruill out of Syracuse with the pick, according to Jay Adams of AtlantaFalcons.com (via Twitter).

Dolphins Looking To Add A Quarterback

May 10th, 2014 at 2:19pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Dolphins are looking for a potential quarterback now in the draft, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald (via Twitter). He notes the team could be interested in Stephen Morris of Miami (via Twitter).

The team still has Ryan Tannehill, who will be entering a crucial third season with the team. While he has not been a bust just yet, he may not be developing as quickly as the team would have hoped. Behind Tannehill are Matt Moore and Pat Devlin, which is not the worst set of backups in the league.

If the team stays away from Morris, there is still a bevy of options to choose from in the rest of the draft, including David Fales of San Jose State and Zach Mettenberger of LSU.

NFC East Notes: Brown, Graham, Hart, Martin

May 10th, 2014 at 2:06pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Eagles have been fielding calls from the Bills about tailback Bryce Brown for a while, reports Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network and Jeff McClaine of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). The team finally moved Brown to the Bills in exchange for a conditional future pick.

Here are some other draft weekend notes from the NFC East:

Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly said he does not expect any other players on the roster to be traded during the draft, reports Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News (via Twitter). That could be good news for Brandon Graham, who was thought to be on the trade block this weekend.
Kelly wanted the Eagles to take Oregon defensive end Taylor Hart with the first pick in round four, reports the team insider of PhiladelphiaEagles.com (via Twitter). The team’s general manager Howie Roseman proved to be a smart draft manager, saying he would still be available when they selected at the top of the fifth round.
The Cowboys almost missed their top draft pick Zack Martin of Notre Dame, as a coin flip gave them No. 16, one spot ahead of the Ravens. The Rams were in talks to exchange picks with the Ravens in order to jump up to No. 17 to select Martin, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Knowing that Johnny Manziel was near the top of the Cowboys’ board when the team selected, Florio writes that if Martin was not on the board, the team might have been more inclined to take the Texas A&M quarterback.

Buccaneers Acquire No. 149 Pick From Bills

May 10th, 2014 at 1:31pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Buccaneers have traded back into round five, moving up to the Bills spot at No. 149, reports John Kryk of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). The Buccaneers used that selection to take offensive tackle Kevin Pamphile of Purdue (via Twitter). The Bills received pick No. 221 and a 2015 fifth-rounder in exchange for No. 149, reports Mike Rodak of ESPN (via Twitter).