Let’s round up a few Thursday items from around the NFC South….
- The Saints are preparing to transition from Drew Brees to a new quarterback at some point in the next three or four years, and could kick-start that process by drafting a QB early this year, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). According to Cole, New Orleans is eyeing Bryce Petty, who recently worked out for the club, and Garrett Grayson, and figures to select a signal-caller in the first three or four rounds next week.
- Within the same video, Cole adds that the Saints intend to use their two first-round picks to land players whose commitment to football is unquestioned. That means the team may decide to pass on a top prospect who has run into off-field problems, like Randy Gregory or Marcus Peters.
- Florida running back Matt Jones made a pre-draft visit to New Orleans to meet with the Saints on Wednesday, the final day teams were allowed to host prospects, writes Katherine Terrell of The Times-Picayune.
- Indiana running back Tevin Coleman visited the Falcons on Wednesday, and tells Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he enjoyed the visit quite a bit.
- Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney has a workout with the Panthers today, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (via Twitter). With just one week left until the draft, teams can no longer host prospects on pre-draft visits, but they can still privately work them out.
Zach Links contributed to this post.