HEADLINES

2017 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Extra Points: Rams, 49ers, Jets, Draft

December 27th, 2016 at 9:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Rams owner Stan Kroenke only relocated the franchise from St. Louis to Los Angeles last winter, but his plan to swap Missouri for California went back several years, ex-head coach Jeff Fisher told ESPN Radio (via Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). On taking the Rams’ head coaching job in 2012, Fisher recalled, “I decided on L.A., or St. Louis, at the time, knowing that there was going to be a pending move.”

More from around the sport:

  • Former 49ers offensive lineman Anthony Davis, who retired for the second time in September, took to Twitter on Christmas to blast some of the team’s brass, per Katie Dowd of the San Francisco Chronicle. Regarding CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke, the outspoken Davis commented in a now-deleted tweet, “I don’t want to play for Jed, Trent or [offensive line coach Pat Flaherty] though. They’re all full of [expletive].” Davis shared a more positive assessment of head coach Chip Kelly, calling him a “smart, very calculated, interesting guy,” though he’s unsure if Kelly’s offense can work in the NFL.
  • Quarterback Christian Hackenberg needs to start for the Jets in the season finale against Buffalo, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News opines. After Bryce Petty landed on IR, the Jets are slated to start Ryan Fitzpatrick in the final game of the season. However, it would behoove them to find out what they have in their second-round rookie. On the flipside, wide receiver Brandon Marshall would rather not see Hackenberg on the field yet. “Why would you want to do that to that kid? There used to be a time back in the day where quarterbacks had time to sit on the bench and really learn,” Marshall told Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday (Twitter link).
  • Wyoming running back Brian Hill announced on Twitter that he will skip his senior season and enter the draft. After rushing for 1,860 yards and averaging 5.3 yards per carry with 22 touchdowns, Hill figures to draw lots of interest. In a deep running back class, it will be interesting to see where he comes off the board. Stars like Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, D’Onta Foreman, and Christian McCaffrey all figure to slot ahead of Hill.
  • The Bills dominated the news Tuesday. Here’s a recap: The Doug Whaley-led franchise changed both its head coach and quarterback entering Week 17. Interim head coach Anthony Lynn and a couple others have since emerged as possibilities to permanently take over for the ousted Rex Ryan.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 16

December 26th, 2016 at 10:53am CST by Zachary Links

This weekend, the Browns got the best of both worlds when they won their first game of the 2016 season while the 49ers also found their way to victory. Now, the 1-14 Browns remain in the top spot as we head into the final week of the NFL season.

Here’s where we stand through Week 16. (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):

  1. Browns 1-14
  2. 49ers 2-13
  3. Bears 3-12
  4. Jaguars 3-12
  5. Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-11
  6. Jets 4-11
  7. Chargers 5-10
  8. Bengals 5-9-1
  9. Panthers 6-9
  10. Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 6-9
  11. Cardinals 6-8-1
  12. Bills 7-8
  13. Colts 7-8
  14. Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-8
  15. Saints 7-8
  16. Titans 8-7
  17. Ravens 8-7
  18. Buccaneers 8-7
  19. Broncos 8-7
  20. Redskins 8-6-1

Draft Notes: Mixon, Trubisky, Fournette

December 21st, 2016 at 3:04pm CST by Zachary Links

Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon was/is thinking about entering the 2017 draft, but since the video of him striking a woman has been released, GMs around the league have told people close to him that he won’t get drafted, Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com writes. Beyond that, they say there’s even a chance he won’t be signed as a free agent and he may not even get a combine invite if he declares. At this point, Pauline says he should return to OU – if that’s even an option for him.

Just two weeks ago, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report heard that teams were “softening” on Mixon and the first round was still in reach for him. Apparently, teams are changing their tune after viewing the video.

Here’s a look at the latest draft news:

2017 NFL Draft Order Through Week 15

December 20th, 2016 at 1:21pm CST by Zachary Links

With just two weeks to go, the NFL playoff picture is starting to get clearer. The Cowboys, Seahawks, Patriots, and Raiders have already punched their playoff tickets while the Chiefs, Steelers, Falcons, and Giants are considered near locks by the forecasts at Five Thirty Eight.

Here’s a look at where the draft order stands for the teams not currently slated to make the cut (Note: Ties are broken by strength of schedule):

1. Browns 0-14

2. 49ers 1-13

3. Jaguars 2-12

4. Bears 3-11

5. Jets 4-10

6. Rams (pick belongs to Titans) 4-10

7. Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-9

8. Chargers 5-9

9. Cardinals 5-8-1

10. Bengals 5-8-1

11. Panthers 6-8

12. Saints 6-8

13. Bills 7-7

14. Colts 7-7

15. Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-7

16. Redskins 7-6-1

17. Titans 8-6

17. Ravens 8-6 (Note: The Titans and Ravens are currently knotted up in terms of both record and strength of schedule. In all statistical likelihood, the SOS logjam will be broken by the end of the season.)

19. Texans 8-6

20. Buccaneers 8-6

Christian McCaffrey To Skip Bowl Game

December 19th, 2016 at 9:18am CST by Zachary Links

This could be the start of a trend. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey announced that he will not participate in the Sun Bowl so that he can begin his “draft prep immediately,” (Twitter link). Christian McCaffrey (Featured)

Just last week, fellow top running back prospect Leonard Fournette announced that he would skip LSU’s bowl game so that he could protect his injured ankle in advance of the draft. The notion of a player skipping a bowl game in order to focus on his pro career was once considered crazy, but many have come out in support of McCaffrey and Fournette in light of what happened to Notre Dame star Jaylon Smith a year ago. There is also a growing movement for college players to receive compensation and from a fiscal standpoint, it makes little sense for a player to jeopardize their livelihood for free.

In the cases of McCaffrey and Fournette, both of their teams fell outside of the College Football Playoff. If Stanford and LSU were in the mix for the national championship, they may have reached a different conclusion. In the future, however, it’s not hard to imagine elite prospects saying no to even top-tier bowl games in order to safeguard their careers.

Breer On GM Search, Harbaugh, Draft

December 17th, 2016 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

When it comes to being a GM, is it more about who you know than what you know? In his latest column, Albert Breer of The MMQB spoke with one league official who suggested that the NFL’s career development advisory panel has something of a fraternity-vibe.

“It’s all full of nepotism. It’s a joke. And it starts with Charley Casserly,” the personnel man said.

Casserly rejected the idea that he, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian, Ernie Accorsi, John Madden, Tony Dungy and Carl Peterson are aiming to line up their friends with jobs, but he did acknowledge that connections help.

“It’s so different than it is with coaches,” Casserly said. “Coaches are so clearly defined. You know who calls the plays, you see them on TV, coordinators have press conferences. It’s just not like that in scouting. Are they pro? College? None of them are making big decisions. What you need is networking. It’s not politicking.”

Casserly was directly involved with the Jets’ coach and GM search process in 2015. Gang Green wound up hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan – two former co-workers of Casserly’s.

Here’s more from Breer:

  • Breer identified the following executives as people who could immediately jump into a GM job somewhere: Chiefs VP of player personnel Chris Ballard, Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay, Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf.
  • The widespread feeling in NFL circles is that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be back in pro football eventually, even if it’s not happening right now. For his part, Harbaugh says that he is incredibly happy as the Wolverines’ coach.
  • Is Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen the next under-the-radar quarterback prospect a la Carson Wentz? It was Craig Bohl who recruited Carson Wentz to North Dakota State and he is now Allen’s coach at Wyoming. It’s hard to say whether the 6’5″, 222-pound signal caller has the same kind of talent, but his stock is rising. “He’s a big ol’ kid with a big arm, and he’s pretty athletic too,” said one AFC exec. “We gotta learn more about him, but the tools are there.” Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has plenty of time to develop.
  • Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck recently predicted that Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush will be an “incredibly high draft pick” this year. Apparently, talent evaluators do not agree. “He may get drafted late because of the [lack of] quality at the position,” said one area scout assigned to CMU. “He’s an accurate thrower with deceptive athletic ability to extend plays with his feet. Not a dynamic or explosive athlete, but good enough to avoid the rush and create at times. Average arm at best, but he’s got solid touch on intermediate and deep balls. He just lacks elite velocity.”

LSU’s Leonard Fournette To Skip Bowl Game

December 16th, 2016 at 1:18pm CST by Zachary Links

As one of the top talents in this year’s draft class, Leonard Fournette is taking no chances. The LSU running back announced today that he will skip his team’s bowl game in order to rest his injured ankle. Leonard Fournette (vertical)

“This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, not playing in the bowl, but it’s best for me and my future,” Fournette said, “It was hard telling the guys. I love them dearly. You grow so close together through this. I’ll forever thank them and support them.”

Fournette estimated that his ankle is at about “85-90%,” which implies that it won’t be an issue when the workout circuit begins. Barring something unforeseen, Fournette appears to be a shoe-in for the first round and a likely Top 10 pick.

Despite the ankle holding him back this year, Fournette has still managed to run for 843 yards and eight touchdowns. Last year, Fournette was largely healthy and ran for 1,953 rushing yards, good for an average of 162.8 yards per game. NFL teams are already licking their chops about what a healthy Fournette is capable of. Two high-level talent evaluators recently said that Fournette is even better than Todd Gurley, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Jets High On UNC QB Mitch Trubisky

December 14th, 2016 at 2:51pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets are giving Bryce Petty an opportunity to show what he can do to close out the season, but no matter how well he does in this short audition, it’s likely that they will add a quarterback this spring. Looking ahead to the draft, the Jets have their eye on UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky, Manish Mehta of the Daily News hears. Mitch Trubisky (vertical)

“They got their eyes set on the North Carolina quarterback,” one rival scout said. “The Jets are all over this kid. All over him. They’ll probably deny it if you ask, but they love that kid. That’s their guy. They’re not going to get him though, because I think that kid is going to get over-drafted.”

Of course, the Jets aren’t the only team with a fondness for Trubisky. Last month, we learned that the Browns are eyeing the Tar Heel QB and they are on course to pick No. 1 overall. The 49ers and Bears also hold picks in the top five and could target a quarterback. In a weak year for QBs, all signs point to Trubisky being the highest-ranked of the bunch.

Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer To Enter Draft

December 12th, 2016 at 12:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer will enter the 2017 NFL Draft, according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). Kizer is widely regarded as one of the best QBs in this year’s class, though this is not considered to be a strong crop for the position. DeShone Kizer (vertical)

We have a long way to go between now and the draft, but right now it seems that most evaluators have Kizer as the No. 2 QB in this year’s draft. UNC’s Mitch Trubisky has gained steam in recent months and some even see him as a Top 10 pick. Behind both players is Clemson QB Deshaun Watson, a player with solid raw skills but questionable instincts.

Reportedly, Browns scout Lake Dawson has been spending an “inordinate” amount of time in South Bend scouting Kizer. If the Browns select Texas A&M edge rusher Myles Garrett at the top of the draft, Kizer is a player who could be available later on.

In 12 games this season, Kizer completed 212 of 361 passing attempts. He also threw for 26 touchdowns against nine interceptions.

2017 NFL Draft Order Through Most Of Week 14

December 12th, 2016 at 9:35am CST by Zachary Links

The final month of the regular season will dictate the playoff futures for teams like the Cowboys, Patriots, Chiefs, and Raiders. For other teams, the postseason is a statistical impossibility. Already, the Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Rams, Bears, and 49ers have been mathematically eliminated. The Chargers, Saints, Panthers, Eagles, Bengals, and Cardinals are not technically out of it, but their chances are remote.

Here’s where those teams and the others not currently ticketed for the playoffs stand in the draft order (Note – Ties are broken by strength of schedule):

  1. Browns 0-13
  2. 49ers 1-12
  3. Jaguars 2-11
  4. Bears 3-10
  5. Rams 4-9 (pick belongs to Titans)
  6. Jets 4-9
  7. Panthers 5-8
  8. Chargers 5-8
  9. Saints 5-8
  10. Eagles (pick belongs to Browns) 5-8
  11. Cardinals 5-7-1
  12. Bengals 5-7-1
  13. Bills 6-7
  14. Colts 6-7
  15. Titans 7-6
  16. Vikings (pick belongs to Eagles) 7-6
  17. Packers 7-6
  18. Redskins 7-5-1
  19. Ravens 7-5 (Note – The Ravens play their Week 14 game tonight against the Patriots.) 
  20. Dolphins 8-5

Strength of schedule via SB Nation.

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