2016 September - Pro Football Rumors

Impact Rookies: San Francisco 49ers

September 15th, 2016 at 9:18am CST by Zachary Links

The old adage that defense wins championships may or may not be true, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a title-winning team that didn’t build heavily through the draft. Rookie classes, naturally, are evaluated on the perceived upside of the NFL newcomers, but which rookies are ready to contribute right out of the gate? And, how do they fit in with their new team schematically?

To help us forecast the immediate future of these NFL neophytes, we enlisted the help of draft guru Dave-Te Thomas who has served as a scouting personnel consultant to NFL teams for multiple decades.

Out of eleven selections, we here at The NFL Draft Report only see one 49ers draft pick making a significant mark in 2016.

First Round – DeForest Buckner, DL (Oregon, No. 7 overall)

A “tall drink of water” at a shade over 6:07, Buckner entered the 2015 bowl season having produced 225 tackles (104 solos) that included seventeen sacks (eleventh on the school career-record chart) for -118 yards. His 34.5 stops-for-loss ranked ninth in Oregon history, good for losses of 154 yards. Additionally, he registered thirty quarterback pressures, with six of those hurries causing interceptions, as Oregon converted those turnovers into touchdown drives. He also caused three fumbles and recovered two others that led to Ducks scores.

Buckner has outstanding size and a developing frame, adding fifteen pounds of solid muscle mass to it during the 2015 off-season. He has a solid upper body frame, with a wide back, long arms, good lower body strength and room on his frame for additional growth. He has broad shoulders, good bubble, thick thighs and a tight waist. He has a very long torso, arms and legs. A well-proportioned athlete with good upper body muscle development, he has good shoulder size and width, large hands, good bubble, thick thighs, and calves.

The Oregon standout has incredible moves off the edge and can change direction immediately. Buckner shows very good hip strike on contact and is a normal strider who plays with leverage and above average body quickness. He has the burst to penetrate and balance much like a linebacker. Buckner can be an “elephant” (hybrid rush end/linebacker) or just a tenacious defensive end with a high motor and excellent intensity.

From a sheer strength point, Buckner has more natural power than you would expect. He generates a good jolt in his hips and hands to rock the offensive tackle back on his heels during the bull rush. He has more than enough speed and explosion to get an edge. Despite his size, he is stronger than he looks, as he plays with leverage and keeps his pads down, making it tough to block him head-on. He rarely ever gets washed by some down blocks, as he can simply overpower his opponent when heading up the gut (see 2015 Washington, California, Arizona State, and Stanford games). He is best coming off the edge, but he has that long reach and strong hand punch to play off the offensive tackle and quickly locate the ball in backside pursuit. In 33 games of film view, he has never been widened or steered away from the play in any phase.

Last season, Buckner honed his wrap-up tackling technique and became more explosive in that area. The 6’7″, 287 pound athlete is fun to watch as he stalks, chases, wraps, and drags down the ball carrier, as he looks like a spider engulfing the ball carrier to get a piece of the opponent’s body. When he is closing on the quarterback, he shows even more explosion. He is best in open quarters, but he has more than enough power to battle in-line.

As a rookie, Buckner is being slotted in as a starting defensive end in the Niners’ 3-4 alignment. With 2015 first-round pick Arik Armstead at the other bookend and 26-year-old Quinton Dial in the middle, this is a young defensive line that will grow together. Expect Buckner to impress right out of the gate and show the world why he was a Top 10 pick in this year’s draft.

Dave-Te Thomas owns and operates The NFL Draft Report, a service providing insight to league scouting departments for over 40 years. All year round, you can read Thomas’ in-depth reviews of both blue chip prospects and diamonds in the rough by visiting the NFL Draft Report blog.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Extra Points: 49ers, Browns, Saints, Fins, Lions

September 14th, 2016 at 9:35pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

49ers offensive lineman Anthony Davis wasn’t willing to speak at length Wednesday about last weekend’s retirement rumors, offering that his absence came down to “miscommunication” (via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com). “Just leave it and let it fester,” said Davis, who was a backup for the 49ers’ 28-0 win over the Rams on Monday. That was Davis’ first game since 2014, as the 26-year-old took a hiatus from football last season. It was also the only appearanced he hasn’t started in since the 49ers chose him in the first round of the 2010 draft. Davis had logged 71 consecutive starts entering Week 1.

More from around the NFL as Wednesday wraps up:

First-year Browns head coach Hue Jackson is at the helm of of a rebuilding team that many expect to be the NFL’s worst this season. That didn’t stop Jackson from making some bold declarations Wednesday. “The fans might not like me for a while, but they’re going to love me here pretty soon,” said Jackson (per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com). “We’re going to win a championship here for the Cleveland Browns,” he added. The Browns, who are 0-1 after a 29-10 loss in Philadelphia, haven’t won a championship since 1964, haven’t made the playoffs since 2003, and haven’t finished with more than seven victories in a season since 2007. If a turnaround comes, it’s going to take time, and Marla Ridnour of Ohio.com wonders if owner Jimmy Haslam is patient enough to stick with Jackson through the club’s growing pains. Although Haslam has fired three general managers, three head coaches, two presidents and a CEO since taking over the Browns in 2012, he offered a glowing assessment of Jackson on Wednesday. “Hue relates well to everybody in the building and keeps everybody in the building fired up, which is important because your head coach is and should be the face of the organization, so he does a great job there. For the first time since we’ve been here, everybody’s on the same page.”
The Saints worked out return man Jeff Henderson on Wednesday, according to Howard Balzer (Twitter link). Henderson, who tried to a earn a spot with the Chiefs in May, won a gold medal in the long jump at this year’s Olympics.
Wide receiver Justin Hunter has taken a pay cut since the Dolphins claimed him off waivers from the Titans earlier this month, tweets Field Yates of ESPN. Hunter’s new 2016 salary is $675K, down from the $1,114,656 he was supposed to rake in this season. The fourth-year man will have a chance to collect $350K in incentives, though, and he landed a $52,267 bonus.
Along with he previously reported Nate Washington, the Lions auditioned a pair of other receivers – Mekale McKay and Levi Norwood – and quarterback Philip Sims on Wednesday, per Balzer (Twitter link).
Agent Ben Dogra will serve a six-month suspension and pay $25K to the Gene Upshaw Players Assistance Trust for an undisclosed violation, reports Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Daily. The NFLPA’s Committee on Agent Regulation & Discipline levied the punishment on Dogra, though it initially voted in January to revoke his certification and give him the right to re-apply after serving a three-year ban and paying a $200K fine. Dogra was formerly the co-CEO of Relatively Football, which relaunched as Independent Sports and Entertainment in June. It’s unclear if Dogra is with Independent, writes Mullen.

Alfred Morris: Free Agency Was “Insulting”

September 14th, 2016 at 8:16pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

For the first time since his four-year tenure with the Redskins ended over the winter, Cowboys running back Alfred Morris will face his former team this Sunday.

Morris spoke Wednesday about his final season in Washington, telling reporters (including John Keim of ESPN.com), “By the end of the year, I figured my time there was gone. You’re not the coach’s guy, you’re not the GM’s guy, they draft a young guy. It’s a business, so I expected that. They just had a different plan and I wasn’t a part of it and that was OK.”

When the Redskins selected Morris in the sixth round of the 2012 draft, Mike Shanahan was at the helm as their head coach. Morris had a tremendous rookie year under Shanahan, rushing 335 times for 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns, and he was also excellent in his second season (276 attempts, 1,275 yards, seven scores). The Redskins then ousted Shanahan in favor of Jay Gruden, and Morris’ numbers began falling off considerably. The ex-Florida Atlantic Owl still racked up 1,000-plus yards and eight scores in 2014, but his attempts (265) and yards-per-carry average (4.1) hit career lows. Those numbers further declined last year for Morris, who failed to approach 1,000 yards (751), put up just 3.7 yards per tote and scored a meager one touchdown.

Fresh off his career-worst showing, Morris hit the open market. Once there, he only drew interest from the Broncos, Dolphins and Cowboys, leading to disdain for a process that he called “insulting.”

“I didn’t like it one bit. I don’t want to do it again,” he said.

On settling for a two-year, $5.5MM deal with the Redskins’ NFC East rivals, the Cowboys, he stated, “Eventually Dallas came knocking. I did a visit and it just seemed like a good fit. So I said, ‘Why not?’ It’s a rival team, but I didn’t even think about that. I was a kid trying to keep his dream alive and it just happened to fall to the rival team.”

Morris’ chances to make an impact with the Cowboys seemingly took a hit when they selected former Ohio State star rusher Ezekiel Elliott with the fourth overall pick in April’s draft. After all, Dallas already had Darren McFadden, who impressed last year, and Lance Dunbar on its depth chart. However, McFadden has since gone on the shelf with an elbow injury that will cost him several weeks of the season, thus opening the door again for Morris.

As expected, Elliott was the Cowboys’ bell cow in their season-opening loss to the Giants, but Morris was effective in a secondary role (seven carries, 35 yards). The Redskins, meanwhile, failed to establish a running game with second-year back Matt Jones in a 38-16 loss to Pittsburgh and yielded 143 yards to the Steelers’ DeAngelo Williams. If Washington’s Week 1 performance is any indication, Elliott and Morris should have productive showings Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Potential Jeff Fisher Extension

September 14th, 2016 at 7:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Thanks to the Rams’ season-opening debacle on Monday, head coach Jeff Fisher‘s future with the team looks less certain. Fisher and owner Stan Kroenke met after the Rams’ 28-0 loss to the 49ers, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole, who adds that the contract extension Fisher was supposed to receive isn’t in play at the moment (video link).

Various reports since the winter have stated that Fisher and general manager Les Snead, both of whom are in contract years, are likely to sign new deals. Fisher took over the Rams’ sideline in 2012 and is among the NFL’s highest-paid coaches at $7MM, but the former Titans boss hasn’t produced positive results with his current organization. Under Fisher, the Rams have gone 27-37-1 in four-plus years and haven’t exceeded seven wins in an individual campaign, thereby stretching their streak of non-playoff seasons to 12. The way the Rams looked Monday, the newly minted Los Angeles team is on its way to No. 13.

One major problem for the Rams in Week 1 was the performance of quarterback Case Keenum, who completed 17 of 35 passes for 130 yards and two interceptions against a San Francisco club that went 5-11 a year ago. Fisher will go forth with Keenum for the time being, but other coaches on the Rams’ staff feel first overall pick Jared Goff gives them a better chance to win, per Cole (video link).

Keenum beat out both Goff and Sean Mannion for the starting role over the summer, making Goff the first QB to go No. 1 and not start his team’s opener since the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in 2007. Worsening matters, Goff didn’t show enough progress during training camp and the preseason to even earn a spot on the Rams’ active roster Monday, but the ex-Cal standout could suit up as a reserve against the Seahawks in their LA opener this week.

To acquire the pick with which he chose Goff, Snead surrendered several valuable selections – including first-rounders in 2016 and 2017 and multiple second-rounders – to the Titans. If Goff doesn’t take the field this year and at least show flashes of a player who was worth that type of haul, then, it stands to reason Snead could join Fisher on the the hot seat. The Rams looked like the worst team in the league in Week 1, and that’s particularly troubling for a franchise that’s not in possession of its own first-rounder in next year’s draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/14/16

September 14th, 2016 at 6:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Wednesday’s minor NFL transactions:

The Packers have cut running back Jhurell Pressley, per a team announcement. Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette (on Twitter). There are indications Pressley that could return to the next next week, however, as Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette tweets.
The Buccaneers have reached an injury settlement with running back Mike James, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link).
The Dolphins waived quarterback Brandon Doughty, as Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets.
The Chiefs re-signed outside linebacker Dezman Moses, as Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star tweets.
The Cardinals have waived/injured linebacker Louis Lamar, according to Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports 910 (via Twitter).

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/14/16

September 14th, 2016 at 5:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are Wednesday’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Chicago Bears

Signed: DL Jimmy Staten (Twitter link via Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com)

Cleveland Browns

Signed: WR Josh Boyce (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal)

New England Patriots

Signed: WR DeAndrew White (Twitter link via Doug Kyed of NESN)

Oakland Raiders

Signed: DE Jimmy Bean (Twitter link via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com)
Cut: LB Curtis Grant

San Francisco 49ers

Signed: WR Chris Harper (Twitter link via Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Signed: DT Rodney Coe (Twitter link via Roy Cummings of WFLA)

Washington Redskins

Signed: C Austin Reiter (Twitter link via Mike Jones of the Washington Post)

49ers’ Brass Divided On Colin Kaepernick

September 14th, 2016 at 5:13pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

There’s discord between 49ers general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Chip Kelly regarding the future of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). Baalke wants to get rid of Kaepernick, while Kelly would like to keep the 28-year-old and help him develop into a quality option again.

Kelly drew career-best performances from signal-callers Nick Foles, Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez during his tenure as Philadelphia’s head coach from 2013-15. Along the way, however, Kelly was unable to coexist with the Eagles’ top executive, Howie Roseman, so his disagreement with Baalke over the 49ers’ most famous player is particularly notable.

Kaepernick, who’s making a guaranteed $11.9MM this year as part of a deal that runs through 2020, nearly exited San Francisco during the offseason. However, the Baalke-led 49ers and the team most interested in Kaepernick – the Broncos – weren’t able to agree to a trade. That left Kaepernick to compete with Blaine Gabbert for the 49ers’ starting job, but the latter won the role over the summer.

The majority of recent Kaepernick-related headlines haven’t focused on his status as the 49ers’ backup, though; instead, the decision he made during the preseason to no longer stand for the pregame national anthem has generated plenty of discussion, both in support of and in opposition to Kaepernick, and has led other NFLers to follow his lead. Kaepernick, who’s protesting against racial inequality in America, has drawn ire from other teams’ front office executives because of his choice, which could affect his value.

“I don’t want him anywhere near my team,” one front office executive told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report last month. “He’s a traitor.”

That was a common sentiment among execs Freeman spoke to, as one estimated that upward of 90 percent of colleagues feel similarly.

On the field, Kaepernick has struggled over the past couple seasons after bursting on the scene as a second-year player in 2012. That season, the 2011 second-round pick from Nevada took over the 49ers’ starting QB job from Alex Smith late in the campaign and helped lead the club to a Super Bowl berth. In 2013, his first full year as a starter, the dual threat impressed again en route to a 12-win season that ended with a 23-20 defeat to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seahawks in the NFC title game.

Kaepernick has fallen off since since his halycon days, but given Gabbert’s own lack of NFL success – not to mention his propensity to run, which could lead to injuries – it’s possible the former could once again take the reins as the 49ers’ starter this season. Kaepernick got into the 49ers’ 28-0 win over the Rams on Monday, misfiring on one fourth-quarter pass.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Saints Audition Khalif Barnes

September 14th, 2016 at 4:40pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

For the second time since last week, the Saints tried out free agent offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Wednesday, according to Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate.

The Saints are familiar with Barnes, having employed the 34-year-old briefly toward the end of the preseason before releasing him as part of their final cuts on Sept. 3. New Orleans head coach Sean Payton said after the club cut Barnes that he wasn’t in football shape, per Underhill, so it’s possible it will bring the tackle/guard in as depth if it feels his conditioning is now up to par.

“I think (well) considering this is a player that really hasn’t been in an offseason plan,” Payton said. “He is overweight right now, he’s big and that will be a process of him gradually cutting his weight down, but to sign him early in the week and play 20 something snaps, we wanted to make sure we didn’t give him too many snaps and risk any type of injury for a player that really hadn’t had the training camp and offseason program. I think he handled it pretty well.”

Barnes, who went in the second round of the 2005 draft, racked up a combined 151 appearances and 117 starts as a member of the Jaguars and Raiders over his first 11 NFL seasons. Barnes suited up for 14 of the Raiders’ games last year, but he made a career-worst one start.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nate Washington Worked Out For Lions

September 14th, 2016 at 4:28pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Free agent wide receiver Nate Washington had a workout with the Lions on Wednesday, according to Doug Kyed of NESN (Twitter link). Washington, whom the Patriots released Aug. 24, previously worked out for the Saints last week.

The 33-year-old Washington has been a member of three teams since going undrafted from Division III Tiffin University in 2005. He spent a productive 2015 as a member of the Texans, with whom he hauled in 47 passes for 658 yards and four touchdowns. Washington, who has also played three years in Pittsburgh and six seasons in Tennessee, has 458 receptions and 44 touchdowns to his name. In his most prolific campaign, 2011, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder recorded career highs in catches (74), targets (121), yards (1,023) and scores (seven) with the Titans.

If Washington signs with Detroit, he’ll slide into a veteran-laden receiving corps that currently only has four options – Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, Anquan Boldin and Andre Roberts. That quartet combined for modest numbers, 15 receptions and 169 yards, in the Lions’ 39-35 win over the Colts on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cardinals Claim CB Tharold Simon

September 14th, 2016 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cardinals claimed cornerback Tharold Simon off waivers from the Seahawks, according to a source who spoke with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (via Twitter). Simon was waived by Seattle on Tuesday.

Simon, 25, has just eleven NFL games to his credit and he did not see action in the Seahawks’ season opener against the Dolphins. Though he only has ten career tackles, the Cardinals’ scouts believe that he can provide some depth for their secondary. Simon got a decent amount of burn in 2014 and also saw action in the postseason. In 2015, however, Simon suffered a painful dislocated toe injury that cost him the majority of the season. Simon has not been on the field for a regular season game in roughly one year.

In Arizona, Simon will join the team that knocked Seattle from the top of the NFC West last year. Going forward, Simon will try to make an impact as part of a cornerback group headed by superstar Patrick Peterson, Brandon Williams, Justin Bethel and Tyvon Branch.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.